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The tiny Pacific Island nation of Palau is facing a dilemma. See, about a decade ago, this island of just 18,000 residents became a model of ocean conservation when it completely closed its waters to foreign fishing. But since then, Palau's economy has taken a dive, and locals are now divided over whether it's time to open up their piece of the ocean to commercial fishing and outsiders. To explain more, NPR's Emily Feng takes us to Palau.
EMILY FENG, BYLINE: I catch Lt. Cmdr. Mayce Ngirmeriin as he's readying for two weeks at sea on one of Palau's maritime patrol boats, designed to catch illegal fishing operations.
MAYCE NGIRMERIIN: Leave all the stress behind and then I go out at sea and feel free.
FENG: He helps enforce the Palau National Marine Sanctuary, enacted in 2015 that eventually closed off about 180,000 square miles from any fishing in Palau, which is near the U.S. territory of Guam. This size makes Palau's marine sanctuary one of the largest ever. The remaining 20% is only open to Palauan fishers, and they only sell their catch locally.
JEREMIAH NGIRATREGED: So you can see this came in at 9:14.
FENG: Jeremiah Ngiratreged, an officer with maritime security, shows me how they use boat transponder signals and satellites to track illegal fishing across Palau's vast oceans.
NGIRATREGED: Within a given year, we've stopped at least - actually, I would say we've stopped about five vessels.
FENG: And the sanctuary is now one of the most enduring legacies of Palau's former president, Tommy Remengesau Jr.
TOMMY REMENGESAU JR: Our culture and traditions truly believe in conservation.
FENG: Palau first banned shark fishing, and now mandates only reef-safe sunscreen. Remengesau went further. He invoked the ancient Palauan tribal concept of a bul to fence off foreign fishing entirely. That's a chiefs' decree to conserve natural resources by, for example, stopping fishing in an area until the fish stocks bounce back. Now he fears foreign companies will move in again for Palau's tuna.
REMENGESAU: It's going to again become a business interest of foreign commercial fishing fleets that will benefit from this.
FENG: Palau, like many island nations, used to collect license fees from big international fishing companies. But they used damaging practices that caught a lot of bycatch, and the fees they paid to Palau were paltry, just single percentage points of Palau's GDP. Almost all their profits were taken offshore because they shipped their catch out, and it never made it to Palau.
REMENGESAU: You ask half of - at least half of our people, and they would say, it's not just about money. It's also about the values of important things that we need. And don't just sell everything that is within your grasp.
FENG: But now Remengesau's legacy could be demolished. Palau's current president, Surangel Whipps Jr., at first proposed to do away with the sanctuary completely after Palau's tourism economy was hit by a COVID-induced slump. He told NPR he now supports shrinking the sanctuary from 80 to 50% of Palau's ocean.
PRESIDENT SURANGEL WHIPPS JR: Let's use science. Let's use data. Let's talk to the community. Let's calm down. Let's really evaluate what is the best practice and how do we optimize the use of these resources, but at the same time, use them sustainably.
FENG: Whipps says the 50% open to fishing would only be for Palauan fishing companies to make sure their 18,000 or so citizens in Palau actually profit this time. But foreign companies are still trying to muscle in. The island's foreign investments office says one Chinese fishing company has already registered in Palau. Here's Okada Techitong, the chairman of the main local fishing company.
OKADA TECHITONG: We have been approached by people from Japan, Korea recently, a couple guys from Macao, representing people from mainland China.
FENG: But he's skeptical. Before the sanctuary, when those companies were in Palau, he says Palauans only earned cents on the dollar for fish taken from their waters. He's open to shrinking the sanctuary only if Palau continues to ban outsiders.
TECHITONG: If the proposed law will allow us to fish without any competitors, it will be very good for us.
FENG: Advocates say shrinking the sanctuary is damaging to Palau's reputation as a leader in environmental conservation - a brand that's brought in way more money than foreign fishing in the form of grants. Here's Jennifer Koskelin-Gibbons, a Palauan who's worked on a number of the country's environmental initiatives.
JENNIFER KOSKELIN-GIBBONS: A lot of our former supporters in the NGO space are not really willing to help until it's clear what Palau's position is moving forward. So it's hard to have that brand equity sustained if you don't keep the pillars that support your brand.
FENG: On the flip side, there are environmental protection experts who say it is possible to have it both ways. They include Palau's agriculture and fisheries minister, Steven Victor, who says it is time for Palau to finally set up its own domestic fishing industry.
STEVEN VICTOR: It not only generate revenue, it can create job opportunities.
FENG: Victor's ministry has banned steel long lines, which can catch protected sharks, manta rays and turtles. He wants to require a full-time observer on board fishing operations. But most of all, he wants to open up the marine sanctuary, which only leaves 20% of the ocean for local fishing right now.
VICTOR: If you're simply asking the question, is 20% enough to feed Palau? Yes. But is 20% enough for fishing operations to be financially viable? No. Without the fishing companies, then you have a fish that's really of no economic value.
FENG: But the state's own assessment says a wholly local fishing fleet is not commercially viable. And the fishermen in question in Palau are ambivalent about shrinking the sanctuary.
JOE REKLAI: When it's rough, lot of fish.
FENG: I go out fishing with Joe Reklai. He's spent five decades or so sailing Palau's waters, and he noticed a big change when the foreign fishing fleets came.
REKLAI: And then start - fish disappear.
FENG: But since the sanctuary was put in place, he's felt a comeback in pelagic fish, like big tuna and massive marlin he now catches by the dozens each day.
REKLAI: Maybe three years - start recovering. But not really look - it's not really good like before, but at least we're catching the big fish.
FENG: Like his fellow fisherman in Palau, he is actually not too eager to earn more money if it means opening up the sanctuary to foreign fishers, what he calls selling out the island. Reklai admits with his mindset, he's not going to go very far.
REKLAI: Again, feel comfortable getting fish.
FENG: As in, he just wants to be comfortable, getting enough fish to feed Palau, if that means keeping the sanctuary as is and protecting their oceans. Emily Feng, NPR News, Koror, Palau. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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