hawaii

Will Hawaii Ban Purposeful Killing and Abuse of Sharks and Rays?

Will Hawaii Ban Purposeful Killing and Abuse of Sharks and Rays?

Hawaiian lawmakers and conservationists are pushing for a landmark law to protect the Aloha State’s sharks and rays. House Bill 808, which outlaws the intentional killing, capture, abuse or entanglement of sharks and rays in state marine waters, passed its first committee meeting on Wednesday. The upper chamber version, Senate Bill 489, secured its first […]

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    Forecasting Coral Disease Outbreaks Could Buy Time to Save Reefs

    Forecasting Coral Disease Outbreaks Could Buy Time to Save Reefs

    By Amy McDermott Hawaii’s knobby finger coral careened toward extinction in 2015. The species was so rare that scientists could only find a few fragments in the wild, scattered across the seabed of Oahu’s Kaneohe Bay. It might have been a familiar story. Vanishing species like Southern Resident orcas and North Atlantic right whales pile […]

    More Than 17,500 Square Miles Protected for Hawaii’s False Killer Whales

    More Than 17,500 Square Miles Protected for Hawaii’s False Killer Whales

    Monday the National Marine Fisheries Service designated 17,500 square miles of ocean as protected critical habitat for Hawaii’s false killer whales, a dolphin species whose numbers have dwindled to around 150 in the wild. The new rule, responding to legal action by the Natural Resources Defense Council, designates critical habitat from a depth of 45 […]

    Hawaii to Approve Landmark Ban on Coral-Damaging Sunscreens

    Hawaii to Approve Landmark Ban on Coral-Damaging Sunscreens

    Hawaii Gov. David Ige signed a bill Tuesday prohibiting the sale of sunscreen that contains chemicals considered harmful to ocean ecosystems, including coral reefs. The Aloha State is the first in the nation to enact such a law. “Studies have documented the negative impact of these chemicals on corals and other marine life. Our natural […]

    Gillnet Fishing Blamed for Killing Up to 100 Baby Hammerhead Sharks in Honolulu

    Gillnet Fishing Blamed for Killing Up to 100 Baby Hammerhead Sharks in Honolulu

    Up to 100 hammerhead shark pups were found dead Tuesday morning near Keehi Lagoon in Honolulu. Experts suggested that gillnet fishing could be the culprit. Authorities at the state’s Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement have opened an investigation after the baby sharks were discovered by the La Mariana Sailing Club, according to local media. […]

    Hawaii Bans Use of Toxic Pesticide Chlorpyrifos

    Hawaii Bans Use of Toxic Pesticide Chlorpyrifos

    In a win for public health, Hawaii Governor David Ige signed a bill banning the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos, which has been linked to increased risk of learning disabilities, lower IQs, developmental delays, and behavior problems in children. “Hawaii is showing the Trump administration that the states will stand up for our kids, even […]

    Coral Reefs Lost to Kīlauea Eruption

    Coral Reefs Lost to Kīlauea Eruption

    By Dan Zukowski When searing black lava from fissure 8 slid into the Pacific Ocean at Kapoho Bay on June 3, it had been five weeks since the collapse of the Pu’u ‘Ō’ō crater, along the eastern rift zone of the Kīlauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island. Toxic, acid-laden steam billowed high above boiling waves. […]

    Lava Destroys 600 Homes on Hawaii’s Big Island

    Lava Destroys 600 Homes on Hawaii’s Big Island

    More than 600 homes have been destroyed by lava flows from Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii since erupting more than a month ago, Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim told Reuters. Kim said that Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, has never destroyed so many homes before in such a short […]