Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 17, Number 3, 1 March 2000 — The oeean surrounding us [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The oeean surrounding us

0HA'S LAND COMMITTEE members are becoming familiar with the resources in the surrounding waters. They were a presence at the Thirtieth Underwater Mining Institute (UMI) at the East-West Center Jan. 23-26. The UMI was started in 1970 at the University of Wisconsin with the advent of manganese mining. The 30th meeting was attended by about 60 individuals from various disciplines and included representatives ffom industry as well as education. In addition to manganese, several other scarce minerals attractive to industry are found on the oeean floor, including gold and diamonds. Of great interest was the presentation on the micro-life existing in the oeean and surviving under extreme environmental conditions and the existence of massive hydrogen sulfide deposits in the northern Fiji basin. The culture, or micro farming, of organisms existing under extreme environmental conditions is being anticipated. This means the rights to such farmed organisms, as a form of intellectual property, will require resolution in the future. The possibilities are exciting. Little is known about life in the deep

oeean and the minerals associated with living organisms. The subject of "black smoke" or "smokers" was introduced and their value or residues as emissions was also raised. It was explained that the merging of the interests of industry and education would offer the best possibility for success. What organisms exist around "black smokers" is not well known, although it is thought that material needed by society ean be extracted from them and be marketed for public

benefit. tarlier manganese mining efforts were overblown, and venture capital has been scared off. Wall Street is now wary, but to realize any benefits a capital market is needed for more in-depth exploration. Some one-half of the seabed's resources are controlled by small Paeilīe nations and the other half by the eombined United Nations governing authorities. This brings up the issue of reasonable fees to access these small nation resources. Of interest here is the fact that Hawai'i has the second largest Exclusive Eeonomie Zone (EEZ) claimed and managed under United States jurisdiction. A highlight of the UMI conference was the delivery by host Alexander Malahoff on thermal and sulfide colonies that contain layers of bacteria whieh is consumed by limpets, or 'opihi, and shrimp in the early food ehain. Malahoff also mentioned MarBEC, a company formed to build the world's biggest photo bi-reactor for the purpose of growing micro-algae that lives with sulfides and the creation of a high-tech industry. The theory is that the DNA of

such organisms, existing under extreme conditions, may well be extracted for human uses and benefit and perhaps lead to a better understanding of the origin of life on earth. In 1972, Carl Woese of the University of Illinois made the landmark discovery that all living organisms are divided into three kingdoms: Plants and animals; bacteria; and archaea, a single-celled microorganism that lives in extreme environments. Woese theorizes that archaea are the most primitive or ancient living organisms on the planet. In addition, one of the more valuable mineral areas is adjacent to Hawai'i and extends from just off the coast of Baja, Califomia, or Clarion Island, all the way west to Fanning Island due south of the big island of Hawai'i, an area 1,000 miles wide by 3,000 miles long whieh has been of interest to explorers from China and Russia, among other nations. The OHA Land Committee is appreciative of the opportunity to be included in the UMI proceedings and the assistance from the UMI's Hawai'i-based staff. Mahalo to Karynne Morgan et al. We look forward to other conferences in the future. ■

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