Widespread Coral Death, Fish Loss Off Oahu, Maui - Worst Damage In Developed Areas

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While the reefs around the main Hawaiian islands still are considered relatively healthy by some scientists, thanks mainly to the state's geographic isolation, conditions have declined substantially in recent decades. The degradation has been so dramatic in some spots off heavily developed sections of O'ahu and Maui that much of the coral has died and the fish stock is largely wiped out.

And scientists are predicting a continued, accelerating decline, mirroring what's happening globally, if major steps aren't taken to reverse the trend. "The amount of damage already done on our coastal resources has been stunning," said Bob Richmond, a University of Hawai'i marine biologist.

Scientists blame mostly human behavior, stretching back decades, when scant attention was paid to protecting the environment and less was known about the harms being done. Years of overfishing, pollution, sediment runoff, the spread of invasive algae, recreational overuse and other people-related activities have taken a heavy toll on Hawai'i's reefs, though some scientists believe the impact has been overstated.

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n one ongoing study of coral cover around the main Hawaiian islands, 19 of 27 sites that have been monitored for at least 10 years have experienced coral decreases, some exceeding 75 percent. At two sites in Maui's Honolua Bay, for instance, coral cover since 1974 has plunged nearly 80 percent. In a 2005 article in the journal Science, a group of marine scientists, led by University of Queensland professor John Pandolfi, concluded that the reefs around the main islands are roughly 60 percent on their way to ecologic extinction and are more degraded than those in the Red Sea, Belize, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands.

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http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090426/NEWS01/904260390/1001

[pleah]

1. K&R

:(

[msongs]

2. Step One: stop eating oceanic fish nt