Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Monday 6 noveMber 2017

Scientists: Half of Hawaii’s coral reefs bleached in 2014-15

HONOLULU (AP) — Nearly As for Hawaii’s fish, Univer-
half of Hawaii’s coral reefs sity of Hawaii researchers
were bleached during compiled data for 15 years
heat waves in 2014 and and found a 90 percent
2015 and fisheries close decline in overall catch
to shore are declining, a from the last 100 years,
group of scientists told state which includes fish such as
lawmakers. ulua, moi and oio.
The scientists from the Na- “What we found was pretty
ture Conservancy briefed overwhelming,” Univer-
the lawmakers on Thursday sity of Hawaii scientist Alan
about what they called an Friedlander said. “
unprecedented situation About 40 percent of the
for Hawaii’s sea life. species will be classified as
National Oceanic and At- overfished. The correlations
mospheric Administration are more people, less fish.”
officials said 56 percent of Friedlander suggested ex-
the Big Island’s coral were panding marine reserves
bleached, along with 44 and said gear restrictions
percent along West Maui and size limits help, but bag
and 32 percent around limits and quotas don’t
Oahu. work. Those who fish ar-
The scientists said more se- gued against more regula-
vere and frequent bleach- tions. “If the fishermen don’t
ing is predicted. This aerial photo shows Midway Atoll, one of the farthest in the string of the Northwestern Hawaiian stand up and come down
Islands with long stretches of pristine atolls and coral reefs. Nearly half of the Hawaii’s coral reefs
“In the 2030s, 30 to 50 per- were bleached during heat waves in 2014 and 2015 and fisheries close to shore are declining, a here and fight for fisher-
cent of the years will have group of scientists told state lawmakers. man’s rights now, we’ll lose
major bleaching events in (Burl Burlingame, Honolulu Star-Bulletin via AP) more than we can possibly
Hawaii,” said Kuulei Rog- rise, coral expel the algae “bleached.” Eventually reefs degrade, ever imagine,” said Makani
ers of the Hawaii Institute of they rely on for food. This Coral can recover if the leaving fish without habi- Christensen of the Hunt-
Marine Biology. causes their skeletons to water cools. But they die if tats and coastlines less pro- ing, Farming and Fishing
When ocean temperatures lose their color and appear high temperatures persist. tected from storm surges. Association.q
Researchers in Mexico catch endangered vaquita porpoise

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Re- tive age. the Center for Biological protecting a handful of gillnet fishing in the area,
searchers in Mexico have The vaquita was taken to Diversity, told The Associ- animals won’t mean much mounted a campaign to
caught a female vaquita a protected floating pen in ated Press that the center without a massive new ef- confiscate nets, and tried
porpoise as part of an on- the hopes that it will breed applauded the success, fort to end illegal fishing to stop illegal fishing. The at-
going effort to enclose and and eventually be re-re- but added that it was “just and make these waters torney general’s office for
protect the critically en- leased into the wild. one small step toward sav- safe to swim in.” environmental protection
dangered species. In late October, research- ing the vaquita.” “To truly The effort to capture va- said Sunday that authori-
Mexico’s Environment Sec- ers captured another va- protect these incredible quitas began Oct. 12 and ties had seized four miles
retary Rafael Pacchiano quita but freed it because little porpoises, the Mexi- includes U.S. Navy-trained (6.4 kilometers) of nets, five
tweeted a photo of the va- it was too young to survive can government has to get dolphins which help find metric tons of shrimp, and
quita in a net sling late Sat- without its mother. deadly gillnets out of their the elusive species in the one shrimp boat as part of
urday, saying the marine Alejandro Olivera, the habitat,” Olivera wrote in a Gulf of California. enforcement efforts in the
mammal was of reproduc- Mexico representative for message. “Capturing and Mexico has moved to ban second half of October.q