Status of Coral Reefs of the World 2000

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Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2000 Ongoing Progress • The National Ocean Service of NOAA started in mid 2000 to map all shallow (< 20 m) coral reef habitats of the MHI using a specially-outfitted aircraft and will spend the next year producing maps and analyses. These are critical for determining management strategies for these resources; • The USFWS, the State of Hawaii and the academic community are planning a workshop on alien species for resource managers in mid-2001; • DLNR is producing a training manual for community volunteer groups on monitoring Hawaii’s coral reefs; • The State, using money from NOAA, is studying the social and economic uses of coral reefs; • The City and County of Honolulu is constructing a major environmental education centre focused on coral reefs at the county park directly adjacent to the heavily visited Hanauma Bay MLCD; and • The Waikiki Aquarium and DLNR are attempting to restore damaged coral habitats smashed by large marine tourism vessel moorings in Kealakekua Bay MLCD on the island of Hawaii. NWHI There are concerns about the effectiveness of multiple agency jurisdiction over one of the last major reef ecosystems in the world that has not been heavily impacted by human activities. Recent Presidential initiatives may be successful in creating the collaboration necessary to protect these resources. A major challenge is patrolling and enforcing regulations over 1600km of the island chain to ensure compliance by fishing, research and ecotourism users. There is a need to create an automated Vessel Monitoring System (VMS), with all vessels carrying transmitters that automatically notify the ship and enforcement authorities of its location in relation to protected areas. Current management is fragmented among agencies with differing missions. Reliance on some agencies to inform others on the management of fisheries resources has had limited success and Federal court action has been required to force the NMFS to comply with fisheries management and endangered species laws. The proposed WPRFMC management plan aims to manage the coral reef ecosystems, yet does not include other fisheries management plans operating in these ecosystems in the proposed measures. Since many coral reef species are listed under existing management plans, the ecosystem approach is subordinate to single-species decision-making. Successful mechanisms like automated VMS, active zoning etc. have not yet been incorporated into proposed regulations. Ongoing Progress • The USFWS, DLNR, NMFS, NOS and the academic community will undertake a large-scale Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) of the coral reefs of the NWHI during September and October, 2000 with 3 teams on 2 research ships. They will assess benthic and fish coral reef resources, map habitat complexity and assess impacts to the ecosystem at all reefs along the 1600km of the NWHI. These results will be used to allow for better management of the coral reef resources; 236
Status of Coral Reefs in the Hawaiian Archipelago • DLNR is planning the establishment of a Fisheries Management Area (FMA) for all State waters in the NWHI to protect these unique resources. A State-managed FMA, overlapping and cooperating with the 2 USFWS managed National Wildlife Refuges, will provide better protection for the majority of coral-dominated NWHI coral reefs. CONCLUSIONS Coral reefs have always been important for the Hawaiian people, providing food and shoreline protection. The nearshore reefs once provided most of the animal protein and subsistence activities continue, along with commercial, and recreational exploitation and non-extractive activities. Despite this importance, coral reefs are now being degraded in parallel with continued population growth, urbanisation and development. Ocean outfalls, urban and recreational coastal development (hotels, golf courses, etc.) are focal points for coral reef degradation, and new technologies for extraction, offshore aquaculture, and bioprospecting raise concerns about the ability of management agencies to keep ahead of damage to coral reef resources. Short-term economic pressures that ignore the detrimental impacts of development will have severe consequences for Hawaiian coral reefs, which protect shorelines and support the growing marine tourism industry, which is a major component of the economy. Over-exploitation of most target food fish and invertebrates, and key species for the marine aquarium trade is evident in the MHI. The extent is certainly an underestimate as there is serious under-reporting of current levels of exploitation, further compounding problems for resource management. The Hawaiian Archipelago reefs constitute the vast majority of US reef area, and Hawaiian reefs contain a high proportion of different reef habitats and endemic species. But overexploitation, alien species introduction and marine ornamental collection threaten these resources more than in other US coral reef areas. Hawaii has a wide variety of MPAs which are partially effective in protecting some coral reef habitats, however very few of the reefs (0.3%) around the MHI are fully protected as ‘no-take MPAs’, where extraction is prohibited. Thus it is going to be extremely difficult to meet the target set by the US Coral Reef Task Force to establish a minimum of 20% of coral reef habitat as ‘no-take MPAs’ by 2010. Even the few existing MHI ‘no-take MPAs’ are exposed to heavy human use for recreation and marine tourism, potentially undermining their effectiveness as representing ‘natural’ coral reef ecosystems. The situation is more promising in the NWHI where anthropogenic pressures are minimal, mainly due to the isolation of these reefs from human populations; however, because corals grow at far slower rates in the NWHI than the MHI, any reef damage in the NWHI is of particular concern. While new partnerships have been formed by management agencies, academia, NGOs and user communities, there is a need for more financial and political support for the existing and proposed efforts at conserving the exceptionally wide variety of coral reef habitats and resources in the Hawaiian Archipelago. 237
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Status of Coral Reefs of the World:
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FOREWORD Over the past few years, I
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CONTENTS COUNTRIES, STATES AND TERR
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COUNTRIES, STATES AND TERRITORIES A
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Countries, States and Territories T
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CLIVE WILKINSON T
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Executive Summary CORAL BLEACHING I
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Executive Summary South Asia Most r
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Executive Summary parts of Fiji and
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Executive Summary management and mo
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Executive Summary tourism developme
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Executive Summary problem is loomin
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6. STATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN SOUTH A
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Status of Coral Reefs in South Asia
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8. STATUS OF CORAL REEFS OF EAST AN
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Status of Coral Reefs of East and N
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9. STATUS OF CORAL REEFS OF AUSTRAL
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Status of Coral Reefs of Australasi
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10. STATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN THE SO
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Status of Coral Reefs in the Southw
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11. STATUS OF SOUTHEAST AND CENTRAL
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Status of Southeast and Central Pac
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17. STATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN THE EA
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Status of Coral Reefs in the Easter
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18. STATUS OF CORAL REEFS IN SOUTHE
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Status of Coral Reefs in Southern T
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19. SPONSORING ORGANISATIONS, CORAL
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Sponsoring Organisations, Coral Ree
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LIST OF ACRONYMS AGRRA AIMS ASEAN B
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