Papahanaumokuakea has been a marine conservation area for nearly a decade now.There have been cases of mass bleaching during that time, which basically means the coral reef is sick.
On a recent 26 day reef assessment and monitoring cruise there was good news.
“I think the news if that for the most part we got very lucky that we didn't see this extreme bleaching affecting all the reed area. What we did see though was not insignificant,” said N.O.A.A. scientists Heidi Schuttenberg.
Schuttenberg says about 20 to 30 percent of some of the worst reefs suffered bleaching.
And that can be a positive sign for not just Hawaii.
‘So when we detect climate change in coral reefs we're going to find it here first, and it's kind of an early warning system for all of our coral reefs globally,” said Randy Kosaki of N.O.A.A.
Papahanaumokuakea is about to celebrate a tenth birthday.
During the decade a lot of knowledge has been unearthed, but it continues to be a living breathing laboratory for the scientists and others tasked with managing the natural wonder.
“We're much further than we were a decade, some of that knowledge is now being applied to day to day management right here, but we're very far from understanding it,” said Rusty Brainard of Pacific Island Fisheries Center.
"The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands really are one of the places where we can lead the world in the study of climate change and the impacts of climate change on coral reefs,” said Kosaki.
The Northwest Hawaiian Islands were made an ecosystem reserve under President Clinton in 2000, and a marine national monument named Papahanaumokuakea under President Bush in 2006.
