A B R I E F G L I M P S E T H R O U G H T I M E

V I S I T

Mokupāpapa Discovery Center in Hilo, Hawai‘i to learn about the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

Waikīkī Aquarium in Honolulu to see some of the unique fishes and corals found in Papahānaumokuākea

Bishop Museum in Honolulu to view several ki‘i (carved stone images) from Mokumanamana

Maui Ocean Center in Māʻalaea to enjoy a Papahānaumokuākea exhibit with stunning imagery highlighting the unique features of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

Nantucket Whaling Museum in Massachusetts to explore artifacts from the 19th century whaleship Two Brothers, which wrecked on a reef in French Frigate Shoals

National Marine Sanctuary Foundation www.marinesanctuary.org

Friends of Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge www.friendsofhawaiianislands.org Friends of Midway Atoll www.friendsofmidway.org

Kure Atoll Conservancy kureatollconservancy.org

The name Papahānaumokuākea (pronounced Pa-pa-hah-now-mo-koo-ah-keh-ah) commemorates the union of two Hawaiian ancestral gods – Papahānaumoku (a mother figure personified by the earth) and Wākea (a father figure personified by the expansive sky), whose union resulted in the creation of the entire Hawaiian archipelago and the Native Hawaiian people. Taken apart, “Papa” (earth mother), “hānau” (birth), “moku” (island), and “ākea” (expansive) suggest a fertile woman giving birth to a wide stretch of islands beneath a benevolent sky. Taken as one long name, Papahānaumokuākea is a symbol of hope and regeneration for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as well as the main Hawaiian Islands.

W H Y I T ’ S S P E C I A L

T H E N A M E

www.papahanaumokuakea.gov

Located in the central North Pacific roughly 3,000 miles from the nearest continental land mass, Papahānaumokuākea is part of the remotest archipelago in the world. This isolation has led to the evolution of many unique plants and animals. A significant amount of species within the Monument are endemic to Hawai‘i, found nowhere else on Earth. This area is also rich in ancient cultural sites and historic shipwrecks and landmarks.

Native Hawaiian worldview acknowledges Papahānaumokuākea as a sacred area that represents the source of an everlasting continuum of creation from which life springs and to which spirits return after death. Cultural practitioners of today consider Papahānaumokuākea to be one of the last remaining ‘āina momona in Hawai‘i — a deep source of knowledge and spiritual inspiration, a place for people to strengthen lineal ties to their ancestors and gods, who are manifested in nature. The Hawaiian god Kanaloa, for example, is embodied in the vast expansive ocean and can take nearly every form of life within it. In recent years, Native Hawaiians, in their continuing journey to perpetuate their tradition and cultural practices, have voyaged to Papahānaumokuākea to honor their ancestors.

T H R E A T S

The most significant threats to Monument habitats and wildlife arise from human activities beyond its boundaries. Key threats include invasive alien species, marine debris, and impacts from human-accelerated global climate change such as coral bleaching, sea level rise, and ocean acidification.

The introduction of alien species — non-native organisms that humans brought to Hawaiʻi from other parts of the world — caused the loss of native terrestrial species and continue to threaten native wildlife.

Each year, over 50 tons of marine debris drift into Monument waters from elsewhere. Every kind of plastic material washes up on beaches and floats in the waters, oftentimes ingested by wildlife. Derelict fishing nets scour fragile corals and entangle marine life.

Coral bleaching due to climate change, has caused massive coral mortality, turning once-thriving reefs into algae-covered wastelands. The low-lying nesting habitats of threatened green turtles and seabirds and pupping habitats of endangered Hawaiian monk seals are in danger of disappearing due to rising sea levels.

Only increased awareness and behavior changes from individuals and businesses will bring relief to these stressors facing not only the Monument, but also the planet we all live on.

A H I S T O R Y O F P R O T E C T I O N

With the region considered an ʻāina akua (sacred realm) by Native Hawaiians for centuries, it gave a level of reverence akin to formal protections. However, over the last hundred years, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands have seen increasing protections from federal and state governments, beginning in 1903 when the U.S. Marines were sent to stop the slaughter of seabirds for feathers and eggs at Midway Atoll. Since then, the region has seen additional protections, including designation of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, Kure Atoll State Wildlife Sanctuary, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands State Marine Refuge, Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial. International protections include designation in 2008 as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area and inscription in 2010 as the nation’s first UNESCO mixed (natural and cultural) World Heritage site.

The entire area of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands was frequented by Native Hawaiian navigators and voyagers for centuries before the first Europeans arrived. These voyages were memorialized in many moʻolelo (traditional stories) passed down through oral tradition, and recorded within Hawaiian language newspapers of the 1800-1900s. Additional archaeological evidence points to the extensive use of two of the closest islands, Nihoa and Mokumanamana, for various cultural practices from the 1300s until recent times. The 1800s brought heightened international trade and overexploitation of resources. Guano miners destroyed island ecosystems and seabirds were targeted for their feathers and eggs. Whaling vessels were lost on poorly charted and treacherous reefs. In the early 1900s, Midway Atoll became a “stepping stone across the Pacific” for the Trans-Pacific Cable, which provided the critical link in worldwide cable communications. Later, Midway Atoll served as an early trans-Pacific stop for the Pan American clipper flights and serves today as an emergency runway for trans-Pacific flights. Midway Atoll, now Battle of Midway National Memorial, was also the setting of the most decisive battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II, turning the tide of the war in favor of the Allied forces.

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument is one of the largest fully protected conservation areas in the world. It encompasses 582,578 square miles (1,508,870 square kilometers) of the Pacific Ocean – an area nearly the size of the Gulf of Mexico!

The Monument, created expressly to protect an exceptional array of natural and cultural resources, was originally established on June 15, 2006 and expanded on August 26, 2016, both times under the authority of the Antiquities Act. It was inscribed as the nation’s first natural and cultural World Heritage Site in 2010.

The Monument is administered jointly by four co-trustees: the Department of Commerce through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and National Marine Fisheries Service Pacific Islands Regional Office; the Department of the Interior through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Pacific Region National Wildlife Refuge System and Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office; the State of Hawai‘i through the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Aquatic Resources and Division of Forestry and Wildlife; and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

These co-trustees together manage the Monument to protect ecosystems ranging from terrestrial island peaks to shallow reefs to the deep sea, as well as other cultural resources within the Monument.

A B O U T

NAT

ION

AL

OCE

ANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTR

ATION

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

PapahĀnaumokuĀkea Marine National Monument Where Nature and Culture are One

S U P P O R T

A U N E S C O W O R L D H E R I TA G E S I T E

‘ Ā I N A M O M O N A - A Place of Abundance

For information on permits for research, education, conservation and management, Native Hawaiian practice, or special ocean use within the Monument, go to

Artwork by Solomon Enos

Cover Photo by Mark Sullivan/NOAA

Photo by Greg McFall/NOAA

Photo by Ryan Tabata/NOAA

Photo by Brad Wong/OHA

Photo by Dan Clark/USFWS

30°N 25°N 20°N 15°N35°N15

0°W

155°

W16

0°W

170°

W16

5°W

175°

E17

5°W

180°

155°

W16

0°W

170°

W16

5°W

175°

E17

5°W

180°

30°N 25°N 20°N 15°N35°N

Trop

ic o

f Can

cer

International Date Line

Ke A

la P

oloh

iwa

a Kā

ne

Ni‘i

hauKa

ua‘i

O‘a

hu

Mol

oka‘

i

Lāna

‘iM

aui

Haw

ai‘i

Kaho

‘ola

we

Nih

oa

Man

awai

Hol

oika

uaua

Pear

l & H

erm

es A

toll

Kapo

uPa

pa‘ā

poho

Lisi

ansk

i Isl

and

Kam

ole

Kauō

Lays

an Is

land

Kam

okuo

kam

ohoa

li‘i

Ko‘a

nako

‘aM

aro

Reef

‘Ōnū

nui,

‘Ōnū

iki

Pūhā

honu

Gar

dner

Pin

nacl

es Lalo

Kāne

milo

ha‘i

Fren

ch F

riga

te S

hoal

s

Mok

uman

aman

aN

ecke

r Is

land

Hōl

anik

ūM

okup

āpap

aKu

re A

toll

Kuai

hela

niPi

hem

anu

Mid

way

Ato

ll

Mid

dle

Bank

Twin

Bank

s

St. R

ogat

ien

& B

rook

s Ba

nks

Raita

Ban

k

Nor

th H

ampt

onSe

amou

nts

Nev

a Sh

oal

Salm

on

Bank

Ladd

Seam

ount

Unn

amed

Seam

ount

Pion

eer

Bank

Hel

sley

Seam

ount

End

emic

San

ctu

ary

The

mon

umen

t is

hom

e to

man

y sp

ecie

s fo

und

now

here

els

e on

Ear

th a

nd is

a c

ritic

ally

impo

rtan

t ne

stin

g gr

ound

for

gree

n se

a tu

rtle

s an

d br

eedi

ng

grou

nd fo

r H

awai

ian

mon

k se

als.

A L

ivin

g H

awai

ian

Cu

ltu

reTr

aditi

onal

Haw

aiia

n ac

coun

ts d

escr

ibe

Papa

hāna

umok

uāke

a as

a s

acre

d ar

ea fr

om w

hich

lif

e fir

st e

mer

ged

and

to w

hich

spi

rits

ret

urn

afte

r de

ath.

Pre

dat

or-

Do

min

ated

Co

ral

Ree

fsTh

e m

onum

ent p

rote

cts

3.5

mill

ion

acre

s of

cor

al

reef

whe

re s

hark

s an

d la

rge

fish

like

ulua

(tre

vally

, pi

ctur

ed h

ere)

stil

l dom

inat

e.

New

Dis

cove

ries

The

maj

ority

of t

he s

eaflo

or in

the

Nor

thw

este

rn

Haw

aiia

n Is

land

s lie

s at

dep

ths

belo

w 1

0,00

0 fe

et

(3,0

00 m

eter

s). U

sing

adv

ance

d te

chno

logi

es li

ke

rem

otel

y op

erat

ed v

ehic

les,

res

earc

hers

are

di

scov

erin

g hi

gh-d

ensi

ty b

iolo

gica

l com

mun

ities

and

un

ique

spe

cies

at t

hese

dep

ths.

Trac

es o

f o

ur

Seaf

arin

g P

ast

Arch

ival

res

earc

h in

dica

tes

ther

e m

ay b

e as

man

y as

67

ship

wre

ck s

ites,

the

earl

iest

of w

hich

dat

es

back

to 1

818,

with

in m

onum

ent w

ater

s. T

here

are

al

so a

t lea

st 5

03 a

ircr

aft s

ites,

man

y lo

st d

urin

g th

e Ba

ttle

of M

idw

ay. T

hese

site

s re

pres

ent t

he le

gacy

of

our

nat

ion'

s m

ariti

me

heri

tage

in th

is r

egio

n,

prov

idin

g a

win

dow

thro

ugh

whi

ch w

e ca

n be

tter

un

ders

tand

our

sea

fari

ng p

ast.

The

mon

umen

t is

hom

e to

ove

r 14

mill

ion

seab

irds

re

pres

entin

g 23

spe

cies

. Thi

s in

clud

es th

e w

orld

's

larg

est c

olon

ies

of L

aysa

n an

d bl

ack-

foot

ed

alba

tros

s. P

ictu

red

abov

e is

the

wor

ld's

old

est

know

n bi

rd in

the

wild

– a

Lay

san

alba

tros

s na

med

W

isdo

m! B

ande

d in

195

6 w

hen

she

was

at l

east

five

ye

ars

old,

Wis

dom

may

hav

e ha

tche

d m

ore

than

36

chic

ks in

her

life

time.

Seab

ird

Refu

ge

Phot

o by

Gre

g M

cFal

l/NO

AA

Phot

o by

Mar

k Su

lliva

n/N

OAA

Phot

o by

Na‘

aleh

u An

thon

y

Phot

o by

Dan

Cla

rk/U

SFW

S

Phot

o by

NO

AA/O

ER

Phot

o by

Tan

e Ca

sser

ley/

NO

AA

Two

Brot

hers

19th

cen

tury

wha

ling

ship

wre

ck

Hir

yū

Sōryū Ak

agi

Kaga

USS

Yor

ktow

n

582,

578

squa

re m

iles,

onl

y si

x sq

uare

mile

s of

land

The

Haw

aiia

n Is

land

s ar

e dr

iftin

g to

the

nort

hwes

t at

3.4

inch

es p

er

year

Expa

nded

bou

ndar

y

Ori

gina

l bou

ndar

y an

d

Haw

aiia

n Le

xico

n Co

mm

itte

e na

mes

*(C

onte

mpo

rary

Haw

aiia

n na

mes

)

Com

mon

nam

es†

(Der

ived

from

mod

ern

naut

ical

cha

rts)

Kai‘a

ikaw

aha

gene

alog

y na

mes

*(A

ncie

nt H

awai

ian

nam

es)

*Nog

elm

eier

, P. (

1995

, Dec

embe

r). H

e m

au in

oa k

ahik

o pa

ha i

nalo

a h

oea

hou

mai

? [A

ncie

nt n

ames

that

hav

e di

sapp

eare

d an

d be

en r

ecov

ered

?]. K

a ‘Ā

ha‘i

‘Ōle

lo,

Puke

VIII

: III.

* Kim

ura,

L.L.

199

8. H

awai

ian

nam

es fo

r th

e N

orth

wes

tern

Haw

aiia

n Is

land

s. P

age

27 in

S.P

. Juv

ik a

nd J.

O.Ju

vik

(eds

.), A

tlas

of H

awai

‘i, 3

rd e

d. U

nive

rsity

of H

awai

‘i Pr

ess,

Hon

olul

u.

Kiki

loi,

Keku

ewa.

"Reb

irth

of a

n Ar

chip

elag

o: S

usta

inin

g a

Haw

aiia

n Cu

ltura

l Ide

ntify

fo

r Peo

ple

and

Hom

elan

d.” H

onol

ulu:

Kam

eham

eha

Scho

ols,

201

0. P

rint

.

† Rau

zon,

Mar

k J.

2001

. Isl

es o

f Ref

uge:

Wild

life

and

His

tory

of t

he N

orth

wes

tern

H

awai

ian

Isla

nds.

Uni

vers

ity o

f Haw

ai‘i

Pres

s, H

onol

ulu.

Refe

renc

es

Wor

ld H

erit

age

Site

Kilo

met

ers

Mile

s

0 10

0 20

0

0 10

0 20

0

Nor

thA

mer

ica

Japa

n

Aust

ralia

New

Ze

alan

d

Haw

aiia

n Is

land

sP

a c

i f i

c

Rapa

Nui

Map

Are

a

O c

e a

n

Equa

tor

ww

w.p

apah

anau

mok

uak

ea.g

ovA

Wor

ld H

erit

age

Site

PATRIM

ON

IO M

UN

DIAL

• WORLD HERITAG

E •

PA

TR

IMO

INE M

ONDIAL •