Think Hawai`i and immediately “paradise” comes to mind. With its spectacular white sand beaches, turquoise waters, 400,000 acres of living reef, and over 1,200 species of marine plants and animals found nowhere else in the world, Hawai`i’s environment is truly unique and one of a kind.

Hawai`i’s environment is threatened everyday. Major threats to our coastal waters, beaches, coral reefs and marine life include polluted runoff and other types of water pollution. The dirt and soil damage our reefs and ruins water quality that is so critical to the habitat of many of our marine species.

SOME FACTS…

Whether or not you are an active ocean user (fisherman, snorkler, paddler) you benefit in so many ways from our ocean resources.

The economic value of Hawai`i’s coral reefs was recently estimated at $364 million a year. This value includes the amount of money tourists and others spend on snorkeling and scuba diving (not hotels), and added property value for near-reef sites and homes. It does not account for the potential value of coral reefs for products such as medicines (”The Coral Connection,” Star Bulletin, 2004).

Hawai`i is home to more than 50% of the coral reefs in the United States.

“The most significant threats to Hawai`i’s coral reefs are man-made: overfishing, land-based pollution, invasive algae and recreational overuse.” (”The Coral Connection,” Star Bulletin, 2004)

The Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi) is the second most endangered marine mammal in the United States. They are found only in Hawai`i.

Hawai`i is the only place in the United States where endangered humpback whales come to breed, calve and nurse their young.

WHAT MAKES HAWAI`I SO UNIQUE?

1,523-mile archipelago

25 million years in the making

Unique and diverse micro-environments

Highest percentages of endemic plants and animals on earth

Highest percentage of endangered species in the U.S.

Numerous watersheds – steep with permeable volcanic rock and soil

Highly erodible soils

“Short” rivers and streams = flashy flows

410,000 acres of living reef in the main Hawaiian islands

More than 5,000 known species of marine plants and animals

1,250 species of marine life found nowhere else in the world

25% of all marine life found here is endemic to Hawai`i