Reader Shari posted a question for Brian Skerry in the comments section of this post. Here is that question and his response (in blue).
Hi Brian,
I'm glad to see the coral is coming back but surprised that there would be so much bleaching in such a remote and mostly pristine archipelago.
The Phoenix Islands, I have learned, are located right in the middle of the place where El Nino events begin; the genesis of hot water spreading out into the Pacific Ocean. The scientists on this expedition state that the hot water event that occurred in 2002/2003 was the most severe and intense thermal event and longest lasting that has ever been recorded on Earth. So the reefs here were substantially stressed in a way that no other reefs have ever been. And still, they are showing signs of recovery becuase they were healthy prior to the event.
Dr. David Obura measures a new table coral growing amidst fields of dead coral at Kanton Island in the Phoenix Islands (Photo: Brian Skerry).
Do you think the effects of long lining are from before the Islands were protected, or could there still be poaching going on?
There clearly has been a lot of shark fishing here too. Long liners have hit several of these islands hard in recent years, prior to the creation of the Marine Protected Area. So the combination of these things has obviously had a devastating impact. But this place has the resiliency to bounce back and is already doing so. I think this is the important story here. Protecting intact ecosystems is the best way to insure their survival from events that we have little control over.
Gray Reef shark cruises in to check out photographer Brian Skerry during as sunset dive on Nikumaroro Island in the Phoenix Islands. (Photo: Brian Skerry)
And finally where is my good friend the Bohar snapper? They are conspicuously absent from all the photos, an anomaly for the Line Islands! I'm enjoying diving vicariously through the blogs!
Best, Shari S.O.H.
As for your friends, the Bohars ... they are here for sure! I must say that they were far and few between on a few of the islands, but plentiful on others. I sent them your regards!
Best,
Brian
Phoenix Islands Blog
9/23/09
Brian Skerry responds to a reader question about poaching and Bohar snapper
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The Phoenix Islands Marine Protected Area (PIPA) is the one of the largest marine protected areas in the world and the largest and deepest World Heritage site on Earth. It was created in 2008 by the Pacific Island nation of Kiribati with support from its partner organizations, New England Aquarium and Conservation International.
The Aquarium is grateful to the Prince Albert of Monaco II Foundation, The Robertson Foundation, GoPro, The Explorers Club and many others for helping to support this expedition.
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Dr. Randi Rotjan is a research scientist at the Aquarium, with expertise in coral reefs, symbiosis, and climate change. She coordinates the Aquarium’s research partnership with Kiribati on the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) and co-chairs the PIPA Science Advisory Committee. She is the Chief Scientist for the current expedition to the PIPA, coordinating the expedition by satellite.
Dr. Sangeeta Mangubhai is an adjunct scientist at the Aquarium. She has been working with the Aquarium since 2000, during the first trip to the Phoenix Islands. This is her fifth trip to PIPA. She is the Chief Scientist onboard the expedition, working with 15 others onboard and Rotjan remotely to study the current El Nino and the impacts on PIPA marine life.
Dr. Simon Thorrold is the Director of the Ocean Life Institute and a Senior Scientist in the Biology Department at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). He serves on the Science Advisory Committee for the Phoenix Islands Protected Area. He is a co-organizer of the 2015 PIPA Expedition, working closely with Rotjan and Mangubhai to ensure a successful voyage.
View a list of previous blog authors here.
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Expedition Partners
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Team Members
Randi Rotjan, PhD
Click to display Randi's posts.Dr. Randi Rotjan is a research scientist at the Aquarium, with expertise in coral reefs, symbiosis, and climate change. She coordinates the Aquarium’s research partnership with Kiribati on the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) and co-chairs the PIPA Science Advisory Committee. She is the Chief Scientist for the current expedition to the PIPA, coordinating the expedition by satellite.
Sangeeta Mangubhai, PhD
Click to display Sangeeta's posts.Dr. Sangeeta Mangubhai is an adjunct scientist at the Aquarium. She has been working with the Aquarium since 2000, during the first trip to the Phoenix Islands. This is her fifth trip to PIPA. She is the Chief Scientist onboard the expedition, working with 15 others onboard and Rotjan remotely to study the current El Nino and the impacts on PIPA marine life.
Simon Thorrold, PhD
Click to display Simon's posts.Dr. Simon Thorrold is the Director of the Ocean Life Institute and a Senior Scientist in the Biology Department at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). He serves on the Science Advisory Committee for the Phoenix Islands Protected Area. He is a co-organizer of the 2015 PIPA Expedition, working closely with Rotjan and Mangubhai to ensure a successful voyage.
View a list of previous blog authors here.
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September
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- And the hits just keep on coming from the Phoenix ...
- Vinaka vakelevu, NAI'A!
- Bookends, Burritos, and Blogs - Wrapping up the Ph...
- Coming Together To Protect Our Oceans: PIPA's "Sis...
- Phoenix Islands Education Week Story: Technology L...
- David Obura shares his observations from the exped...
- What is a coral transect? How do researchers colle...
- At the edge of existence
- Living a Dream, Part III - Alan Dynner reports on...
- The Final Frontier: Deep Sea Exploration of the Ph...
- Brian Skerry responds to a reader question about p...
- And now for something completely different ...
- Phoenix and Orona
- Assignment Blog--Rising From The Ashes - Coral Ree...
- A fully regenerated reef on Enderbury Island
- Expedition Team Members' Phoenix Islands "Firsts"
- Leaving Kanton Island, A goodbye party photo album
- How the Phoenix Islands Protected Area came to be
- Kanton Island, halfway through the Phoenix Islands...
- Les Kaufman on surveying coral and preparing to ar...
- Points and Lines - Understanding the health of cor...
- Brian Skerry responds to a reader comment - Was th...
- Dive-eat-dive - a typical day in the Phoenix Islands
- Assignment Blog--Brian Skerry: One Fish, Two Fish,...
- The eradication of rats on McKean Island
- Why are sharks important?
- Tukabu Terooko Kiribati and the Phoenix Islands Pr...
- Blue water diving to study deep-sea jellies in Nik...
- Coral reef scientist Randi Rotjan answers student ...
- Shifting Baselines and coral reefs in the Phoenix ...
- Living a Dream, Part II - Alan Dynner reports on b...
- Searching for invasive species on Nikumaroro
- Somewhere over the rainbow...
- Assignment Blog--Brian Skerry photographs fish in ...
- Reporting on fish populations coral bleaching in N...
- First dive photos from Nikumaroro
- One good tern...
- From rough seas to calm preparation in the Phoenix...
- David Obura discusses going back to the Phoenix Is...
- Living a Dream - A Report from the Journey to the ...
- Assignment Blog--Brian Skerry on the Return to the...
- How to make the ocean's surface your ceiling
- We're gonna need a bigger boat...
- Ocean bound from Fiji to the Phoenix Islands
- Crossing the Pacific on the way to the Phoenix Isl...
- Fiji or bust!
- Going back to the Phoenix Islands after seven years
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