Schatz honored for ocean work WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, accepted the Peter Benchley Ocean Award for excellence in policy at a ceremony last week. The award recognized the senator’s work to expand the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument,
Schatz honored for ocean work
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, accepted the Peter Benchley Ocean Award for excellence in policy at a ceremony last week.
The award recognized the senator’s work to expand the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, which is the largest permanent conservation area in the world.
“In Hawaii, the ocean is a treasure,” Schatz said in his acceptance speech.
“It is the source of good things — the waves we ride, the food we eat, the respite we seek, the knowledge we crave. The creation and expansion of Papahanaumokuakea is a national acknowledgment that the ocean is something to be valued and protected.”
Schatz also addressed the U.S. Department of the Interior’s recent decision to review the status of the monument.
“I have no doubt that Papahanaumokuakea will endure,” Schatz said. “Because when we expanded the monument, we didn’t just do the right thing. We also did it in the right way.”
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