Marine Resources Assessment for the Marianas Operating ... - SPREP

AUGUST 2005 FINAL REPORT
park. Coastal waters, including coral reefs, are currently not encompassed within the park’s boundaries;
however, a case pending in U.S. Federal court (CNMI vs. U.S.; Civil Action No. 99-0028 at 35, D. N. Mar.
I.; filed August 2003) could bring nearshore waters within the park’s jurisdiction.
5.3.1.2 National Wildlife Refuges
The USFWS, which oversees the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS), protects more marine habitat
area than any other federal agency. The NWRS is comprised of over 535 established NWRs, spanning
many types of habitats. Approximately 140 to 150 refuges nation-wide contain marine and estuarine
habitat. These MMAs provide habitat for a number of endangered plants and animals. The NWRS
contains about 1.1 million ha of coral reefs and bordering ocean habitat. Overall, the entire U.S. EEZ is
estimated to contain 1.7 million ha of coral reefs. For more information on corals found in the study area,
see Chapter 4. There is one NWR found in close proximity to the Marianas MRA study area: Guam NWR
(Figure 5-4).
The Ritidian Unit of Guam NWR was established in 1993 on excess land that was acquired from the
Navy. The refuge is composed of 312 ha (150 ha of coral reefs and 162 ha of terrestrial habitat) owned by
the USFWS and 9,088 ha (mostly forest) owned by the U.S. Department of Defense in Air Force and
Navy installations that are classified as refuge overlay. Although military missions come first on these
lands, the USFWS assists in protecting native species and habitats. Guam NWR provides habitat for the
last remaining populations of the endangered Mariana fruit bat, Mariana crow, and Serianthes nelsonii
tree. The refuge also protects significant cultural resources of the Chamorro people.
5.3.1.3 Fisheries Management Zones
Fisheries management zones are areas that are closed, at least partially, to fishing activities. The NOAA
Fisheries has the jurisdiction to restrict or even prohibit the use of one or more fishing gear types in some
areas in order to protect habitats, fishery stocks, or species assemblages and/or to promote the recovery
of threatened or endangered species. Most of these area closures are seasonal or short-term; however,
in some locations, they might be year-round for one or more years. In the Marianas MRA study area and
vicinity, there is one year-round closure: the Longline Fishing Prohibited Area (Figure 5-4). This closure,
which encompasses 43.7 million km 2 of ocean area surrounding Guam, was implemented to protect
species that are often unintentionally caught in longline fishing gear, such as sea turtles, marine
mammals, seabirds, and sharks.
5.3.2 Navy-Designated Ecological Reserve Areas
An Ecological Reserve Area (ERA) is a physical or biological unit in which current natural conditions are
maintained insofar as possible. These conditions are usually achieved by allowing natural, physical, and
biological processes to prevail without any human intervention (DoN 1986). To compensate for the loss of
5.7 ha of reef and limestone habitats caused during the construction of an ammunition wharf in Apra
Harbor, the Navy set aside 168 ha of coastal habitat at two sites. These protected areas are known as the
Orote Peninsula and Haputo ERAs (DoN 1984; Figure 5-4).
5.3.2.1 Orote Peninsula Ecological Reserve Area
Established in 1984, the Orote Peninsula ERA totals 66 ha and consists of two distinct regions. The first
region spans from the shoreline cliffs to the mean low water line and encompasses 12 ha. The cliff area
also encompasses a large limestone forest (DoN 1984). The second region is composed of submerged
coastal lands spanning from the MLW line to the 36.6 m isobath. It is populated primarily by undisturbed
coral reefs and encompasses an area totaling 54 ha (DoN 1984). Blue Hole, one of Guam’s premier dive
locations, is located off of the Orote Peninsula ERA (UNEP/IUCN 1988; Hanauer 2001).
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