You'll never believe what Obama did in Hawaii!

'We depend on the ocean for food, livelihood, recreation, and the perpetuity of traditional native Hawaiian cultural practices.'

US President Barack Obama has just quadrupled the size of Papahānaumokuākea, Hawaii territory - but why?

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The island of Papahānaumokuākea, pronounced "Pa-pa-hah-nou-mo-koo-ah-keh-ah," is a Marine National Monument (PMNM).

It was established in June 2006 by former President George W. Bush and was the largest protected area in the world.

Since then, it has fallen to tenth place - until now.

President Obama has decided to explained the marine preserve four times its current size, from 139,800-miles to 582,578-square-miles, making it the world's largest marine preserve.

The expansion proposal was submitted by US Senator Brian Schatz and is designed to protect the over 7,000 marine species, a quarter of which are only found in the Hawaiian Archipelago.

According to BuzzFeed News, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration stated: "This historic action taken today by President Obama ensures that one of the planet's most diverse ecosystems will be preserved and protected for future generations.

"This will enhance our ability to fish over the next several generations. We need to set aside portions of our ocean to allow fish stocks to replenish themselves. The other thing it does is that it continues to put us on the map with respect to leading on climate solutions."

Though the protection of over 7,000 species sounds impressive, particularly since global extinction rates reveal up to 150 species are entirely killed off each day, many were not happy with the President's decision.

Former Hawaii Gov. George Ariyoshi, former Hawaii Gov. Ben Cayetano and former US Sen. Daniel Akaka, a Native Hawaiian, wrote a letter in July to oppose the expansion.

The letter read: "Hawaii is the only State in the union comprised of small islands surrounded by the ocean and remotely located thousands of miles from any other land mass. We depend on the ocean for food, livelihood, recreation, and the perpetuity of traditional native Hawaiian cultural practices."

Thirty other lawmakers, including Hawaii House Speaker Joe Souki, signed a letter to tell the President he doesn't have the authority to push the expansion and to ask him not to do so.

The expansion suddenly turns the Hawaiian fishing industry into a more expensive and competitive market, which may lead to a greater reliance on imported, frozen fish, despite the wealth of wildlife only a few miles away.

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WestPac) is a council responsible for managing offshore fisheries. WestPac explained the expansion would "negatively impact" Hawaii's largets fishery and would close off over sixty percent of commercial fishing territory.

Meanwhile, native Hawaiians are happy to keep the area "sacred."

One member of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Native Hawaiian Cultural Working Group, Sol Kaho'ohalahala, explained: "Now that we have been finding more new discoveries of plants, animals, and creatures of Papahānaumokuākea, then it helps us to understand that the idea of creation is still happening in this area of the ocean, therefore it would be wise to protect it as soon as possible."

Meanwhile, recreational fishing and Native Hawaiian cultural practices will still be allowed with permits. Only commercial fishing and ocean mining will come to a halt in the protected zone.

Schatz explained the President has the authority to declare a monument without public input, though public meetings and sessions with stakeholders were employed.

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