Hawaii FEP - Western Pacific Fishery Council

of nutrition for higher vertebrates such as green sea turtles. A concise summary of the seagrassspecies found in the western tropical South Pacific is given by Coles and Kuo (1995). From thefisheries perspective, the fishes and other organisms harvested from the coral reef and associatedhabitats, such as mangroves, seagrass beds, shallow lagoons, bays, inlets and harbors, and thereef slope beyond the limit of coral reef growth, contribute to the total yield from coral reefassociatedfisheries.3.3.2.3 Mangrove ForestsMangroves are terrestrial shrubs and trees that are able to live in the salty environment of theintertidal zone. In their native habitat, their prop roots form important substrate on which sessileorganisms can grow, and they provide shelter for fishes. Mangroves are believed to also provideimportant nursery habitat for many juvenile reef fishes. The natural eastern limit of mangroves inthe Pacific is American Samoa. Apart from the usefulness of the wood for building, charcoal,and tannin, mangrove forests can stabilize areas where sedimentation is occurring and may beimportant as nursery grounds for peneaeid shrimps and some inshore fish species. They may alsoprovide a habitat for some commercially valuable crustaceans.The red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) was introduced into Hawaii in 1902 and has become thedominant plant within a number of large protected bays and coastlines on both Oahu andMolokai (Gulko 1998). Oriental Mangrove (Bruguiera gymnorrhiza), another introduction, isknown from Oahu and Molokai and rapidly spreading in some areas. Mangroves are invasivespecies in Hawaii where they have become established on all the major Hawaiian Islands.Chimner et al. (2006) found that mangroves are still expanding at a rapid rate on Oahu and havecolonized many different landforms including tidal flats, riverbanks, fishponds, canals,embayments, lagoons, and some reef areas that are protected from strong waves and currents.Mangroves change water quality, alter food chains, and displace vegetation in areas where nativewaterbirds breed (Enoki 2004). Numerous research and restoration projects are beingimplemented to monitor and quantify mangrove expansion, and control mangroves throughremoval and efforts to prevent re-establishment.3.3.2.4 Coral ReefsCoral reefs are carbonate rock structures at or near sea level that support viable populations ofscleractinian or reef-building corals. Apart from a few exceptions in the Pacific Ocean, coralreefs are confined to the warm tropical and subtropical waters lying between 30° N and 30° S.Coral reef ecosystems are some of the most diverse and complex ecosystems on Earth. Theircomplexity is manifest on all conceptual dimensions, including geological history, growth andstructure, biological adaptation, evolution and biogeography, community structure, organism andecosystem metabolism, physical regimes, and anthropogenic interactions (Hatcher et al. 1989).Coral reefs and reef-building organisms are confined to the shallow upper euphotic zone.Maximum reef growth and productivity occur between 5 and 15 meters (Hopley and Kinsey1988), and maximum diversity of reef species occurs at 10–30 meters (Huston 1985). Thirtymeters has been described as a critical depth below which rates of growth (accretion) of coral53