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New NOAA Maps Show
Big Island Has Most Live Coral of Main Hawaiian Islands
Overview
map of main 8 Hawaiian Islands. Inset: Geographic area covered by each NOAA map
January 16, 2008
NOAA
New coral reef maps released by
NOAA reveal that the Big Island of Hawaii has the highest percentage of live
coral of the main Hawaiian islands. The finding supports studies indicating that
geologically young islands such as the Big Island generally have more live coral
cover than older islands.
“Live coral covers 57 percent,
or 29 square miles, of the waters surrounding the Big Island of Hawaii,” said
Timothy A. Battista, an oceanographer with NOAA’s Center for Coastal
Monitoring and Assessment. “That is the most live coral coverage of any of the
main Hawaiian islands.”
Example
of Molokai Island habitats
The maps are the result of the
most comprehensive assessment of the extent and types of shallow-water seafloor
habitats in Hawaii to date. In all, the NOAA mapping effort covered 506 square
miles of ocean habitat on Hawaii, Kahoolawe, Maui, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, Kauai,
Niihau and Kaula. The Hawaii survey was part of a larger effort by NOAA and
partners to map all U.S. shallow water coral reef ecosystems and associated
deeper reefs.
"The maps provide a valuable
new tool for scientists and marine resource managers working in the Hawaiian
Islands,” said Dan A. Polhemus with Hawaii’s Division of Aquatic Resources.
He added that they also offer “a solid foundation for structuring research
projects and conservation planning."
Coral reefs create habitat for
many fish and invertebrate species with commercial value, support tourism and
recreational industries, and shelter coastlines from storm disturbance. Hawaii’s
coral reefs contribute an estimated $360 million to the state’s economy each
year.
NOAA prepared the maps in
partnership with other federal and state environmental resource agencies, the
University of Hawaii, nonprofit organizations, and local technology firms. This
work was funded by NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program. The maps are
available online.
The National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is
dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the
prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information
service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship
of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth
Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal
partners, more than 70 countries and the European Commission to develop a global
monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts,
and protects.
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