Ways you can help protect Hawai'i's coral reefs and their inhabitants

• Take only photos; leave only bubbles. Choose a snorkel- or dive-operator that does not allow divers to touch or break coral.
• Don't walk or stand on coral. This can kill the living polyps that build the reef structure.
• Tie up at mooring pins or anchor only in sand away from living reef. Anchors damage the reefs.
• Do not attempt to touch or break off pieces of coral. Taking live coral or rock with attached marine life is illegal in Hawai'i.
• Please don't feed the fish. This upsets the natural balance of the reef and encourages the proliferation of more aggressive species.
• Don't touch, pick up or hold reef inhabitants. Animals such as sea urchins, sea stars or sea cucumbers have delicate suction feet that can be torn or injured when they are removed from their habitats. Don't pull octopi from their habitats. Their primary defenses are remaining camouflaged, being able to withdraw far into the reef and releasing ink to create a smokescreen if detected, all of which are undermined when they are removed from the reef.
• Be an informed consumer when buying fish for your table or aquarium. Irresponsible collection of wild species for aquariums and overfishing threaten many of Hawai'i's reef fishes and invertebrates.
• Please don't pollute. In the main Hawaiian Islands, pollution from land finds its way into our oceans and reefs. Use fewer household chemicals, especially on your lawn or garden. Become involved in monitoring and preventing wastewater pollution.

Adapted from the brochure "Exploring Hawaii's Coral Reefs," a collaborative effort organized by the Pacific Whale Foundation on Maui.

Coral reef facts that may be news to you

• Coral reefs represent the most complex aquatic ecosystems on earth.
• There are about 47 known shallow-water, reef-building species of coral throughout the Hawaiian Islands, said Rick Grigg, professor of oceanography at the University of Hawai'i (deep-water corals, like black and gold corals, are not counted in this number because they don't build reefs, he said).
• Part of the definition of a reef-building coral is that it is made of zooxanthellae, or single-cell algae.
• Coral thrives in warm water and tends not to proliferate in places where the surface temperature of the ocean falls below 68 degrees Fahrenheit.