Posted on: Monday, January 3, 2005

Coral reef damage continues

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Science Writer

When it comes to restoring coral reefs, one researcher uses a medical analogy: He says we spend too much time putting on bandages and not enough time figuring out how not to get wounded in the first place.

"Despite the tens of millions of dollars spent every year, the reefs haven't slowed their degradation. Corals are declining as fast as they ever were," said Charles Birkeland, an adjunct professor of zoology at the University of Hawai'i and a staffer with the federally funded Hawai'i Cooperative Fishery Research Unit.

When government agencies create marine reserves and develop programs to transplant corals into areas where they are dying or damaged, they are doing what Birkeland calls "feel-good things" and missing the critical message.

If researchers and decision-makers don't address why the reefs were in poor shape in the first place, then continually slapping on bandages isn't going to stop the problem, Birkeland said.

As an example, he said a key problem for reefs is nutrient-rich, sediment-thick runoff, which can smother reefs and promote the growth of algae that compete with corals. One result is that there are fewer corals and fewer fish.

You can restrict fishing and transplant corals, but those things address the result of the original problem, not the problem itself.

"The more you bandage things, the more you fall behind," he said.

The more effective way to react in this case is to find ways to reduce or eliminate the nutrient and sediment-filled runoff.

"If you do that, the reef will come back on its own," he said.

Another example is fisheries regulations. Many researchers agree that overfishing is a major problem in heavily populated areas. Birkeland said recent research confirms that fishing regulations that aim to protect fisheries may not always be doing the right thing.

It turns out that one big fish produces much healthier eggs, and produces them in vastly higher quantities, than several smaller fish of similar weight.

Most fishing regulations protect the small fish, but let you take the biggest. Want the fish to come back? Protect the biggest fish and they'll repopulate the reef, Birkeland said.

He is also a fan of local communities being in control of their local coastlines.

"Have control and jurisdiction at the level of the people who benefit from good management," he said.

If you have a question or concern about the Hawaiian environment, drop a note to Jan TenBruggencate at P.O. Box 524, Lihu'e, HI 96766, e-mail jant@honoluluadvertiser.com or call (808) 245-3074.