Stamoulis & Friedlander (2012)
A seascape approach to investigating fish spillover across a marine protected area boundary in Hawai‘i
Click here for the full article (PDF)
Tide Pool Research Project – Anne Rosinki, M.S. (2012)
Creating Comprehensive Protected Areas: The Ecology of the Pūpūkea Tide Pools and their Value to the Pūpūkea Marine Life Conservation District
Click here to see the presentation (PDF)
Sea Cucumber Assessment – Marina Ann Zannino’s (2015) East Stroudsburg University, Bachelorʻs of Science degree
Sea Cucumbers Marina Zannino MPW Intern Summer 2015
MPW Marine Science Talk Story Series
For the full agenda for each event, click on a date below
More Scientific Information and Resource Agencies
University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant Program: Sea Grant conducted the earliest surveys of potential areas for marine reserve designation in Hawai‘i. The study conducted by William Kimmerer and Woodrow Durbin, Jr., published in 1975 as “The Potential for Additional Marine Conservation Districts on O‘ahu and Hawai‘i,” was a response to concerns about depletion of Hawai‘i’s near shore marine resources. In a poll of nearly 1,800 people, a very strong response was found in favor of more marine reserves. The second choice for a new reserve on O‘ahu was Pūpūkea. Click here for a copy of the study.
Public Park: The park along the immediate shoreline is under the jurisdiction of the City and County of Honolulu Beach Parks (Pūpūkea, Waimea). In 2010, the City and County of Honolulu began a Master Plan for the Pupukea Beach Park. Townscape Inc. held a number of meetings with the community including MPW. As of 2014, however, the Master Plan has yet to be finalized and is still awaiting City review and approval.
Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) manages the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, established in 1992. The sanctuary is a seasonal home to an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 humpback whales that migrate to Hawai‘i from Alaska every year. Here, the whales breed, calve, and nurse their young; this is the only place in the U.S. that these whales reproduce. Starting at Pua‘ena Point near Hale‘iwa, the Sanctuary includes waters off the Pūpūkea-Waimea MLCD and stretches toward north toward and around Kahuku Point to Kahana Bay. Click here for the detailed O‘ahu map. Other state waters include the south shore of Maui, the north shore of Kaua‘i, the south-east shore of O‘ahu, and the Kohala coast of the Big Island. Click here for a map of the sanctuary, and here for Sanctuary FAQs.
State Department of Health: The D.O.H., through its Clean Water Branch and Environmental Planning Office, posts three kinds of water quality warnings: Brown-Water advisories related to storm runoff, High Indicator Bacterial Advisories, and Sewage Spills. The latest D.O.H water quality test was taken from Kalualoa, Sharks Cove, on January 5 2006.
U.S. Geological Survey’s Pūpūkea Road Rain Gauge: Daily samples are taken from the Pūpūkea rain gage located 1,060 feet above mean ocean level.
U.S. Geological Survey’s Kamananui (Waimea) Rain Gauge: Daily samples are taken from an elevation of 720 feet above mean ocean level.
Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology – Coral Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program: CRAMP conducted early scientific studies of the Pūpūkea MLCD before its expansion to include Waimea Bay. These studies indicated concerns about high levels of human use, the intensiveness of the fishing effort in the area, and depleted fish stocks. CRAMP recommended additional management measures and enlargement of the MLCD. Click here for more information on CRAMP.
Hawai‘i Coral Reef Initiative (Research Program): Principal analysis has been done on the effectiveness of Marine Managed Areas and MLCD zones. Results from the Pūpūkea MLCD appears to have shown little or no change and no increase in fish.
Federal Environmental Protection Agency: The EPA has a program called Beach Watch, and Hawai‘i is one of the states receiving funds for environmental monitoring. Periodic testing is done at major beach sites. The most recent water-quality tests conducted in or near the Pūpūkea MLCD were taken on January 10, 2006. This information is found online at “BEACON”—Beach Advisory and Closing Online Notification.
Surfrider Foundation/Rashguard.org: Rashguard is an organization which conducts testing or receives results from samples collected. The last Rashguard tests taken in or around the Pūpūkea MLCD were taken on December 29, 2005, at Waimea Bay.
University of Hawai‘i, Botany Department: In 2008, graduate student Koa Shultz was conducting a study of a rare limu in the Pūpūkea MLCD. The Hawaiian name is not known at this point, but the scientific name for the species is Peleophycus. Current research has shown that the limu can be found only in the springtime, but it cannot be found every spring. It is unknown if the plant alternates or grows only under certain conditions. The results of the research are not available.
NOAA/NOS/NCCOS/CCMA, Pūpūkea MLCD Study: A 2006 statewide study of Hawai‘i’s eleven MLCDs titled “Fish Habitat Utilization Patterns and Evaluation of the Efficacy of Marine Protected Areas in Hawai‘i: Integration of NOAA Digital Benthic Habitats Mapping and Coral Reef Ecological Studies,” was conducted by Alan Friedlander, Eric Brown, Mark Monaco, and Athline Clark (NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 23). Click here for an abstract of the report. The study results showed that in the Pūpūkea-Waimea MLCD, overall fish weight was four times higher in the MLCD compared to the outside areas open to fishing. Of the eleven MLCDs tested, Pūpūkea fell somewhere around the middle in relation to fish weight and reef life. Fish weight outside the MLCD was considered low (likely due to overfishing). Major fish found in the MLCD were maikoiko, maiii, naenae, and umaumalei. No major apex fish such as ulua, or ‘omilu were found. Outside the MLCD, Hinalea lauwili and maiii were common. Coral cover was 10%. Macroalgae was found to be low inside the MLCD but higher outside.
ADDITIONAL LINKS
Monitoring Hawai‘i’s Marine Protected Areas – Examining Spatial and Temporal Trends Using a Seascape Approach – August 2010
– Alan M. Friedlander (U.S Geological Survey and the University of Hawai‘i)
– Lisa M. Wedding, (NOAA Center for Coastal Monitoring & Assessment Biogenography Branch & the University of Hawai‘i)
– Eric Bown (National Park Service Kalaupapa National Historical Park)
– Mark E. Monaco (NOAA Center for Coastal Monitoring & Assessment)
Sea Grant Kimmerer study – The potential for Additional Marine Conservation Districts on O‘ahu and Hawai‘i – December 1975
– William J. Kimmerer
– Woodrow W. Durbin, Jr.
Environmental Assessment for Special Management Area Permit for “Pūpūkea Village” (aka “Shark’s Cove Mall”) – September 2004
– Belt Collins Hawai‘i
DAR Guide to Pūpūkea MLCD
– Division of Aquatic Resources website describing the Pūpūkea Marine Life Conservation District
DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources – Marine Protected Areas in Hawai‘i – Honolulu Advertiser Supplement – Mar. 2005
– Part 1: Marine Protected Areas in Hawai‘i
– Part 2: Marine Protected Areas Map
University of Hawai‘i Coral Reef Assessment & Monitoring Program Study – April 2008
– Lea Hollingsworth