Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument Archives

Success of the 2021 Mission to Clean up Marine Debris

September 27, 2021 — Scientists and divers from NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center and local nonprofit Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project (PMDP) returned to Honolulu on September 22, 2021, from a 30-day mission. The team removed marine debris from the shallow reefs and shorelines of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. These remote islands and atolls are centered among Pacific currents that carry lost and abandoned fishing nets and gear from all over the Pacific Ocean. The debris entangles wildlife and damages corals. Even during this mission, the team disentangled a 5-year-old female Hawaiian monk seal from derelict fishing rope.

The project staff collect valuable data during these missions:

Assessing the abundance and distribution of marine debris across Papahānaumokuākea
Evaluating rates of marine debris accumulation
Measuring habitat damage and the negative impacts of marine debris on coral reefs
Gauging recovery of coral reefs after marine debris removal
Increasing public awareness of marine debris issues through communication and outreach

The team of 16 divers expected to remove more than 110,000 pounds of derelict fishing nets, plastics, and other marine debris. Over only 18 days, they collected even more—nearly 124,000 pounds of debris—from these islands, atolls, and reefs of the monument:

Kamokuokamohoaliʻi (Maro Reef)—nearly 43,000 pounds
Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll)—approximately 24,500 pounds
Manawai (Pearl and Hermes Atoll)—23,650 pounds
Hōlanikū (Kure Atoll)—nearly 16,000 pounds
Kapou (Lisianski Island)—nearly 11,500 pounds
Kamole (Laysan Island)—more than 5,000 pounds

Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries

Scientists to Evaluate Impacts of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument Expansion

September 16, 2021 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) suggested developing a working group to evaluate the impacts of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) expansion on Hawai‘i-based fisheries. Several recently published peer-review scientific papers show differing impacts and are unclear on this contentious issue.

In 2016, President Obama issued a proclamation to expand the existing monument from 50 to 200 nautical miles around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). Council and Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) staffs and the SSC would work jointly to examine the expansion’s potential local economic and other impacts, and determine whether the area is achieving its stated management objectives. The working group would share its results with the eight Regional Fishery Management Councils that are providing feedback on President Biden’s 30×30 area-based management initiative.

NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is in the initial stages of responding to the president’s request to initiate a new designation process for a NWHI sanctuary. As part of this process, the Council is afforded the opportunity to provide input on any potential fishing regulations. The National Marine Sanctuaries Act designation process requires compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other applicable laws. This was circumvented by the presidential proclamations to create the PMNM in 2006 and the expanded area in 2016, which effectively cut out the local community’s engagement and input on the matter.

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PIFSC presented a research plan to the SSC on investigating the impact of imports on the Hawai‘i fish market. Recently, the price of bigeye ahi exceeded $20 per pound at the market—several times more than what buyers usually pay. Prices then stayed around $11–12 per pound and cooled off to $7–8 per pound during the second week in August.

The Hawai‘i market had an extreme shortage of foreign-sourced pelagic fish products and an overall decreased supply in the local market—mainly from local Hawaiian fisheries. The supply shortage, coupled with the increase in tourism after COVID-19 restrictions were partially lifted, created a “perfect storm” for the consumer.

The SSC suggested that consumer choice and fish substitution be incorporated into PIFSC’s model to attempt to discern the true value difference between fish species. Fish originating from different locations outside of Hawai‘i are not equivalent in terms of quality or type of fish. PIFSC anticipates the final report will be available for review in August 2022.

The SSC meeting continues through tomorrow, Sept. 16, 2021. Instructions on connecting to the web conference, agenda and briefing documents are posted at www.wpcouncil.org/event/141st-scientific-and-statistical-committee-virtual-meeting.

HAWAII: Marine debris team joins the Papahanaumokuakea Marine Debris Project to remove fishing nets from coral reefs

August 30, 2021 — NOAA and the Papahanaumokuakea Marine Debris Project partner to remove derelict fishing nets from coral reefs across the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.

Scientists and divers from NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center are teaming up with divers from the Papahanaumokuakea Marine Debris Project for a 30-day mission to remove marine debris from the islands and atolls within the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.

The team departed Honolulu on the M/V Imua on Tuesday. We expect the ship to return with more than 110,000 pounds of derelict fishing gear and other marine debris at the end of September.

The 2021 marine debris removal mission will focus on surveying for and removing marine debris from coral reefs and coastal environments. They will be working on Kamole (Laysan Island), Kamokuokamohoali‘i (Maro Reef), Kapou (Lisianski Island), Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll), Holaniku (Kure Atoll), and Manawai (Pearl and Hermes Atoll).

Read the full story at KITV

Kui ‘ia ka lei moku e Kanaloa: The Ocean Unites Humanity to Clean Up Marine Debris

August 26, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Scientists and divers from NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center are teaming up with divers from the Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project. They are on a 30-day mission to remove marine debris from the islands and atolls within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. The team departed Honolulu on the M/V Imua on August 24, 2021. We expect the ship to return with more than 110,000 pounds of derelict fishing gear and other marine debris at the end of September. The team will focus on removing derelict fishing nets (ghost nets) and other entanglement hazards, which threaten green sea turtles and Hawaiian monk seals. They will be removed from coral reef environments shallower than 30 feet using breath-hold (free-dive) techniques.

Read the full release here

HAWAII: Researchers return from expedition to Papahanaumokuakea with a sense of hope

August 25, 2021 — Scientists that recently returned to Oahu from a 20-day research expedition to Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument now have some valuable images and data — and a new sense of hope.

The group of scientists headed out on a rare trip from Aug. 1 to 20 aboard the charter vessel Imua for the second half of a two-part summer research project led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. This trip followed another one in July.

It was the first time a team was able to return to the French Frigate Shoals, or Lalo, to observe what has happened since researchers in 2019 discovered the devastating impacts on reefs due to Hurricane Walaka the prior year.

That year, researchers were shocked to discover Rapture Reef, previously one of the most beautiful, diverse reefs in the isles, turned into a wasteland of coral rubble, with no signs of fish or life, by the Category 3 hurricane that passed through in October 2018.

What they found two years later were exciting, promising signs of nature’s resilience.

“Researchers haven’t been able to get back up there until now because of COVID restrictions and limited ship time,” said chief scientist Jason Leonard. “So they were quite amazed an area totally devastated was making a slow recovery. “

Read the full story at the Honolulu Star Advertiser

Native Hawaiian researchers take a groundbreaking field trip to Papahanaumokuakea

August 19, 2021 — Nine researchers and community members recently traveled to Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument for a 15-day expedition.

It was a groundbreaking field trip. All of them are Native Hawaiians.

“Together as a group of Native Hawaiians we went up there to really assess and to learn from the place through a Hawaiian perspective,” Haunani Kane said.

Kane is an assistant professor at Arizona State University’s Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science. She led the study.

“When you look at the representation of native people that get PhD’s in ocean and earth sciences, we aren’t represented by number. We’re represented by two letters, ‘NA,’ because there’s less than 20 of us in the world that’s pursuing this research,” she said.

The team documented conditions on the eastern side of the monument that was hit hard in 2018 by Hurricane Walaka, especially East island.

Kane said the perspective is very different when you see it in person as opposed to looking at satellite imagery.

“When you go out there and you are able to stand there on the island and see it from sea level, you see that the island still is not as tall as it was before, which is really important for sea-level rise, for high tide and things like that,” she said.

Read the full story at Hawaii News Now

HAWAII: Nuisance algae threatens native coral reefs at Papahanaumokuakea

August 17, 2021 — Native coral ecosystems in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument are being threatened by an invasive species that’s become a big problem in a short amount of time.

Researchers recently completed a 20-day expedition to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and were alarmed to see how the monument’s reefs are being impacted by a mysterious algae.

“It’s never been recorded anywhere before,” said Brian Hauk, Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research resource protection specialist. “There’s no record of it in scientific publications or journals or research books, any of that kind of stuff. Nobody knows what this stuff is.”

Little is known about the nuisance algae classified as “chondria tumulosa.”

Read the full story at Hawaii News Now

WesPac discusses catch limits

July 26, 2021 — The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council and managers of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (PMNM) agreed to work together to develop a draft management plan ahead of the formal sanctuary proposal process scheduled to start this fall.

In December 2020, President Trump signed a funding bill that would strengthen protections for the monument by designating it as a national marine sanctuary.

While the PMNM, and its subsequent expansion, was established via presidential proclamation, the sanctuary proposal process is a bottoms-up approach to management similar to the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and would give the council “a seat at the table” to propose regulations for the entire area.

“After the 2016 expansion allowing recreational and subsistence fishing, we engaged with fishermen and Native Hawaiian communities about fishing in the expanded area,” said council Executive Director Kitty Simonds. “We had sessions about customary exchange, but didn’t get much traction.”

This is allowed in the Marianas Trench and Rose Atoll Marine National Monuments.

Read the full story at Lahaina News

Back to the Field: NOAA Biologists Return to Papahānaumokuākea to Study and Protect Hawaiʻi Wildlife

July 16, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

A team of biologists from NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center is setting off for a field season in the remote islands of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. The team departed Honolulu on the M/V Kahana II July 10, and the ship will return August 6. However, most of the biologists will stay behind for a season of hard work collecting data on some of the iconic threatened and endangered species of Hawaiʻi—Hawaiian green sea turtles and Hawaiian monk seals.

The Work of NOAA Field Biologists in the Monument

The primary goal of this research cruise is to set up biological field camps at five sites within the monument:

Lalo (French Frigate Shoals)
Kamole (Laysan Island)
Kapou (Lisianski Island)
Manawai (Pearl and Hermes Reef)
Hōlanikū (Kure Atoll)

Setting up camp on these remote islands is a big undertaking—each camp needs tents and all of the food, fresh water, scientific equipment, and safety supplies that teams of three to seven biologists will need for their stay of over 2 months. The research cruise team will also conduct monk seal surveys at islands where they do not establish camps—Nihoa, Mokumanamana (Necker) and Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll).

Once camps are established, the real work begins. Hawaiian monk seal biologists at the five camps will survey the islands to get an accurate count of monk seals. They will also monitor moms and pups to track reproductive success and attach identification tags to seals’ flippers to help track individuals through their lives. At two of the sites (Lalo and Pearl and Hermes Reef), the team will use an underwater device (sound trap) to record monk seal vocalizations and understand the noises they hear.

Marine turtle biologists will join a team of two who have been at Lalo since early spring. The turtle team will count and tag male turtles and nesting female turtles, monitor nest success, and collect samples from hatchling turtles.

Read the full release here

Western Pacific Council, Marine Monument Managers Collaborate on Draft Management Plan

June 29, 2021 — A new agreement will improve recreational and subsistence access to a central Pacific marine monument, but commercial fisheries will still be shut out.

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council and managers of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument agreed last week to work together at a meeting in Honolulu. The two entities agreed to develop a draft management plan ahead of the formal sanctuary proposal process scheduled to start this fall. In December 2020, President Trump signed a funding bill that would strengthen protections for the monument by designating it as a national marine sanctuary, the Council said in a press release.

Read the full story at Seafood News