Conservation International

Final Report: A Cooperative Agreement to Reduce Fishing Impacts and Effectively Conserve Coral Reefs in the Hawaiian Islands

2021

Conservational International; NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program

"NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) has prioritized the three most pressing global threats to coral reefs, including fishing impacts, climate change, and land-based sources of pollution. Fishing impacts - one of the major drivers of coral reef ecosystem decline - can lead to the depletion of key functional groups of reef species such as apex predators and herbivores. This can have cascading impacts on coral reef habitats and associated species and ecosystems. There is broad scientific consensus about the impacts of fishing on coral reef environments, and a growing community of conservation practitioners are developing and implementing a suite of strategies that involve governmental, private sector, non-profit, and resource user groups. Conservation International (CI) is pleased to present its final report on progress to date implementing A Cooperative Agreement to Reduce Fishing Impacts and Effectively Conserve Coral Reefs in the Hawaiian Islands. Our projects have focused on CRCP's Fishing Impacts priority, as outlined in NOAA CRCP's strategic guidance on program priorities for FY 2010-2015. The NGO cooperative agreement has addressed all 4 of CRCP's Fishing Impacts goals. The projects also aligned with the ten-year priority goals and objectives, described in the State of Hawai'i's Coral Reef Strategy: Priorities for Management in the Main Hawaiian Islands 2010-2020, developed by the State of Hawai'i and NOAA's CRCP program, and also addressed critical capacity gaps identified in the jurisdictional capacity assessment, developed by Sustainametrix. This report includes two task components: 1. Sustainable Management of Coral Reef Fisheries in South Kona on the Island of Hawai'i; 2. Providing Technical Assistance and Policy Guidance to Redesign Hawai'i's Fisheries Licensing System"

Hawaii, fishing impact, coral reef, fisheries licensing system, coral reef management, outreach

NOS

OCM

FY2016 CRCP Project ID 31103; Project Title: FY16/FY17/FY18/FY19 - Non-Governmental Organization Partnership; Principal Investigator: Craig Reid; Grant NA16NOS4820105.

NA16NOS4820105