Hawaiian Islands reef fish declining
Sharks, jacks, parrot fish and other colorful reef fish are quickly disappearing from coral reefs encircling the Hawaiian Islands, federal scientists reported Tuesday. The scientists blamed overfishing for the steep decline, which affects three-quarters of the species once commonly found on coral reefs, delighting snorkeling tourists and feeding subsistence fishermen in Hawaii's coastal communities. Times staff writer Kenneth R. Weiss reports:
Many of these fish, ecologists say, are key to maintaining healthy coral reefs because they keep reefs clean by grazing on algae that can quickly overgrow the stony corals and cause them to collapse. Alan Friedlander, a federal fisheries ecologist, said Hawaii still has relatively healthy reefs. "So everything hasn't collapsed yet," he said. "But we need to protect healthy reefs, because it's so much easier and safer to conserve now than it is to try to rebuild later."
The results of the study, the most comprehensive examination of Hawaiian reef fish, were released at the International Coral Reef Symposium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Nearly 3,000 scientists, managers and conservationists have congregated there to pore over the latest science and wrestle with ways to protect the world's coral reefs, which are in a state of steep decline.
Many prominent scientists believe overfishing represents one of the greatest challenges to maintaining and restoring healthy coral reefs.
--Alice Short
Photo: Rick Loomis/Los Angeles Times
