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From
the Press Room - September 2002 |
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South Pacific Resort Ready for the
Adventurous |
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By Ryan Brandt,
Outside Online |
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September 18,
2002 - Almost 50 years after radioactive ash from a U.S.
atomic bomb test rained on the South Pacific island of
Rongelap, a four-mile-long stretch of palm trees and white
sand beach in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, estranged
natives are finally returning to their homeland and looking to
bring eager fishermen and divers with them. The Rongelap Atoll
Local Government (RALGOV) is now taking immediate reservations
for catch-and-release fly-, reef bottom, and deep sea fishing
packages. Spots for scuba diving trips can also be reserved,
but will not begin until January, 2003, when the first of an
estimated 300 Rongelapese celebrate their own homecoming.
Ten years ago, Bikini Atoll, located 100 miles to the east of
Rongelap, ventured into the tourism business, laying the
groundwork for fishing and diving tourism success in the
Marshall Islands. Bikini, where the American Bravo test bomb
that held Rongelap in its fallout path was detonated, is
renowned for a spectacular diving playground that includes
World War II shipwrecks sunk during the test. This same ironic
twist of destructive human intervention has created
exceptional adventure tourism potential on Rongelap, where the
reefs and sea life have thrived in a human-free environment
for almost half a century. According to the Rongelap Atoll
Local Government Council, Rongelap and Alinginae—a neighboring
atoll where some of the tours will operate—boast the largest
repository of giant clams in the Pacific, breeding grounds for
green and endangered hawksbill turtles, and a sea roiling with
marlin, grouper, mai mai, and a variety of tuna species.
"The people who get here first are really going to have an
adventure," says Dr. Kim Bridges, 61 a University of Hawaii
professor of botany. Bridges has spent significant time on
Rongelap as a consultant during the four-year-old resettlement
process, paid for by the $45-million Rongelap Resettlement
Fund that was appropriated by the U.S. congress in 1996.
"They're going to be the first people in the water other than
scientists. They're going to be seeing fish in the water that
have never seen human beings before."
"I trolled the ocean edge reefs of the atoll and the scenery
at low tide, the colors of the coral as we trolled close to
the reef edges, it cannot be described. And the amount and
size of the fish was beyond belief," adds John Fysh, a native
Australian and RALGOV's Resettlement Projects and Engineering
Manager.
For the Rongelapese, who have suffered through radiation
sickness, miscarriages, and thyroid tumors as they were carted
to and from their island before finally settling on nearby
Kwajalein Atoll in 1985, the choice to invite
adventure-seeking tourists to their home just as they are
returning themselves was made out a desire to create an
immediate and sustainable source of revenue.
"This tourism is very important because we need to make good
use of our atoll without spoiling it, and we need to preserve
it for future generations so they too can appreciate it,"
explains 32-year-old Rongelap Mayor, James Matayoshi. "Tourism
will provide dollars to do this and also jobs for the
community."
And the radiation levels? "They're just fine," says Bridges.
"The only problem would be if you eat fruits grown there, but
the Rongelap people have never eaten off the land, they eat
out of the ocean." The radiation on Rongelap has decayed to
the point that levels are now lower than in major cities such
as New York and Tokyo. Food not harvested locally from the
ocean arrives on the island via a monthly barge delivery and
weekly flights. Drinking water comes from a desalinization
plant.
Contact
info@rongelapexpeditions.com. The field
station—previously the bunkhouse for the construction
workers—serves as temporary tourist quarters. The only way
in or out is on the weekly, 16-seat Air Marshall Islands
puddle-jumper from Majuro, the capital of the Marshall
Islands.
"I would say on the scale of things, these accommodations are
quite primitive. There's a dining room adjacent, which is
really like a workers' cafeteria. But they're not going to
care about accommodations," says Bridges. "There's no question
about it-it's a trip of a lifetime."
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Published with
the permission of
Outside
Online |
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