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Social-Ecological Systems Meta-Analysis Database: Case

Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) Marine National Monument

SummaryThe Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument was established by Presidential Proclamation 8031 on June 15, 2006 under the authority of the Antiquities Act and is the single largest fully protected conservation area under the U.S. flag. It was given its Hawaiian name Papahānaumokuākea a year later, and its mission is to “To forever protect and perpetuate ecosystem health and diversity and Native Hawaiian cultural significance of Papahānaumokuākea.” A 15 year management plan was produced in 2008. The NWHI are a vast, mostly uninhabited archipelago containing some of the most extensive and healthy coral reefs globally. Papahānaumokuākea is of great importance to Native Hawaiians, with significant cultural sites and areas of spiritual significance in Hawaiian cosmology. The Monument is administered jointly by three co-trustees (NOAA, USFWS, and the State of Hawai’i); the day-to-day management of the Monument is overseen by a 7-member management board comprised of two sub-agencies of each Co-Trustee, plus the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The monument is completely no-take and required all commercial bottomfish and pelagic fishing to cease in 2011. The co-trustee agencies are authorized to issue permits for a variety of non-extractive activities in the Monument, including research and monitoring, Native Hawaiian practices, education, special ocean use, recreation, and conservation and management. Research and monitoring activities on terrestrial areas have created some of the most complete seabird databases in the world.
Statuspublic
TeamUVic Research Assistants
Start Date2014-11-19
Coding Complete?No
SectorMarine protected areas, Fisheries (Stock-specific), Scientific Research and Conservation
ProjectSESMAD
Data Source(s)Primary data, Secondary data
CountryUnited States
External Biophysical2002 was the first ever bleaching event recorded for NWHI, followed by a mass bleaching in 2004 (Kenyon & Brainard 2006)
External SocialThreats include vessel groundings, pollution from ships and other vessels, derelict fishing gear, derelict military and commercial infrastructure, land development, the introduction of alien species, (research and ecotourism threats are considered negliable). Plastic debris and ghost fishing gear is a large problem.
SnapshotsThis case has been coded from when the Monument was designated in 2006 until present (2015).
Timeline2001 - NWHI Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve was established. 2006 - The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument was established by Presidential Proclamation 8031 on June 15, 2006 under the authority of the Antiquities Act. 2007 - given its Hawaiian name: Papahānaumokuākea (commemorates the union of two Hawaiian ancestors). 2008 - 15 year management plan produced. 2010 - UNESCO status. 2011 - all commercial bottomfish and pelagic fishing closed. http://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/pdf/timeline.pdf
Modeling IssuesThe lobster fishery has been closed throughout the time period coded, but has been used as a proxy for fisheries because it was heavily fishied prior to the creation of the MPA.
Surveys
Theories

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Attached Components

Actors

Name:
NWHI Researchers
details
Past collaboration:
Medium (2)
Some researchers are likely to have collaborated in the past
Costs of exit:
Not Applicable
Proportionality (of costs and benefits):
Not Applicable
Interest heterogeneity:
Low (1)
There are a variety of different research groups in the NWHI doing work on different projects, but overall the research interests focus on ecosystem health, biodiversity, fisheries, and other environmental aspects that apply to the MPA.
Leadership:
No leader
Because these are different groups of researchers, there is no one leader for this actor group.
Leadership authority:
Not Applicable
Actor group trust:
Medium (2)
Depending on funding and personalities this is probably medium
Personal communication:
Not Applicable
Remote communication:
Not Applicable
Leadership accountability:
Not Applicable
Actor group coordination:
Informal
Some coordination through the monument saying what they want, research Qs etc - informal collaboration in response to this.
Name:
NWHI Monument Co-Trusteeship
details
Past collaboration:
Low (1)
Although some of the agencies have worked together in other areas before - there had not been such a collaboration in this area or to this extent, so coded as low.
Costs of exit:
Not Applicable
Proportionality (of costs and benefits):
Not Applicable
Interest heterogeneity:
Low (1)
Although the Co-trusteeship is broken down into three different organizations (NOAA, USFWS, State of Hawaii) they all work towards the same goal of MPA management.
Leadership:
["Formal leader"]
co-trustees
Leadership authority:
High (3)
The leaders of these organisations can make important decisions about organisational and operational issues related to the structure of the agency, staff and the activities that are prioritised and undertaken.
Actor group trust:
Medium (2)
Low at the start of the time period being coded but now is considereably better - A. Wilhelm pers comm.
Personal communication:
More than once a year (5)
Assumed because government agencies
Remote communication:
More than once a year (5)
Assumed because government agencies
Leadership accountability:
High (3)
Actor group coordination:
Formal
Formal - a memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed by the managing institutions established an institutional “co-trusteeship” of the protected area, requiring two federal agencies (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA] and the US Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS]) and the State of Hawai‘i to manage the monument collaboratively as “co-trustees” (Kittenger et al. 2011)

Governance Systems

Name:
NWHI Monument Act 2006
details
Type of formal governance:
Management plan
A management plan was produced in 2008 by the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. The Monument is simply an agreement between the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the State of Hawaii, which form the co-trusteeship that manages the Monument.
End Date:
current
2015
Begin date:
2006
June 15, 2006 Pres. Bush signed the Presidential Proclamation 8031 to create the Monument.
Governance trigger:
 
More opportunistic then for a specific reason or change.
Governance system description:
The Monument Act of 2006
The Monument Act is the implementation of the national marine Monument for the NWHI. The co-trustees created and signed a Memorandum of Agreement that established the roles and responsibilities of the management groups and mechanisms for managing the Monument. The official management plan for the Monument was produced in 2008 and details these roles. The management of the Monument has been described by Kittinger et al. (2011) as a “nested, quasiautonomous decision-making unit that operates at multiple scales and nurtures diversity for dynamic responses in the face of change.”
Governance scale:
State-based policy
National law
Centralization:
Highly centralized (4)
the governance system is highly centralized because the co-trusteeship is composed of state and federal government bodies.
Metric diversity:
High: Many metrics for success (3)
Success metrics range from cultural perseverance in the Monument to ecological health (which includes fisheries, pollution, biodiversity, migratory species, trophic density, etc.)
MPA primary goal (in practice):
["Biodiversity conservation", "Species of conservation concern", "Protection of migratory species", "Exclusion of a specific threat", "Social goals"]
MPA motivation:
["Ecological value", "Feasibility"]
Intact ecosystems, but nobody lives there.
MPA protection:
["Protecting key life history stage(s)", "Reducing threats", "Encompassing entire habitat"]
MPA internal natural boundaries:
Low (1)
The Monument boundary extends into deep, pelagic waters so not clearly delineated
Distance to markets:
Between 100km-1000km (3)
Closest market is Main Hawaiian Islands, however there is no resource extraction currently allowed in the NWHI.
MPA budget:
Missing
PA IUCN strict zones:
100 %
The NWHI MPA is categorized as an IUCN Category Ib, where long-term ecological integrity is preserved with minimal modern infrastructure and zero resource extraction in order to allow future generations experience the area.
MPA connectivity:
Yes (3)
A range of areas and levels of connectivity were considered when establishing the MPA. The NWHI has a high range of different areas, such as nesting grounds, coral reefs, atolls and sand banks, deep water foraging grounds and sea grass areas. Ranges of distances were not explicit.
PA CAR principles:
Yes (3)
Fulfills all the principles, although not explicitly stated
MPA migratory benefit:
Yes
By protecting the resources, reducing interactions with fisheries and preserving a robust ecosystem for migratory species. Monitoring and research.
MPA migratory life history:
Green Turtle - nesting, foraging, basking grounds
Green turtles migrate widely throughout the Pacific Ocean and the NWHI is an area where the species rest, forage and breed. Over 90% of nesting occurs at the French Frigate shoals (Balazs, 1992).
MPA threats to migratory sp:
["Resource competition", "Habitat destruction", "Other"]
Marine debris is a huge problem for wildlife in NWHI - much of the marine debris is in the form of derelict fishing nets, mostly trawl nets, from North Pacific fisheries. Plastic ingested by sea birds at sea and also fed to chicks at colonies (info from management plan). In the 1940s there was extensive habitat damage at the French Frigate Shoals rookery (Balazs, 1976; Balazs, 2004). Climate changes predictions - islands might be underwater in the future; increased el nino
MPA migratory threats and redux:
Green turtles
Marine debris clean up invasive species elimination
Social-ecological fit:
High (3)
All no-take and for many of the key species/ecosystems - monk seals, coral reefs, green turtles = good, but for migratory seabirds probably not as good as spend time outside of the MPA.
Governance knowledge use:
["Scientific knowledge", "Local/traditional knowledge"]
The Monument uses both types of knowledge to manage the MPA. Both scientific knowledge and traditional knowledge are part of the mandate to protect the area and are included in the action plans for monitoring the resources.
MPA IUCN somewhat strict zones:
0 %
MPA IUCN sustainable zones :
0 %
MPA threats:
marine debris; climate change;
Governance system spatial extent:
 
Horizontal coordination:
 

Environmental Commons

Name:
NWHI Lobster Fishery
details
Productivity:
Moderately Productive (2)
Lobsters are usually highly productive creatures, with high output of eggs per female, but it depends on the state of the prey-predator abundance, bank topography, and benthic habitat states of the region (Parrish and Polovina, 1994)
Commons aggregation:
Guild
The NWHI lobster fishery consisted (it was officially closed in 2011 to all commercial fishing) of the Spiny lobster (Panulirus marginatus) and Slipper lobster (Scyllarides squamosus).
Biotic:
Yes
Commons unit size:
Small (2)
Commons mobility:
Medium (2)
Spiny lobsters move between 18-90 m in depth, depending on age.
Commons spatial extent:
362061
This is the area of the NWHI protected area.
Environmental medium:
Oceanic
Oceanic
Commons heterogeneity:
Moderate (2)
Dispersed throughout area of the NWHI in varying densities due to sexual maturity, spawning seasons, and external climate factors.
Intra annual predictability:
Moderate (2)
Inter annual predictability:
Moderate (2)
The availability of the lobster species can be predicted with population dynamics models that have been conducted over a twenty-year period. There are some ecological gaps in knowledge.
Technical substitute:
No
Commons boundaries:
Clear boundaries (3)
spiny and slipper lobsters are habitat associated species, although they do occur at different depths. They are found in different locations and concentrations around the NWHI, in higher and lower concentrations, but generally the boundaries are clear as to where fishing was permitted and now not permitted.
Commons renewability:
Renewable (1)
Commons accessibility:
Somewhat accessible (2)
In general, lobster are fairly easy to catch, but the NWHI are extremely remote and the fishery is closed (and populations remain low). Traditional harvesting could be permitted with permits.
Commons indicator:
["Ecosystem health and/or biodiversity", "Status of species targeted by fisheries"]
Proxy of fisheries. However the fishery was closed in 2000.
Name:
NWHI Trophic Density
details
Productivity:
Moderately Productive (2)
Most fish species would be moderate to highly productive. However, some can be very slow growing taking years to mature and reproduce hence the evaluation here that the resource is moderately productive.
Commons spatial extent:
362601
area of NWHI
Environmental medium:
Oceanic
Oceanic
Commons heterogeneity:
Moderate (2)
Intra annual predictability:
Moderate (2)
Inter annual predictability:
Moderate (2)
Technical substitute:
No
There is no technical substitute or manmade technology that can take the place of the different trophic densities within the NWHI.
Commons boundaries:
Somewhat unclear boundaries (2)
Some species are habitat-associated species and tend to mirror patterns in habitat cover. However, the resource is mobile horizontally and vertically and often crosses administrative boundaries (e.g., zoning) so is considered to have somewhat unclear boundaries.
Commons renewability:
Renewable (1)
Some high trophic species are slow to reproduce
Commons accessibility:
Somewhat accessible (2)
By boat and plane only, with permission.
Name:
NWHI Green Turtle
details
Productivity:
Poorly productive (1)
Slow maturing, high infant mortality
Commons aggregation:
Population
Hawaiian sub population of Green Turtles (Central North Pacific population). More than 90% of the Hawaiian population of green turtles nests at French Frigate Shoals in the NWHI.
Biotic:
Yes
Commons unit size:
Medium (3)
Average weight of adult individual 68-190Kg
Commons mobility:
High (3)
Migratory species
Commons spatial extent:
362000
362000km2 is the area of NWHI
Environmental medium:
Oceanic
Oceanic
Commons heterogeneity:
Moderate (2)
Distributed in tropical and sub-tropical waters. Movements within the marine environment less well understood, but known to use a wide range of broadly separated localities and habitats during their lifetimes. But considered moderate as females return to same nesting beaches.
Intra annual predictability:
Moderate (2)
Availability varies according to season, but these patterns can be predicted. Also population sizes don't fluctuate too much in relation environmental factors.
Inter annual predictability:
Moderate (2)
Migratory but likely to return to particular nesting beaches every couple of years. Long-living. But vulnerable to rapid declines if threatened by human activity.
Technical substitute:
Not Applicable
Commons boundaries:
Somewhat unclear boundaries (2)
Known nesting and foraging grounds, but a migratory species
Commons renewability:
Renewable (1)
But slow to reproduce - low regeneration rates
Commons accessibility:
Very accessible (3)
Turtles are easy to catch - intentionally or as bycatch. They are predicable with their nesting season when they and their eggs are easy to harvest
Commons indicator:
["Status of highly migratory species"]

Component Interactions

Governance Interaction

NWHI Lobster interaction

2006-07-15 - ongoing
Coded: 2015-03-31

Governing Organization:
NWHI Monument Co-Trusteeship (Actor)
Primary:
NWHI Lobster Fishery (Environmental Common)
Governs:
NWHI Monument Act 2006 (Governance System)

Governance Interaction

NWHI Trophic Density interaction

Governing Organization:
NWHI Monument Co-Trusteeship (Actor)
Governs:
NWHI Monument Act 2006 (Governance System)
Primary:
NWHI Trophic Density (Environmental Common)
Other:
NWHI Researchers (Actor)

Governance Interaction

NWHI Green turtle interaction

2006-06-01 - ongoing
Coded: 2015-04-06

Primary:
NWHI Green Turtle (Environmental Common)
Governs:
NWHI Monument Act 2006 (Governance System)
Governing Organization:
NWHI Monument Co-Trusteeship (Actor)