Marine Conservation Biology - Hawaii
Conserving Marine Biodiversity in the World’s Most Remote Island Chain
Archive for February, 2007
February 6, 2007 at 7:26 am · Filed under Notices and Updates
As you can see from the entries below, we had a great week on Oahu. I'd like to thank all the stakeholders who took time out from their busy schedules to share their perspectives on marine conservation issues with us. Direct access to such a wide diversity of important decision makers is what makes this class so special. 
Special thanks to Dave and Kerry for their wonderful hospitality, and for making everything work in Honolulu, and to Janna, Debbie and Patty for their support in Beaufort.
Finally, I'd like to acknowledge the students themselves - Amy, Andrew, Ellen, Emily, Jen, Justin, Kelly, Michael and Sarah - for their thoughtful blog entries and, more importantly, for their intellectual energy and good humo(u)r, which made this experience so fun and rewarding for all of us.
See you next year.
Aloha and mahalo,
Andy
February 5, 2007 at 3:28 pm · Filed under Marine Mammals and Ecotourism, Ship strikes and Whales
To finish off our amazing week in O'ahu, we had planned to go out on the water to watch humpback whales on Saturday. Unfortunately, when we arrived at Pier 800 to depart, we found out that problems with the boat had arisen that morning. We decided that it would be best to not go out and risk a Coast Guard rescue. Though we were all disappointed about this development, we weren’t about to let it ruin our last day.
To replace the boat excursion, we took a trip in our trusty van up the Waianae coast to see if we could see spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris). Though we did not see any dolphins, we saw that there were many other people out looking as well - boats of tourists hoping to swim with dolphins. During the day, spinners rest in sandy-bottomed bays, which makes them easy to access for boaters, kayakers, and swimmers. Though there are guidelines for how people should interact with these marine mammals, many people now recognize that a set of voluntary guidelines may not be enough. Currently, the National Marine Fishery Service is in the process of creating regulation to govern dolphin interactions. They have proposed doing partial time or area closures of dolphin resting habitats during peak rest hours.
While whale-watching at Makapu'u point, a young woman approached me and we spoke for a while about things to do in Honolulu. Among other things, she recommended that I take a certain dolphin tour where you can swim, snorkel, or snuba with dolphins. I asked her how close she was able to get, and she excitedly blurted that you could touch them. Feigning disbelief, I asked if the tour guides had said touching was safe, and she said that it was “totally fine” and that the dolphins were “friendly.” Who knows whether the tour operator was the one to blame for either not educating against (or blatantly encouraging) these sorts of interactions, or if over-zealous tourists are simply ignoring the rules, but the class felt that some sort of regulation seemed necessary to protect dolphins!
While looking for dolphins, we drove all the way up Farrington Highway to the end of the road at Kaena Point State Park, on the other side of a ridge of mountains from the North Shore where we had seen Monk Seals and Laysan albatrosses. This coast is less developed, especially further away from Honolulu. The climate is drier and sunnier than some other areas on the island, since it is on the leeward side of the mountains and receives less rain. The landscapes were quite striking, with steep mountains covered in vegetation.
This trip did not prove completely marine mammal-less, though – we saw several humpbacks on the horizon, breathing and diving. So, even without our boat trip, we were able to see them once more before heading home!
After this, we headed back toward Honolulu, since several of us were flying home that afternoon and evening. Even as far away as we were, we ran into a good deal of traffic heading into the city. Many people who cannot afford to live in Honolulu live further out in these areas and commute in to town. Also, many people who cannot afford housing at all live on the beaches along the coast in tents and vehicles.
Before we left on this trip, Andy had challenged the class to find the first native bird. Though birds are very plentiful in O'ahu, the most common ones are all exotic species – including Common Mynahs, Java Finches, and Zebra Doves. I sighted the first native at Diamond Head – a relatively inconspicuous bird called the Pacific Golden Plover (Pluvialis fulva). These birds breed in open nests on the ground in the arctic tundra of northern Asia and Alaska, and then migrate for the winter to southern Asia, Australasia, Hawai'i, and California. We saw these birds often throughout the trip, usually in mowed grassy areas. I saw this one just an hour or so before my flight out.
Finally, there were no SPAM sightings today, but I thought I would drop one final, valuable reference: the official website www.spam.com. We realize that you may have been inspired by our trip to taste “Hawai'ian Steak” for yourself, so here you can learn all about it. One of my favorite tidbits of info from the FAQ is that in a perfect situation, SPAM could last forever – “its like meat with a pause button!” You may even wish to join the official fan club while you are there!
Aloha,
Sarah
February 2, 2007 at 11:27 pm · Filed under Conserving Coral Reefs, Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, Spam
Friday morning began by meeting with Kerry Irish to discuss the design of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument. On June 15th, 2006, President Bush designated an area 1200 statute miles long by 100 nautical miles wide as a protected monument by power of the Antiquities Act of 1906. This area houses about 7,000 species, a quarter of which are endemic to Hawaii. There has never before been an aquatic monument established under this act, so Kerry is working to determine how exactly to manage this monument. The Antiquities Act's lack of defined guidelines has presented Kerry with 'A real opportunity to make a difference' during the design of this monument. Previously, the area had been listed as a sanctuary by President Clinton, but President Bush's move to make the area a monument offers much greater legal protection. Currently, the State of Hawaii, the Department of the Interior, and the Department of Commerce serve as co-trustees of this magnificent marine monument.
Despite the absolute protection now offered to this vast area of coral reefs and the marine life inhabiting it, there is much controversy surrounding the monument itself. Native Hawaiians, fishermen, the scientific community, lawyers, and the 
public all have differing and diverse opinions about the establishment and usefulness of this monument. This has caused much frustration in the community as progress has been made through the natural growing pains of the design process. It was a unique experience and absolutely fascinating to listen to Kerry talk as she walked us through the various issues that must be dealt with during the design process. Also, the amount of governmental red-tape that must be navigated to implement procedures for protection blew me away, and the task Kerry faces appears to be truly monumental.
After talking with Kerry, we hopped in our beloved econovan, and moved onto our next exotic locale, Hanauma Bay. Hanauma Bay is a remarkable example of marine conservation in action. As recently as 1988, an estimated 10,000 people visited the bay a day. This number is mind-boggling after seeing the small size of the beach and bay. Luckily, restrictive measures were employed during the 1990's, and now only around 3,000 people are allowed daily. Just imagine 10,000 people on this beach, and also look at the stream of people entering the bay as viewed from the reef:
Upon entering the park, we were required to listen to a brief orientation followed by an educational video. This orientation is designed to educate visitors to the delicate nature of this amazing reef ecosystem, teaching tourists safe and environmentally friendly snorkeling practices. After entering the beach, we immediately witnessed many individuals standing on the reef, an action that was specifically deemed as harmful during the orientation. There wasn't much we could do, so we found a nice spot to settle, and geared-up to go for a snorkel.
Now, Emily was excited to go on another sea turtle hunt, but I think I was equally excited to try out my new underwater casing for my digital camera. Amy, Emily and myself buddied up and headed in. After about 5 minutes we spotted our first Honu (green sea turtle).
Emily was PSYCHED, but like a good ecotourist, she withheld the urge to dive down and hug the turtles. As we continued our snorkel, we saw a variety of reef life, here are some pictures of just a few of the fish we saw:
Unfortunately, our Hanauma Bay experience had to come to an end, but I think it is safe to say that everyone enjoyed a wonderful day of snorkeling which just so happened to occur on the most beautiful day we experienced on our trip. To end a great day, Dave Johnston and Kerry Irish had us over for a dinner of Ahi, Opa, Mahi-Mahi, and veggie burgers, a fabulous night to help wind down a remarkable trip. Sadly, no Spam was served as Costco only sold six-packs.
-Andrew
February 2, 2007 at 5:21 pm · Filed under Protected Species and Longlines, Notices and Updates, Native Hawaiian Perspectives, Spam
Yesterday morning we saw fishery management in action. Before we had the fun of seeing breaching humpback whales, we were regaled to the sights, sounds, and tastes of fishery management. WesPac (The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council) was holding a Marine Mammal Advisory Committee 
meeting. It was here where we met again some familiar friendly faces from the week and listened to the issues regarding the interactions between false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) and pelagic longline fisheries.
The meeting didn't begin until the usual informal re-introductions were made. At the same time, all the participants found themselves muffins and coffee. The coffee seemed to be Kona coffee and in keeping with Hawaii standards was quite good. Unfortunately, Hawaiian steak (aka SPAM) was not present. I, like Justin before me, recognize the validity of SPAM and was a bit disappointed by the absence of rice and SPAM.
The first topic on the docket was to review the recommendations made from their previous meeting in May. The second was a short summary by Chris Yates regarding the Pacific Scientific Review Group (SRG). Next, Lisa Van Atta discussed some of the various mitigation measures. Our very own Andy Read then talked about the situation in the Atlantic between pilot whales and pelagic longline fisheries. Lastly before lunch, Dave Johnston discussed some findings based on an experimental longline vessel research trip.
The major realization from the Committee meeting was the efficiency of the moderator, Paul Dalzell, and the degree of questions asked by the Committee. At the end of each presentation, the moderator quickly maneuvered with alacrity between the many questioners.
The issue with false killer whales are that they are smart animals who have figured out that free lunches are obtainable from following longline vessels and either eating the bait or the fish (that ate the bait) off the hooks. This behavior (depredation of hooks) impacts both the whales and the fishery. The whales potentially can be mortally hooked or entangled by line and fishers loose (among other things) the money associated with the lost catch.
It was great to see some of the people we had met earlier in the week. Of the people we heard and saw again, these are a few of my observations from the meeting. Sean Martin identified the ways in which working with fishers could yield possible solutions to the issue. Lisa Van Atta and Andy discussed some solutions and ideas from the Atlantic fisheries. Lastly, Dave spoke about some of the possibilities of acoustics research and the limiting of bait discards. Although we did not stay for the afternoon portion of the Committee meeting, it was clear that not enough definitive answers were available and some more on-the-boat research and experimentation will be needed next. In the meantime, the Committee and WesPac are on a trajectory to find solutions to the false killer whale issues.
After the committee broke for lunch, we met for half an hour with Kitty Simonds. Ms. Simonds is the executive director of WesPac. Given the importance of WesPac on marine issues and conservation in the Pacific it was great to meet up with her. She was very friendly and was very enthusiastic about the shift to ecosystem-based management of ocean ecosystems. Further, she spoke about the positives of working with native Hawaiians and the benefits of an Ahupua'a management system of marine resources. (See Jen's post on the 29th to revisit our meeting with the DaMates.) Although WesPac has in the past been a lightning rod for criticism, they are clearly attempting to do proactive work on many issues.
The next stop for us was Hawaiian plate lunches, quality coffee, and (for some) SPAM… ~Michael
February 2, 2007 at 2:17 am · Filed under Ship strikes and Whales, Protected Species and Longlines, Spam
While there were no sightings of Justin eating SPAM today, we had an exciting afternoon filled with sightings of a different sort. After lunch we piled into our favorite van and headed to the Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail with hopes of seeing humpback whales. Not only did we 
want to see whales, but we had our hopes set on seeing a whale breach (jump out of the water). Hiking up the winding trail, we were treated to gorgeous views of the steep mountains plunging into the vast Pacific Ocean.
Just a few minutes into our hike, two whales revealed themselves with their white puffs of breath that hovered momentarily above the calm water far below. We watched them for several minutes waiting to see if they would breach, but they didn't. So we continued hiking up the trail, periodically scanning the horizon for signs of whales. The trail ended at a fenced concrete platform perched on top of the mountain that gave us a spectacular, nearly 360-degree view of the neighboring mountains, bays, and islands. We also had a great view of the large rain cloud that was headed right toward us.
Ignoring the looming cloud, we spotted 3 or 4 whales nearby, including a mother and calf pair. We followed their movements carefully, hoping they would give us the performance we came to see. The rain came, but we stood undeterred on our perch and let the rain soak through our not-so-waterproof jackets. 
Finally, the rain let up, and we saw one of the whales coming to the surface. But, instead of the white puff of its breath, the whale launched its bulky body almost entirely out of the water. It was an incredible and very exciting sight to see. I've wanted to see a whale breach for a long time, and I was really hoping I'd have the chance to see it on this trip. I think we were all very excited to see such an amazing event. The excitement didn't stop there; all of the whales we had been watching began to breach, some of them multiple times. Later, after we'd hiked back down to the van and driven to a nearby beach to swim, we watched from the beach as the whales gave us another spectacular show.
We were all so excited about seeing a whale breach that we were moved to write a haiku about it. Enjoy!
The whale said to me
Hello world, here's my body.
Mahalo, I said
-Kelly
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