Proposed marine reserve area at Kaupulehu in the northern part of the Kona district on the west coast of Hawaii Island. The community proposal includes no-take for 10 years to allow for the reef to rest and replenish.

Boundary of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (PMNM), located in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). Created in 2006, Papahanaumokuakea is the largest conservation area in the U.S. and one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world. It is home to extensive coral reefs harboring over 7,000 marine species, one quarter of which are found only in Hawaii. Many of the islands and shallow water environments are important habitats for rare species such as the threatened green sea turtle and the endangered Hawaiian monk seal. Significant cultural Native Hawaiian sites can also be found on the islands of Nihoa and Mokumanamana (Necker Island). Co-managed with the State of Hawaii and the U.S. Department of the Interior, the monument preserves one of the most untouched areas of coral reef in the world. This layer shows the PMNM boundary after its expansion in 2016. On August 26, 2016, President Obama signed a proclamation expanding the monument from 139,797 square miles (362,073 square kilometers) to 582,578 square miles (1,508,870 square kilometers). This extended the monument boundary westward of -163 degrees longitude out to Hawaii's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) at 200 nautical miles offshore. The present layer shows the monument boundary as it existed *after* this expansion. To view the previous, smaller boundary, access the data layer for "hi_noaa_nwhi_papahanaumokuakea_2006" instead. NOTE: This layer is provided as polygon features. For polyline features, please see the layer named "hi_noaa_nwhi_papahanaumokuakea_line" instead. Both polygon and polyline formats are provided for this dataset because the monument boundary spans the antimeridian (+/-180 degrees longitude) making it difficult to display in many GIS software applications without showing a division at the antimeridian.

Boundary of the Paiko Lagoon Wildlife Sanctuary. Located in the Kuliouou section of Honolulu, Oahu this sanctuary was established in 1981 by the State of Hawaii to protect the endangered Hawaiian Stilt as well as other migratory water birds. It is herein prohibited to remove, disturb, injure, kill, or possess any form of plant or wildlife (no fishing) or to introduce any form of plant or wildlife.

Boundary of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (PMNM), located in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). Created in 2006, Papahanaumokuakea is the largest conservation area in the U.S. and one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world. It is home to extensive coral reefs harboring over 7,000 marine species, one quarter of which are found only in Hawaii. Many of the islands and shallow water environments are important habitats for rare species such as the threatened green sea turtle and the endangered Hawaiian monk seal. Significant cultural Native Hawaiian sites can also be found on the islands of Nihoa and Mokumanamana (Necker Island). Co-managed with the State of Hawaii and the U.S. Department of the Interior, the monument preserves one of the most untouched areas of coral reef in the world. This layer shows the PMNM boundary after its expansion in 2016. On August 26, 2016, President Obama signed a proclamation expanding the monument from 139,797 square miles (362,073 square kilometers) to 582,578 square miles (1,508,870 square kilometers). This extended the monument boundary westward of -163 degrees longitude out to Hawaii's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) at 200 nautical miles offshore. The present layer shows the monument boundary as it existed *after* this expansion. To view the previous, smaller boundary, access the data layer for "hi_noaa_nwhi_papahanaumokuakea_2006" instead. NOTE: This layer is provided as polyline features. For polygon features which can be color filled, please see the layer named "hi_noaa_nwhi_papahanaumokuakea" instead. Both polygon and polyline formats are provided for this dataset because the monument boundary spans the antimeridian (+/-180 degrees longitude) making it difficult to display in many GIS software applications without showing a division at the antimeridian.

Boundaries of fisheries management areas (FMA) for the State of Hawaii. The mission of the Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) is to manage, conserve and restore the state's unique aquatic resources and ecosystems for present and future generations. Major program areas include projects to manage or enhance fisheries for long-term sustainability of the resources, protect and restore the aquatic environment, protect native and resident aquatic species and their habitat, and provide facilities and opportunities for recreational fishing. The areas outlined in this layer have fishing regulations. For details and further information, please see: http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dar/fishing/fishing-regulations/

This marine refuge consists of the coral reefs and bay waters surrounding Coconut Island (Moku o Loe) located in Kaneohe Bay on the east coast of Oahu in Hawaii. Except for scientific research conducted by the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) of the University of Hawaii, it is unlawful to take any aquatic life from within the boundaries of the refuge.

The State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) is the primary agency responsible for coordinating Hawaii's reef management efforts in the main Hawaiian Islands. The DAR marine monitoring program employs numerous methodologies developed by DAR scientists in collaboration with NOAA, USGS and the University of Hawaii (UH). Specific methods are used at study sites depending on the resource management concerns that DAR is looking to address, and include surveys of abundance of resource and herbivorous fish, smaller cryptic fish and recruits, urchins and larger mobile invertebrates, benthic habitat cover, coral health, and biological diversity. This layer includes the locations of DAR monitoring sites along the west coast of Hawaii Island (Big Island). For further information, please see: http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/coralreefs/monitoring/

Boundaries of fish replenishment areas (FRA) along the leeward (west) coast of Big Island in Hawaii. In order to replenish populations of heavily collected aquatic species, a network of FRAs comprising 35% of the coastline were established by the State of Hawaii in 1999 through the West Hawaii Regional Fisheries Management Area (FMA), administered by Hawaii's Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR). Though fishing is permitted (with some restrictions on lay net fishing), aquarium collecting is prohibited in these areas. For further information, please see: http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dar/regulated-areas/west-hawaii-regional-fishery-management-area/

The University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program's Hawaii and Pacific Islands King Tides Project documents high water level events known as King Tides to better understand future impacts from sea level rise and other coastal hazards. King Tides provide a window into the future because today's high tides are predicted to become tomorrow's average sea levels. Citizen scientists have contributed to this free, publicly-accessible, and crowd-sourced dataset by photographing King Tides at places important to them throughout Hawaii and Oceania. Photos, observations, date, time, location, and other metadata are submitted online. This publicly-accessible online database informs research, policy, and decision making across the State of Hawaii and the wider Pacific region. King tides are the highest astronomical tides of the year. The scientific term for a King Tide is a perigean spring tide. King Tides in the Hawaiian Islands tend to occur during the summer (e.g., July and August) and winter months (e.g., December and January) in conjunction with new moons and full moons. King Tides, or the highest high tides of the year, are a unique coastal hazard. The timing of these extreme water level events can be anticipated through the use of tidal predictions, yet their impacts (e.g., coastal flooding and inundation in low-lying areas) can have devastating consequences for coastal inhabitants, particularly when combined with severe weather or high wave events. It is a common misconception that King Tides are the result of man-made climate change. When in reality, they are not byproducts of climate change, rather they are windows for us to see what the future of sea level rise from global climate change might look like along our coastlines. With future sea level rise we can expect more frequent high tide flooding and monthly and even daily high tides exceeding coastal inundation thresholds. When sharing these photographs, please cite this project with the following attribution: (c) Hawaii Sea Grant King Tides Project, (year of photo). Some rights reserved. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Protected Areas - Marshall Islands