Reading over my morning blogs, Rick at MBSL&S reports news that is going to make Craig extremely cranky for the rest of weekend (and just plained pissed afterwards). In the backass wisdom that is the CNMI Legislature, they have adopted a resolution opposing the proposed Northern Islands Marine National Monument. It looks like the logo "You'll Love How Deep We Go" will not see daylight. The reasons for the blockage ranges from stupid to idiotic to just plane asinine. Rick as the full list and its utterly shocking how many of these are moot points.
I find it alarming that this comes about from some very backhanded tactics.
But I do find it curious that a Hawaii resident found himself at a Saipan public discussion of marine protected areas and managed to turn the conversation into a "loss of fishing rights" argument. Sounds suspiciously like the standard operating procedure of WESPAC to drop a provocateur into a public forum to foment fear and shift the issue to loss of indigenous rights.
The truly great part..
.Angelo has already pointed out on his blog that at present, fishing activity within the proposed monument is a non-issue. Within the proposed marine park, the closest island to Saipan is over 300 miles away.
But the number one top reason why all of this tops the bullshit scales is...
Fear #2: Loss of Mining Rights. Lawmakers expressed concern that the designation would prevent fishing and mining activities within the 115,000 square-mile area that is being eyed for the proposed monument. Such restriction, they said, may conflict with the commonwealth's bid in establishing its own fishery and mining industries. The Marianas Trough, as a back-arc basin, is indeed a likely candidate site for seafloor massive sulphide (SMS) deposit extraction
Rick believes this push comes from Nautilus nearby in PNG looking to take the Solowara site into full blown mineral extraction. Indeed, the back arc basin in this area would definitely be of mining interest. A marine monument would definitely not be in their financial interest.
Overall, I find this as another brilliant example of Step 1: We Take From the Ocean...Step 3: Profit. Let's forget the between bits, and pardon my droppage of the f-bomb, where we fuck the ocean up.
Nautilus is deeply and profoundly evil...
Closer to home, we're getting it done in California. It's tough, grinding work, but we're making progress. All is not glum. Check out the following news article for more info: http://www.mercurynews.com/valley/ci_9050737