Cooperative management

(a) NOAA has primary responsibility for the management of the sanctuary pursuant to the National Marine Sanctuaries Act. As the sanctuary includes State waters, NOAA will co-manage Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary with the State of Hawai'i.

(b) NOAA will also manage the sanctuary in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

(c) Nothing in these regulations or establishment of the national marine sanctuary shall diminish U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's authority to administer Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge under the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act, as amended, and other U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service authorities. Where Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary overlays Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, NOAA will implement the National Marine Sanctuaries Act to provide supplemental authority to protect resources.

(d) NOAA, in exercising its management authority under National Marine Sanctuaries Act Section 304(d), recognizes U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's management authority over Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge under the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act, as amended.