Marine Conservation Biology - Hawaii

Conserving Marine Biodiversity in the World’s Most Remote Island Chain

Conserving Coral Reefs in Hawaii

Hawaii’s coral reefs are critical resources for the human population of the main Hawaiian islands. They protect the shoreline from storm waves, create surf, provide food and are critically important to the state’s tourist economy, which is valued at almost $1 billion annually. The reefs are subjected to land-based pollution, overfishing, recreational over-use and the introduction of alien species. In addition, like reefs elsewhere, they are subjected to bleaching and other coral disease. Many attempts to protect marine biodiversity use a space-based approach by providing special protection to areas of particular conservation concern. Such marine protected areas (MPAs) can provide significant to benefit to habitats, marine communities and, under some circumstances, fisheries outside their borders. It is often difficult to protect large areas with such provisions, however, and many MPAs are very small. In addition, areas close to urban areas may experience very heavy use by tourists. How big is enough? And how can we balance the non-consumptive use with protection in such areas?