Hawaii reefs focus of Cousteau documentary

by MICHELE VAN HESSEN
Sun Correspondent
*Archived April 2006 article

Upon arrival to Governor Lingle's red-carpet affair, a lei was given to each distinguished guest. An array of pupus by Sam Choy and Jean-Michel Cousteau Ocean Futures Society's Blair Mott were served from various stations. Under a tented reception area filmmaker and producer Gary Lopes, who has a Ph.D. in marine biology chatted with Dr. Elizabeth Flint, a wildlife biologist and Dr. Jim Maragos, from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Refuges Division. Michael McCartney, President and CEO of PBS Hawaii told Lieutenant Governor Duke Aiona and Senator Fred Hemming that all the PBS stations in the United States will air the documentary Voyage to Kure. NWHI needs a global comprehensive management plan. To provide it with more protection as a cultural heritage, PBS Hawaii is among the organizations that are dedicated to helping elevate NWHI's status from a coral reef reserve to a national marine sanctuary.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Culture Organization, World Heritage is dedicated to ensuring the protection of natural and cultural heritages. UN protected sites in the world include the Pyramids of Giza, Delphi and the Great Wall of China. In the United States there are twenty-one sites including the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which receives assistance for long-term conservation, management planning and technical assistance. Through the continuing efforts of Governor Lingle, the Northwestern Hawaiian Island chain of islands and atolls that form one of the most remote places on earth is nominated to become the twenty-first sanctioned site receiving the international community's efforts to protect and preserve this beautiful place. "I went snorkeling with Jean-Michel in December, and it's a memory of a lifetime," said Governor Lingle. With the constant threat of illegal fishing, intrusive species and human pollution, more research funding and support needs to be provided to the dedicated organizations such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, the American Zoo and Aquarium Association and The Dolphin Institute Marine Mammal Science Research and Education Center at Ko Olina.

NWHI is the most remote large-scale coral reef ecosystem on the planet. Once used by indigenous Hawaiians as the northernmost outpost of the Polynesian culture it is home to the Hawaii Monk Seal, the only surviving marine mammal wholly dependent on coral reefs. NWHI is the nesting habitat for the threatened green sea turtle and it is the largest seabird rookeries in the United States. "Our team goes on an adventure and we can transfer our passion through images," said Cousteau. "I was profoundly impacted by our Hawaiian experience. Our crew was enamored with a precocious playmate, Monk seal who greeted us on three night dives." Cousteau continued, "All animals have a role to play in the symphony of life. In the Amazon my father told me, 'people protect what they love.' What we saw and filmed over five weeks showed that nature's balance is threatened. The sea was described by the ancient wisdom of malama, meaning a caring for our land and sea to ensure a balance among all forms of life. Now, the outcome belongs to all and our collective will to protect the entire NWHI chain. The world is watching." Cousteau took his seat next to his wife. As the lights came down a live endorsement was aired from the White House Council on Environmental Quality announcing President Bush's continual endorsement for Cousteau, education and an environmental policy for marine conservation.