As someone who has been working as part of the coalition to preserve the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, I know that when President Bush established the nation's first marine national monument there, nothing was said about establishing an exclusive sport-fishing preserve for federal bureaucrats and government-approved visitors.

Bureaucrats in the Commerce Department have added a loophole in the proclamation that closes the monument to commercial and recreational fishermen, but creates another, entirely new form of fishing called "sustenance fishing."

Don't be fooled by the similar sound of "sustenance fishing" and "subsistence fishing." Subsistence fishing protects the rights of Native Hawaiians to fish for cultural and religious purposes, which is an appropriate traditional use. Only a few native groups visit these islands each year just as they have done for centuries. Under the monument proclamation, these activities will be allowed to continue.

Sustenance fishing is a separate category, and allows fishing for food by anyone with a permit to visit the monument. What's wrong with this? For starters, lets look at who are likely to get permits to enter the national monument. Past experience indicates that visitors will be government-funded researchers, government employees and their agents.

There are two federal agencies managing the monument — the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Department of the Interior, and the Sanctuary Program in the Department of Commerce. The Fish and Wildlife Service is not trying to get a special exemption, and it has always forbidden its employees, volunteers and visitors from doing any fishing or any other extractive activities. Fish and Wildlife has long recognized that any such uses in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are inappropriate and incompatible with its unique heritage. This is the same compelling logic that the federal government used in closing the monument to all commercial and recreational fishing. Extraction of fish in this exceptional area is not appropriate, and there is no reason a handful of government workers and politically connected individuals should be allowed to get around this policy.

The U.S. Commerce Department, on the other hand, wants to make an exception for itself and those it deems special. The way the regulations and policies are now written, the Commerce Department will be allowed to turn the sanctuary into a private fishing reserve for itself and its friends. Given the limited number of visitors, the fishing is likely to be excellent. If this loophole isn't closed, the monument could become one of the most exclusive recreational "clubs" in the world.

When asked about sustenance fishing, the federal officials give all kinds of excuses why they should have this privilege. They'll say it's just a minor amount of fishing, or that employees are on research cruises there for weeks at a time, and fresh fish adds variety to their diet.

If the government employees want to fish, they can do what everyone else does: fish outside the protected waters, put it in the refrigerator and eat it when they want.

The reasons given for why sustenance fishing should continue are nothing more than excuses. The National Park Service doesn't let its employees hunt elk or buffalo in Yellowstone National Park. There would be a national outcry if it did. The real reason the Commerce Department allows its employees to fish is because it thinks no one is watching.

When President Bush established this area as a no-take reserve, after years of work by thousands of environmental and cultural activists, and marine and bird scientists, the stated goal was to create a no-take zone of protection for this national marine monument, not a private fishing club for federal employees and their politically-connected buddies.

The public already has stated its objection to this loophole. The Commerce Department should admit its mistake and close this elitist loophole. If the rest of the federal government and world opinion support full protection of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, then so can employees at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Keiko Bonk, of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Network, wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.