Remarkable Reef Fish Recruitment Event in Hawaii

“My eyes feel full when looking at this many fish. They almost itch; it’s so overwhelming.” 

-Pauline Fiene, Maui-based Mike Severns Diving

“In what she and others have termed a ‘once in a lifetime’ event, ‘swarms’ of small fishes appeared in unprecedented numbers throughout the Hawaiian Islands this past summer.”

This morning, CORAL Magazine published an excerpt from an upcoming article of mine on the remarkable recruitment event that has Hawaii’s reefs flushed with more young fishes than anyone can remember seeing in a generation. Ironically, it is because of the intense controversy over the State’s marine aquarium fishery that the data exist allowing fisheries biologists and managers to begin to place this important event into context.

Better understanding the poorly-understood dynamics of reef fish recruitment is essential for conservationists, reef scientists and fisheries managers. I’m pleased I was able to bring some of their voices to you in this article. The full piece will publish in the November/December issue of CORAL.

Click here to read the online feature.

For more of my coverage on Hawaii’s Reefs and the State’s aquarium fishery, click here.