Trump Administration Announces Agreement Between National Marine Sanctuaries in American Samoa and Palau

Palau President Remengesau, NOAA Deputy Administrator Gallaudet, and Interior Assistant Secretary Domenech Deliver Remarks at Virtual Ceremony

WASHINGTON – The Trump Administration, through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Republic of Palau’s International Coral Reef Center on marine protected areas, including the establishment of a Sister Sanctuary arrangement between Puipuiga lautele o le Gataifale o Amerika Samoa, the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa, and the Euotelel a Klingil a Debel Belau, the Palau National Marine Sanctuary. U.S. Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary, Insular and International Affairs, Douglas W. Domenech gave remarks and applauded the signing at a virtual event today announcing the new agreement.

“We celebrate this important collaboration between NOAA and the Palau International Coral Reef Center in the advancement of marine protected areas that are critical to island cultures and people’s livelihood,” said Assistant Secretary Domenech. “This agreement exemplifies the Trump Administration’s ongoing support for the Pacific Islands and further strengthens the relationship between the United States and Palau.”

“This agreement will support bold actions to strengthen the conservation, management, and stewardship of Marine Protected Areas across the Pacific Islands Region that intersect with many of NOAA’s critical mission areas, for the benefit of local communities, regional interests, and the nation,” said retired Navy Rear Adm. Tim Gallaudet, Ph.D., Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Deputy NOAA Administrator. “Our Indo-Pacific partnerships are a top priority for the Trump Administration, and this agreement honors our shared history with the Republic of Palau.”

The recently signed agreement establishes a sister site partnership between the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa administered by NOAA and the Palau National Marine Sanctuary, which is administered through Palau’s International Coral Reef Center. The agreement expands opportunities for regional collaboration in marine protection by connecting the U.S. territory of American Samoa in Polynesia, in the South Pacific, to the Republic of Palau, a Pacific Island nation in Micronesia, in the northwest Pacific. This new partnership is expected to include collaboration with the national marine sanctuaries in the State of Hawai’i.

In September 2019, Assistant Secretary Domenech and Deputy NOAA Administrator and Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet were in Palau where they co-chaired the 42^nd annual U.S. Coral Reef Task Force meeting. While in Palau, they also visited the Palau International Coral Reef Center and the Palau National Marine Sanctuary, which is when the idea first began to establish this partnership between the United States and Palau.

The National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa sanctuary comprises six protected areas, covering 13,581 square miles of nearshore coral reef and offshore open ocean waters across the Samoan Archipelago and is now the largest national marine sanctuary in the National Marine Sanctuary System. Originally, though, it was the smallest: in 1986, NOAA established the sanctuary to protect and preserve the 0.25 square miles of coral reef ecosystem within Fagatele Bay. In 2012, NOAA expanded the sanctuary to include Fagalua and Fogama`a (the next bay east of Fagatele) on Tutuila Island, as well as areas at Aunu`u, Ta`u, and Swains islands, and a marine protected area at Rose Atoll (which was named Muliāva as it is known by the Manu`a residents) including nearby Vailulu`u Seamount. For more about the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa, visit the website at https://americansamoa.noaa.gov/.

The Republic of Palau, one of three freely associated states in a special relationship with the United States under a Compact of Free Association, was the first country in the world to announce a shark sanctuary in 2009. In 2015, Palau President Tommy Remengesau, Jr. further extended protections by signing a law that designated 80 percent of Palau’s exclusive economic zone, approximately 193,000 square miles, to be a national marine sanctuary, which went into effect on January 1, 2020.

Palau is also part of the Micronesia Challenge wherein the leaders of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, and the U.S. territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands have committed to effectively conserve at least 30% of the near-shore marine resources and 20% of the terrestrial resources across Micronesia. Both American Samoa and Palau are members of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force where all U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands and stateside jurisdictions collaborate to protect coral reefs.

For more about this recently established partnership between the National Marine Sanctuaries of Palau and the United States, visit https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/dec20/tale-of-two-sanctuaries.html.

For more information about the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs, visit the website at www.doi.gov/oia or follow on Twitter at @ASIIADomenech. Also follow OIA on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/InsularAffairs or watch related content on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDHjK6yOPNkuv7H_7y6GG7VRbzrHSnrj6.

The Assistant Secretary, Insular and International Affairs and the Office of Insular Affairs carry out the Secretary of the Interior’s responsibilities for the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Additionally, the Office of Insular Affairs administers and oversees federal assistance under the Compacts of Free Association to the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.

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