Featured Story: Protecting Coral Reefs

EPA, Partners Discuss Coral Reef Protection at Honolulu Conferences

Coral reefs in Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Hawaii (Photo: Heinz Gert de Couet, Ph.D.)

In conjunction with EPA's Pacific Islands Environmental Conference in Honolulu on June 25-27, 2003, EPA is co-sponsoring two workshops focusing on coral reef issues for all U.S. Pacific Islands. These workshops address key threats to coral reefs identified by the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, a partnership of EPA and other federal agencies, states and U.S. territories. The two workshops are:

The Coral Reefs, Climate, and Coral Bleaching Workshop on June 18-20, 2003, is sponsored by EPA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Department of Interior.
The Pacific Regional Workshop on Coral Reefs and Land-Based Pollution on June 23-24, 2003, is sponsored by EPA and U.S. Department of Agriculture.

About Coral Reefs

Coral reefs provide habitat for a wide variety of fish, sea turtles, corals, and other invertebrate species, many of them found nowhere else. The reefs are among the world's most biologically diverse ecosystems. For more background information, go to EPA's Coral Reef Protection Web Page.
U.S. coral reefs cover about 6,500 square miles. Over 95% of U.S. reefs occur within the Pacific Ocean.
Coral structures can grow for thousands of years. They are an integral part of the human cultures of many Pacific islands, providing food, protecting the shoreline from waves and storms, and supporting industries including tourism, scuba diving, aquarium fish, and handicrafts.

Reefs Face Many Threats

Invasive, non-native seaweed smothers corals, fouls beaches (Photo: Jennifer E. Smith/Honolulu Advertiser)

Threats to coral reefs include pollution from agricultural runoff and sewage discharges, overfishing, recreational overuse and misuse, marine debris, invasive alien algae, dredging and shoreline modification; vessel groundings and anchoring; and global climate change. For more information, go to EPA's Coral Reef Protection Web Page (click on 'problems').
Coral reefs are sensitive indicators of water quality and ecosystem health. An estimated 20% of the world’s coral reefs has been destroyed, and another roughly 60% are threatened.
Most coral reefs occur in shallow water near island shores where human impacts are greatest.

EPA Awards $1.32 Million in Grants for Reef Protection Projects

EPA recently awarded $1.32 million in funding to six organizations working to protect Hawai'i's coral reefs. The funded projects cover a wide range of activities:

Sediment from soil erosion on islands can damage coral reefs offshore, as seen here (Photo: Bill Walsh, Hawaii Dept. of Land and Natural Resources)

The Hanalei Heritage River Program is receiving a $700,000 grant to reduce pollution and assess coral reefs' health at Hanalei, Kauai. The project will upgrade antiquated cesspools, control sediment discharges from farms, reduce erosion in forests, monitor water quality, and assess changes in the structure and recruitment of reef ecosystems.
The Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources will use its $103,145 grant to address alien seaweed, which can overgrow and kill coral. The DLNR's program will train volunteers to recognize alien species and effectively remove it from the reefs.
The Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology at the University of Hawai'i will use its $86,354 grant to assess, map and monitor coral reefs. The Institute will expand its coral monitoring to gauge the health of coral reefs near polluted waters.

EPA Regional Administrator Wayne Nastri (right) with recipients of EPA grants for coral reef protection projects.

The University of Hawaii at Hilo will use its $102,000 to assess how coral reef health may be affected by nutrient inputs from land. Researchers will study nutrients in coastal groundwater seeps and their effects on two coral reefs on the Island of Hawaii.
Maui County will use its $250,000 to develop innovative ways to remove invasive alien seaweed from the reefs and beaches of Kihei, and develop beneficial uses for the seaweed waste.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is receiving $40,000 in EPA funds to evaluate how federal programs address damage to coral reefs caused by coastal construction projects.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is receiving $40,000 from EPA to provide on-site technical assistance towards the development of a coral reef monitoring program in American Samoa on the impacts of polluted runoff.

Volunteers form a line to remove invasive, non-native seaweed from a coral reef (Photo: Jennifer E. Smith/Honolulu Advertiser)

Links for More Information

General Coral Reef Information

EPA's Coral Reef Protection Web Page

U.S. Coral Reef Task Force
federal government coral reef protection partners Web site

Hawaii

Hawaii Coral Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program

Hawai`i Coral Reef Bibliography

Hawaii Coral Reef Initiative Research Program

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Coastal Resources in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Division of Environmental Quality

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