The State of Hawaii DLNR (Department of Land and Natural Resources) DAR (Division of Aquatic Resources) marine monitoring team conducted surveys for fish and large mobile invertebrates along the West Hawaii coastline. Data were recorded along 5x25 meter transects at random sites going as far south as Manuka and as far North as Upolu Point. Data collection for one transect was completed at each site. Data are provided as individual observations noting species, quantity, and size of fish and species and quantity of invertebrates.

The State of Hawaii DLNR (Department of Land and Natural Resources) DAR (Division of Aquatic Resources) marine monitoring team conducted surveys for fish and large mobile invertebrates along the West Hawaii coastline. Data were recorded along 5x25 meter transects at random sites going as far south as Manuka and as far North as Upolu Point. Data collection for one transect was completed at each site. Data are provided as individual observations noting species, quantity, and size of fish and species and quantity of invertebrates.

To support a long-term NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) for sustainable management and conservation of coral reef ecosystems, from 18 February - 19 March 2008, reef fish assessment surveys were conducted, as a part of Rapid Ecological Assessments (REA), during the Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (RAMP) Cruise HI0802 in the American Samoa at biennial intervals by the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED) at the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC). During the cruise, 27 REA sites were surveyed at Rose Atoll in the American Samoa. At the specific REA sites, fish biologists along with coral biologists, algal biologists and marine invertebrate zoologist entered the water and conducted a fine-scale (~300 m2) and high degree of taxonomic resolution REA survey to assess and monitor species composition, abundance, percent cover, size distribution, diversity, and general health of fish, corals, macro-invertebrates, and algae in shallow-water (< 35 m) habitats. Reef fish assessment surveys were focused on cataloging the diversity (species richness), abundance (numeric density [# fish 100 m-2] and biomass density [kg 100 m-2]) of diurnally active reef fish assemblages. Three complementary noninvasive underwater survey methods were used, including belt-transect, stationary point count, and roving-diver surveys. For all methods, fish were identified at the species level, when possible, and assigned to a size bin ranging from 1 to 200 cm based on a visual estimate of total fish length. Belt-transect (BLT) surveys were used to quantify the entire diurnal fish community (all size classes). In belt-transect surveys, two fish biologists swam side-by-side along three consecutively-placed, 25m transect lines. The BLT team swam each transect two times. During the initial swim-out, each fish diver recorded all fish larger than 20 cm observed within a 4-m wide belt perpendicular to their respective side of the transect (200 m2 area per line, 100 m2 per diver). On the return swim, each fish diver recorded all fish less than 20 cm observed within a 2-m wide belt (100 m2 area per line, 50 m2 per diver). The survey of large fish took approximately 5 min to complete while the survey of smaller fish took about 10 min to complete. All reef-associated fish, including those in the water column (including planktivores), were counted. Any coastal pelagic species (e.g., clupeids [sardines], belonids [beakfish], antherinids [silversides]) seen near the surface were not recorded. The stationary point count (SPC) method were used to quantify larger, more mobile reef fish species that can be missed on belt-transect surveys. In stationary point count survey, a fish biologist swam approximately 15 m away from a transect line concurrently being surveyed by the other two BLT fish biologists. The SPC biologist then recorded all fish greater than 25 cm in length that passed within a visually estimated 20-m diameter cylinder centered on the diver's fixed position (10-m radius, total area = 314 m2). The survey time for each stationary point count survey was 5 min and a total of four stationary point count surveys were conducted at each REA site. Roving-diver surveys were followed belt-transect and stationary point count surveys. As diver bottom time permitted, the fish assessment team conducted random swim surveys throughout the REA site area, recording, to the species level or the lowest recognizable taxon, the presence of reef fish not encountered during previous methods.

Towed-diver surveys (aka. Towboard surveys) are conducted by the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED) of the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) as part of biennial Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (RAMP) Cruises. These cruises support NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) long-term goals for sustainable management and conservation of coral reef ecosystems. 22 towboard surveys (45.4495 km in length), were conducted at Rose Atoll in the American Samoa from 3 - 26 February 2004 as part of RAMP Cruise OES0402. Towboard surveys are a good method for obtaining a general description of large reef areas, assessing the status of low-density populations of large-bodied reef fish, large-scale disturbances (e.g., bleaching), general distribution and abundance patterns of macro-invertebrates (e.g., COT, giant clams), and for assessing trends in these populations and metrics. A pair of scuba divers (1 fish and 1 benthic diver) are towed 60 m behind a small survey launch at a speed of 1-2 knots and a depth of approximately 15m. Each survey is 50 min long, covers about 2 km of habitat, and is divided into ten 5-minute survey segments. The fish diver records, to the lowest possible taxon, all large-bodied reef fishes (>50cmTL) seen within 5m either side and 10m in front of the towboard. Length of each individual is estimated to the nearest cm. The fish towboard is also outfitted with a forward-facing digital video camera to record the survey swath. The benthic diver records percent cover of coral and macroalgae, estimates benthic habitat type and complexity, and censuses a suite of benthic macroinvertebrates including Crown of Thorns sea stars and sea urchins. The benthic towboard is equipped with a downward-facing digital still camera which images the benthos at 15 second intervals. These images are analyzed for percent cover of coral, algae, and other benthic components. Both towboards are equipped with SEABIRD SBE-39 temperature/depth sensors set to record at 5 second intervals. Latitude and longitude of each survey track is recorded at 15 second intervals using a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver onboard the tow boat. A layback algorithm is applied to more accurately map the position of the divers with respect to the reef environment. This algorithm calculates the position of the divers based on the position of the tow boat taking into account the length of the tow rope, the depth of the divers, and the curvature of the survey track. This metadata applies to the fish biomass observations.

Belt transects along 3 consecutively-placed, 25m transect lines were surveyed as part of Rapid Ecological Assessments conducted at 12 sites at Rose in the American Samoa (AS) during "February 9 - March 10, 2006" in the NOAA Hi'ialakai (HI0602) Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (RAMP) Cruise. Raw survey data included species level abundance estimates.

To support a long-term NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) for sustainable management and conservation of coral reef ecosystems, from 12 September - 12 October 2008, reef fish assessment surveys were conducted, as a part of Rapid Ecological Assessments (REA), during the Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (RAMP) Cruise HI0809 in the NW Hawaiian Islands at biennial intervals by the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED) at the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC). During the cruise, 38 REA sites were surveyed at Pearl And Hermes Atoll in the NW Hawaiian Islands. At the specific REA sites, fish biologists along with coral biologists, algal biologists and marine invertebrate zoologist entered the water and conducted a fine-scale (~300 m2) and high degree of taxonomic resolution REA survey to assess and monitor species composition, abundance, percent cover, size distribution, diversity, and general health of fish, corals, macro-invertebrates, and algae in shallow-water (< 35 m) habitats. Reef fish assessment surveys were focused on cataloging the diversity (species richness), abundance (numeric density [# fish 100 m-2] and biomass density [kg 100 m-2]) of diurnally active reef fish assemblages. Three complementary noninvasive underwater survey methods were used, including belt-transect, stationary point count, and roving-diver surveys. For all methods, fish were identified at the species level, when possible, and assigned to a size bin ranging from 1 to 200 cm based on a visual estimate of total fish length. Belt-transect (BLT) surveys were used to quantify the entire diurnal fish community (all size classes). In belt-transect surveys, two fish biologists swam side-by-side along three consecutively-placed, 25m transect lines. The BLT team swam each transect two times. During the initial swim-out, each fish diver recorded all fish larger than 20 cm observed within a 4-m wide belt perpendicular to their respective side of the transect (200 m2 area per line, 100 m2 per diver). On the return swim, each fish diver recorded all fish less than 20 cm observed within a 2-m wide belt (100 m2 area per line, 50 m2 per diver). The survey of large fish took approximately 5 min to complete while the survey of smaller fish took about 10 min to complete. All reef-associated fish, including those in the water column (including planktivores), were counted. Any coastal pelagic species (e.g., clupeids [sardines], belonids [beakfish], antherinids [silversides]) seen near the surface were not recorded. The stationary point count (SPC) method were used to quantify larger, more mobile reef fish species that can be missed on belt-transect surveys. In stationary point count survey, a fish biologist swam approximately 15 m away from a transect line concurrently being surveyed by the other two BLT fish biologists. The SPC biologist then recorded all fish greater than 25 cm in length that passed within a visually estimated 20-m diameter cylinder centered on the diver's fixed position (10-m radius, total area = 314 m2). The survey time for each stationary point count survey was 5 min and a total of four stationary point count surveys were conducted at each REA site. Roving-diver surveys were followed belt-transect and stationary point count surveys. As diver bottom time permitted, the fish assessment team conducted random swim surveys throughout the REA site area, recording, to the species level or the lowest recognizable taxon, the presence of reef fish not encountered during previous methods.

This data set contains oceanographic data (CTD logs, GIS data), biological tracking logs, and color underwater screen-grab images obtained from fixed system video cameras. The objective was to collect samples of corals and invertebrates, and to examine distributions and coral-invertebrate associations. Underwater images are in .jpg, .bmp, and .tif formats.

The marine biota of Johnston atoll was surveyed for nonindigenous species in June, 2000 with observations and collections made by investigators using Scuba. Eleven stations were surveyed, including sites at the Johnston Island pier, the north and south lagoon and the outer reef slope. A total of 668 taxa were determined, with 462 of these identified to species. Data are provided as derived from the report: 2001-001. Coles, S.L., R.C. DeFelice & D. Minton. 2001. Marine species survey of Johnston Atoll, central Pacific Ocean, June 2000. Report to U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Honolulu. Bishop Museum Technical Report 19: iv + 56 pp. (Presently found online at: http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/pdf/johnstonreport.pdf).

To support a long-term NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) for sustainable management and conservation of coral reef ecosystems, from 2010-02-17 to 2010-03-23, reef fish assessment surveys were conducted, as a part of Rapid Ecological Assessments (REA), during the Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (RAMP) Cruise HA1001 in the American Samoa region by the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED) at the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC). During the cruise, 123 REA sites were surveyed at Tutuila in the American Samoa region. At each REA site, fish biologists entered the water and conducted a fine-scale (~700 m^2) and high degree of taxonomic resolution REA survey to assess and monitor species diversity, size distribution, and abundance of fish in shallow-water hard-bottom (less than 30 m) habitats. Reef fish assessment surveys were focused on cataloging the diversity (species richness), abundance (numeric density) and biomass (fish mass per unit area) of diurnally active reef fish assemblages. The stationary point count (SPC) method was used to quantify reef fish species. Two divers lay out a 30 m transect line, and position themselves at the 7.5 and 22.5 meter marks. The SPC biologist then records estimated size and abundance of all fish within a visually estimated 15-m diameter cylinder centered on the stationary diver (7.5-m radius, total area ~ 177m^2 per cylinder). The diver first spends 5 minutes identifying all fish species in the cylindrical area, then proceeds to count and estimate size (total length) for each in a series of "instantaneous" point counts or sweeps of the cylinder. Fish were identified at the species level, wherever possible. All reef-associated fish, including those in the water column, were surveyed. The survey time for each stationary point count survey was approximately 20 min and generally four stationary point count surveys (two per diver) were conducted at each fish REA site. After completing REA surveys, divers noted the presence, at the survey site, of any unusual fish species not counted during SPC counts, in order to facilitate species lists per location.