Status of Coral Reefs of the World 2000

Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2000
Jurisdictions pertinent to coral reefs are as follows:
American Samoa
Coral reefs in American Samoa have been resilient so far to a series of natural perturbations,
although a full recovery may take another decade. Although the message for managers is
that the reefs will recover if we ‘do no harm’, we are faced with several examples where
serious harm has been done, particularly over-fishing of reef resources, reduced water
quality in populated areas, and loss of turtle nesting beaches due to coastal construction.
Additionally, we are faced with climate change with uncertain consequences for local reefs.
Several areas which require further work for coral reef conservation are:
• Expand coral reef monitoring efforts and focus the objectives. Most monitoring
in American Samoa can be characterised as ‘ecological monitoring’ that tracks
changes in the ecosystem over time. These studies have provided valuable
insight, highlighting the dynamic nature of coral reef systems. From another
perspective, however, these studies were not designed to address questions
commonly faced by reef managers: Is over-fishing occurring? Is sediment from
poor land-use practices harming the reef? etc. Consequently, it is important at
the outset of any monitoring program to clearly identify (a) the intended users of
the monitoring program, and (b) the parameters that should be measured to
provide the information that they need. In addition to this management driven
approach, a monitoring program in American Samoa should be: (a) achievable
with local staff, although we recognise that off-island scientific expertise may be
needed to address some issues, (b) stable to rotations of technical staff who are
typically hired on 2-year contracts, (c) comparable to other programmes to the
degree possible, and (d) open to community input and management.
• Restart monitoring of coral reef fisheries. A workshop in American Samoa
identified over-fishing as the major problem hindering recovery of local reefs
(ASCRTF 1999), so it is essential that basic harvest data be collected to monitor
trends in total catch, catch-per-unit-effort, etc.
• Create a territorial network of ‘no-take’ MPAs. There are two issues here: existing
Marine Protected Areas are not yet adequately enforced; and ‘no-take’ MPAs are
needed in the main islands where over-fishing is occurring.
• Improve land-use practices that reduce water quality. Despite welcome
improvements in water quality in Pago Pago Harbour, there has not been a full
recovery of coral reefs, swimming is not safe, nor are fish safe to eat. A stepwise
recovery plan should be implemented to build on progress, and harbour
fish and sediments need to be tested for toxicity at regular intervals.
Improvements in land-use practices and waste disposal are needed to reduce
sedimentation and pollution impacts on coral reefs.
Northern Marianas
The reefs in the CNMI outside of the main population and development centres are in
relatively good condition, but more surveys and quantitative data are needed. Greater
effort has been made in the last few years to establish a long-term marine monitoring
program, with ongoing monitoring at a number of sites on Saipan, Tinian and Rota, and
214