Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Network
NETWORK UPDATE
Hawai`I Woman Receives National Honor
Linda Paul named "Volunteer of the Year" by National Marine Sanctuary FoundationHonolulu: JUNE 23, 2006
by Keiko Bonk, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Communications Coordinator
Linda Paul, Volunteer of the Year
with Rep. Ed Case
Linda Paul, Hawai`i Audubon Society Executive Director for Aquatics Research, was honored as the Volunteer of the Year during the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation's Annual Leadership Dinner on June 13, 2006 in Washington, DC. Ms. Paul was recognized for her work in protecting the fragile oceans ecosystem in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands (NWHI).
For many years Paul has dedicated her time and expertise to protect the NWHI and for the past five years she has served on the NWHI Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve Advisory Council (RAC) where she currently serves as the Vice-Chair. By coincidence, Ms. Paul received the award two-days prior to President George Bush establishing the NWHI Marine National Monument. Ms. Paul and the RAC developed many of the recommendations for protection of the NWHI included in the President's proclamation. For example, the RAC advocated for phasing out commercial fishing and other commercial activities in the NWHI.
Paul also initiated the application process to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Conservation Organization (UNESCO), supporting the nomination of the NWHI as a World Heritage Site for its distinct cultural and natural resources. Linda Paul joins the many volunteers and leaders in America's history who have worked for over a century to create the largest protected marine area on earth, the "Kupuna Islands" of the NWHI Marine National Monument.
"I am truly honored to receive this award," said Ms. Paul. "Protecting the unique biodiversity of the NWHI is important to Hawaiši and to the health of our planet. By making the NWHI a national marine monument, we can protect fish populations and help to preserve the place I love for future generations. However, it is essential to remember that the NWHI are too fragile to withstand much human visitation. Therefore, the policy should be to 'bring the place to the people instead of the people to the place.'"
Paul worked with fellow scientists, fishermen and Hawaiian leaders on the RAC. William Aila, Hawaiian leader, cultural practitioner and fisherman served with Linda Paul on the RAC and said, "It should come as no surprise that Linda Paul was recognized as a volunteer of the year. Linda Paul has worked for over 30 years to protect and preserve our oceans for all humanity."
Dan Basta, Director of the National Marine Sanctuary Program said, "Linda's tireless efforts, not just in Hawai`i, but worldwide, to advocate on behalf of the waters surrounding the NWHI earns her more than this award. Ms. Paul has also earned our profound admiration and undying gratitude."
Linda Paul's passion for protecting the NWHI began when she was a graduate student studying the behavior of the endemic Hawaiian spiny lobster. She journeyed to the NWHI to research the declining lobster population and her research helped to eventually shut down the rapacious lobster harvesting which had led to a virtual collapse of the population. The simultaneous decline of the now-endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal population has been attributed to this tragic and avoidable collapse.
In the 1990's Ms. Paul was a founding member of the Pacific Fisheries Coalition, a collaboration of groups in Hawaii concerned with ocean health. Ms. Paul serves on the Board of Advisors of the Marine Fish Conservation Network, a Washington DC-based national coalition of 175 groups dedicated to conserving marine fish and promoting long term ocean health.
The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation is the private, non-profit partner to the federally managed National Marine Sanctuary Program. It was created to inspire all people to preserve, protect and promote our nationwide network of marine sanctuaries. The 14 sites within the national marine sanctuary system protect oceans and great lakes from the Florida Keys to the Hawaiian Islands and from Lake Huron to the Gulf of Mexico.
For more information please contact Keiko Bonk at Hawaii Audubon Society, 548-3474 or nwhibonk@earthlink.net.