Paying people not to fish

"Some folks made a killing depleting the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Wait ‘til you see how much they’ll make not to fish there anymore."

So says the Honolulu Weekly, in a recent story.

I know some of the characters referred to in this story, the ones who made a pile of money to stop fishing. There is one thing that never changes in the story of fishing in Hawaii. A few people are doing really well, whether they're fishing or not.

The captains of industry get to be captains of fishery management in Hawaii. Jim Cook was the head of two fishing organizations, and also the head of the Fishery Management Council, the policy-making body that regulated his own fishing. When Jim Cook termed out of the management seat, his business partner Sean Martin took over. Neat. And most amazing of all, thanks to a special and unique legal exemption from conflict of interest law, Cook and Martin got paid a nice salary from the federal government for their time serving the public by managing themselves.

So I'm not surprised to see them getting a federal buyout. And they'll keep fishing anyway, just emphasizing a different fishery in a different place. It's not like they really had to quit fishing.

Sigh, I think I'm in the wrong line of work.

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Ocean vacuum cleaner saves corals from algae

If there's something strange
in your neighborhood
Who ya gonna call?
ALGAEBUSTERS

If there's something weird
and it don't look good
Who ya gonna call?
ALGAEBUSTERS

And in this case the algaebusters come equipped with a giant algae vac that sucks smothering algae mats off of coral reefs.

It's one of those sounds good ideas that might come from an 8 year old, but it actually works. It's being used in Hawaii to remove a nasty invasive algae called "gorilla ogo" from coral reefs. Compare before the super sucker vacuum hits the algae (lower picture) and after vacuuming the reef (upper picture).

There is an overfishing connection, algae-eating fish used to keep corals clean but overfishing has ended this free algae-busting service.

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Octosquid found off Hawaii

Is it a new species? The so-called octosquid is certainly unusual and might be new, according to local scientists.

Caught in the filter of a deep water intake pipe, the animal has 8 octopus-like tentacles, with a squid like body (see picture). Enough to stir the imagination.

Ocean fun never ends, so long as we do a decent job at keeping our oceans clean and healthy.

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Hawaiian ocean reserve success

Stunning success is rare for conservation, so I'm thrilled to point to the new Northwest Hawaiian Islands marine reserve!

Renowned environmentalist George Bush signed an order making the reserve off limits to activites that can harm ocean ecosystems. The limits are strict and sweeping, and they take effect immediately.

Wow.

I repeat, WOW!

Click here for full details on the islands, the ocean ecosystems, etc.

This is ocean conservation done right. I hope it's just the beginning in reversing the tide of ocean decline. This has taken a lot of work by a lot of people, over a period of many years, and it's great to see the deal close.

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hungry corals survive bleaching

Now that bleaching is as common on coral reefs as in Los Angeles hair salons, it's good to know some corals have coping skills.

Scientists bleached some Hawaiian corals and found them sneaking large meals of plankton soon after, staying healthy enough to survive and reproduce.

Coral bleaching happens when warm water causes corals to lose their normal food supply, the internal cultivated algae that give healthy corals their vibrant colors. Until now, bleached corals were thought to be helpless and doomed to starve without being fed by their helper algae.

I guess no more blond coral jokes.

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Humuhumunukunukuapuaa

This beautiful mouthful of a name belong's to Hawai'i's state fish, newly reinstated to this lofty status.

Humuhumu-nukunuku-a-pua‘a means "triggerfish with a pig-like short snout". Also known as wedge tail triggerfish. Whatever you call it, a fun sight on Hawai'i's shallow reefs.

...and speaking of unusual names, who knows what a "gooey duck" is? (a local favorite where I live, definitely not a bird, and it's gotta be high on anyone's list of unusual animals)

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