NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program

Clown fish live symbiotically with sea anemones.
Photo credit: Andy Bruckner.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) supports effective management and sound science to preserve, sustain and restore valuable coral reef ecosystems.

of special note...

Threat-based Working Groups Formed to Guide CRCP into the Future.

Critical Habitat Designation for Threatened Acropora Species.

NOAA Participates in the Launch of Two Global Coral Reef Reports.

CCRI IYOR 2008 Symposium Celebrates Advances in Coral Reef Research and Management.

Pacific Mapping and Monitoring Workshop Identifies Priorities and Gaps.

Threat-based Working Groups Formed to Guide CRCP into the Future. In 2007, the CRCP underwent an external review by a panel of recognized experts in coral reef resource science and management to provide an independent assessment of the CRCP's effectiveness in meeting its goals and to suggest recommendations for future improvement. In response to the panel's report, (pdf, 1.09 mb) the CRCP developed a Roadmap for the Future (pdf, 247 kb), laying out new principles and priorities for the future of the Program. According to this new Roadmap, the primary objective of the CRCP will be to address strategic coral reef management needs and the CRCP will narrow its focus by emphasizing efforts on understanding and addressing the top three global and national threats to coral reef ecosystems: fishing impacts, land-based sources of pollution and climate change. In order to implement the proposed changes, the CRCP has put into place three working groups to provide recommendations on the strategic goals and objectives the Program should work towards in the next 5-20 years in order to effectively address each of these top three threats. These threat-based working groups were established in early October and will work towards their stated goal over the next eight months. In addition, a cross-threat International Working Group was established. You can track their progress by visiting the working groups' Web page via the link above.

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Critical Habitat Designation for Threatened Acropora Species. NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service published the final critical habitat designations for elkhorn (Acropora palmata) and staghorn (A. cervicornis) corals in the Federal Register (FR) on Wednesday, November 26. This rulemaking is mandatory under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The four areas designated as critical habitat for threatened corals are: (1) Florida area; (2) Puerto Rico area; (3) St. Thomas/St. John area; and (4) St. Croix area. The critical habitat for threatened corals includes water depths up to 98 feet. Within these areas, the feature essential to the conservation of threatened corals is natural consolidated hard substrate or dead coral skeleton that is free from fleshy and turf macroalgae cover and sediment cover to maximize the potential for successful recruitment and population growth. The effective date for this rulemaking was December 26, 2008. On October 29, NOAA Fisheries Service published a final rule in the FR to protect elkhorn and staghorn corals; this final rule, called a 4(d) rule for section 4(d) of the ESA, prohibits import, export, take, and all commercial activities involving either of these threatened species. To download a copy of the FR notices, the economic analysis, or Frequently Asked Questions, please click here.

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NOAA Participates in the Launch of Two Global Coral Reef Reports. In early December, NOAA participated in two events for the U.S. release of two NOAA-supported Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) reports: the ‘Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2008’ and ‘Socioeconomic Conditions along the World’s Tropical Coasts: 2008,’ (pdf, 1.89 mb). NOAA leadership, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, Timothy Keeney, and National Ocean Service Assistant Administrator, John Dunnigan, gave speeches during an evening reception at the Washington D.C. National Aquarium on December 9. On December 10, the Coral Reef Conservation Program Director, Kacky Andrews, and the report’s editors, Drs. Clive Wilkinson and Christy Loper, attend a press event at the Australian Embassy. Congressman Baird (D-WA) spoke during this event. Reporters from seven news outlets attended either the press briefing or reception, generating over 50 news articles in newsoutlets around the world. NOAA coordinated with the Australian embassy to create a press release for each report; they are linked below. Additional partners for the launch events included the U.S. State Department, GCRMN, Conservation International, Project Aware, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and World Resources Institute.

‘Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2008,’ a product of 370 contributors in 96 countries and states, is the most authoritative report on the world’s coral reefs. The report documents how human activities continue to be the primary cause of the global coral reef crisis. It also discusses major stresses to coral reefs and new initiatives aimed at reversing reef degradation. Both NOAA and the State Department contributed funding to this quadrennial report and NOAA’s national coral reef status makes up a portion of the data presented. You can find the press release online; the report will soon be available on the GCRMN Web site.

Synthesizing data from close to 14,000 household interviews in 29 countries, the ‘Socioeconomic Conditions Along the World's Tropical Coasts: 2008’ report highlights dependence on coral reefs by local communities in developing countries, provides information on perceived threats to coastal resources, and points to the inability of coastal managers to effectively implement decades-old recommendations as a significant barrier to coral reef protection. It is the first-ever comprehensive analysis of data from the Global Socioeconomic Monitoring Initiative (SocMon) and was produced in partnership with Conservation International. You can find the press release online.

Both reports will be extremely useful and in-demand tools for coral reef managers and scientists around the world.

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CCRI IYOR 2008 Symposium Celebrates Advances in Coral Reef Research and Management. To celebrate the International Year of the Reef 2008 (IYOR 2008) and disseminate the current status of reefs and reef research in Puerto Rico, the Caribbean Coral Reef Institute (CCRI) sponsored the “2008 End of the International Year of the Reef Symposium”. The Symposium was held on December 3rd in San Juan, on the campus of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) Central Administration. The symposium was comprised of 16 presentations covering a broad spectrum of topics, including land-based activities that ultimately impact coral ecosystems through sedimentation, turbidity, eutrophication and pesticides; the deteriorating status of coral reefs, especially following the continuing impacts of the 2005 bleaching/disease event; new techniques for mapping reefs and fish spawning aggregations; and basic reef ecology. A special session on mesophotic reefs, those from 30-100 meters depth, represented the first time studies on that depth range were presented in Puerto Rico. The five talks from the mesophotic session focused on geomorphology of mesophotic reefs and their fish and invertebrate communities. Presenters at the symposium included scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science as well as representatives from other agencies and institutions such as the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (PR DNER), UPR, the University of Miami, the Island Resources Foundation, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Over 70 individuals attended the event; they included university researchers and students, the PR DNER, and representatives from five federal agencies and five NGOs. Live radio interviews of some participants were conducted during the afternoon of December 3rd and a follow-up live radio interview on CCRI was conducted December 6th. Click here to download the symposium’s agenda (pdf, 1.55 mb).

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Pacific Mapping and Monitoring Workshop Identifies Priorities and Gaps. As a first step in a strategic planning effort to strengthen the link between science and management goals, the CRCP invited Pacific coral reef ecosystem managers and CRCP scientists to attend a three-day facilitated workshop during November 18-20 in Honolulu, Hawai`i. The workshop objectives were to 1) identify mapping and monitoring data needs for local and jurisdictional management efforts, 2) identify NOAA products and potential new solutions to meet management needs, and 3) gather input from the management and science community on NOAA’s national program for coral reef ecosystem monitoring. More than 25 representatives from local agencies of Hawai`i, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa, as well as the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, the Western Pacific Fisheries Management Council, and the U.S. Department of the Interior, attended this workshop. NOAA scientists participated alongside the managers in order to discuss scientific capabilities and understand location-specific needs directly from the managers. The workshop was successful in determining priority information needs for managers, and highlighted important issues of concern for the jurisdictions, including the need for increased technical capacity, improved information and data dissemination, and improved communication of scientific information to general audiences. The outcomes from the meeting will inform strategic long-term funding decisions with regard to the CRCP’s monitoring and mapping activities, collectively termed the Coral Reef Ecosystem Integrated Observing System, to ensure they are cost-effective, aligned with management needs, and allow for the timely delivery of required products and services to all essential users, given funding constraints. The CRCP will host a complementary workshop in the Atlantic/Caribbean region in the Spring of 2009.

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January 13, 2009

new publications...

Economic Values of Coral Reefs, Mangroves, and Seagrasses: A Global Compilation 2008

Demographic Baseline Report of U.S. Territories and Counties Adjacent to Coral Reef Habitats

Socioeconomic Monitoring Guidelines for Coastal Managers of the Western Indian Ocean: SocMon WIO

SEM-Pasifika: Socioeconomic Monitoring Guidelines for Coastal Managers in Pacific Island Countries

Draft NOAA Deep-Sea Coral and Sponge Research and Management Strategic Plan

Proceedings of the International Cyanide Detection Testing Workshop

The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the United States and Pacific Freely Associate States: 2008

Roadmap for the Future: A plan for developing CRCP direction through 2015

Implementation of the National Coral Reef Action Strategy: Report to Congress (2008)

Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring Report for American Samoa 2002-2006