First off...lets begin by learning from our past mistakes of what happened in Florida, the Philippines and Bahama Islands. This is a Global problem, but the way we can make positive change is by starting right here in Kauai. The ill effects of dying reefs from pollution to Hanalei River and Bay will result in the following problems:

1) People will continue getting sick and some may even die.
2) Tourism will suffer and so will the bank accounts of those who rely upon it for income.
3) Our reefs may die off completely and fishing and diving in certain areas will come to an end. 

Remember...its all connected. If the reefs die, so does the economy and well-being of the locals.

Read my following article and decide for yourself if you would like to donate money or time for a good cause.  We need the funding for Scientific research, Educational outreach and Documentary Film Production.

Visit the Hanalei River Foundation website for more info and donate to a good cause. http://www.hanaleiriverheritagefoundation.org/

Bad news about the coral reef die-off in the Philippines. Florida has had this going on, mostly in the Keys and also the Bahamas over the past 30 years.

"Bleaching" is what they call it in Florida. It appears to have much to do with Global warming and carbon emissions caused by humans on a Global level. But the cause must be looked at on a regional basis to see what is really happening in Kauai.

I owned a Saltwater Tropical Fish business in Florida and I was just getting in to buying fish for cheap for resale from the Philippines. The tragedy there in the Philippines is that they used a chemical to stun hard to catch fish...Ammonia was commonly used in a squeeze bottle and Quinaldine was also used to spray over the reef to stun the fish. This was later outlawed but some locals kept it up. Fish that were caught this way soon developed neurotoxin-disorders and died quickly in the home aquarium, so wholesalers banned buying from unreliable sources. It was a known killer of the coral reefs. I soon gave up the business in 1973 when I became conscious that I was part of the problem.

Bleaching occurs when the conditions necessary to sustain the coral's zooxanthellae cannot be maintained. Any environmental trigger that affects the coral's ability to supply the zooxanthellae with nutrients for photosynthesis (carbon dioxide, ammonium) will lead to expulsion.This process is a "downward spiral", whereby the coral's failure to prevent the division of zooxanthellae leads to ever-greater amounts of the photosynthesis-derived carbon to be diverted into the algae rather than the coral. This makes the energy balance required for the coral to continue sustaining its algae more fragile, and hence the coral loses the ability to maintain its parasitic control on its zooxanthellae.

Triggers

Coral bleaching is a generalized stress response of corals and can be caused by a number of biotic and abiotic factors, including:

• increased (most commonly), or reduced water temperatures
• increased solar irradiance (photosynthetically active radiation and ultraviolet band light)
• changes in water chemistry (in particular acidification)
• increased sedimentation (due to silt runoff)
• bacterial infections
• changes in salinity
• herbicides
• low tide and exposure
• cyanide fishing
• elevated sea levels due to global warming

While most of these triggers may result in localized bleaching events (tens to hundreds of kilometers), mass coral bleaching events occur at a regional or global scale and are triggered by periods of elevated thermal stress resulting from increased sea surface temperatures.

Like the Botulism issue, its important to get the facts on what the root cause is in each particular case. As for the reefs on the North Shore of Kauai for instance, reef die-off can be something very different than lets say what is going on in Mauai or other Islands.

Tests must be done very carefully by process of elimination, following the list above. Research funding can be brought about by targeting specific goals such as this. It is my hope that the Hanalei River Heritage Foundation obtains such funding.

I would surmise the following (4) causes are part or all of the problem with drawing from the above list we can narrow it down:

1) Changes in water chemistry (generally speaking, this is a primary cause that blankets the below issues)
 
2) Bacterial infections (caused by water chemistry alterations)
 
3) Herbicides  (run-off from nearby Golf Courses,  again..water chemistry alterations)
 
4) Increased sedimentation  (from upstream Hanalei River illegal dredging of a canal)

To sum it up...its both Silt and water chemistry changes that have/are causing the Coral die off in my opinion. Now its time to narrow the gap and find out through Scientific research, the exact Chemical causes and sources.

One thing that is not mentioned in chemistry changes as a cause, is SunScreens. Millions of people in our oceans wearing them now more than ever and although oils float,  its the PH and Chemistry that gets messed up. I suspect its a combination of things going on here.

Authored by Jim Law