Mahalo for supporting Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Enjoy this free story!
Here in our Pacific island home, it is easy for us to enjoy and celebrate the ocean as a source of inspiration, healing, recreation, livelihood and protection. June 8 is World Oceans Day — but for us, every day is Oceans Day, and for good reason.
Although we think of the ocean as constant, it is always changing as days, months, years and centuries unfold. Like the ocean, some of us constantly change and adapt — checking the conditions to see if today is a good day to dive, surf, sail or go holoholo (wander).
You may have heard that the ocean is dying, that corals are being overwhelmed by local pollution and bleaching, that fishes are being caught faster than they can reproduce. Learning that the health and abundance of the ocean is slipping away during our lifetime is disheartening. No one benefits from a dying ocean. The ocean is a bipartisan, interisland, multi-ethnic cause in which we must all invest if it is to thrive once more and we are to continue to rely on and enjoy its benefits. We can — and must — do better for ourselves, our children and our plant and animal neighbors.
Fortunately, the ocean is a smart investment because it is truly powerful, strong and resilient when we give it space and time.
Palmyra Atoll, 1,000 miles south of Hawaii, was heavily impacted by World War II construction, blasted and dredged, filled and polluted. In 2000, Palmyra was purchased by The Nature Conservancy and in 2001, the Palmyra National Wildlife Refuge was established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Palmyra became part of the Pacific Islands Marine National Monument in 2009 that protects 13 million acres of ocean surrounding Palmyra and Kingman Reef.
The return on investment has been huge in terms of protecting a near-pristine ecosystem and learning what makes nature so strong. Palmyra’s healthy shark, reef fish, pelagic fish, and seabird populations are all vital to the island’s ability to grow and thrive in a changing climate. Protection keeps the land-sea ecosystem intact, and it is working at Palmyra where wild nature abounds. While reefs across the Pacific bleached and died following hot ocean temperatures in 2015-16, 90% of Palmyra’s reefs fully recovered within two years. Wild nature is resilient, and the lessons we learn from our research at Palmyra will inform conservation and management efforts globally.
Our marine work in Hawaii is another example of successful conservation. Community efforts like those at Ha‘ena on Kauai and Ka‘upulehu on Hawaii island show us that by respecting the ocean and giving it time and space, abundance returns. In 2016, the Ka‘upulehu community established a 10-year rest area to replenish fisheries, blending traditional practices with the latest science to restore abundance to the reefs. TNC scientists have been conducting underwater surveys there since 2009, and have documented an impressive recovery of reef fish over the past five years.
Ocean conservation works, and we can do even more to keep our oceans healthy and vibrant — growing stronger corals, reducing known impacts like nutrient and sediment runoff, properly disposing of chemicals and debris. We have a long way to go, but we know what to do, thanks in part to lessons learned from our work at these islands in the vast Pacific.
Today, on World Oceans Day, let’s all take two breaths together as we think about the ocean that sustains us physically and spiritually, protects us, and provides for us. Let us be aware and grateful that about half of the oxygen in those breaths comes from the ocean. Together, we can all do our part to pay back the ocean for all it does for us. Join me to thank the ocean for feeding us, protecting us, showing us hope and inspiration, and for connecting us all across this vast Planet Ocean we call home.
80