President Bush has declared the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) a National Monument, making the pristine 140,000 square-mile area the largest Marine Protected Area in the entire world. Over the next 5 years, all extractive uses (e.g. current bottomfishing) will be phased out, and no such uses will be allowed in the future. This is even a stronger level of protection that would have been offered by the designation of a National Marine Sanctuary.