Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

The Hawaiian Archipelago is distributed approximately 1,296 nautical miles (2,960 km) in the north central Pacific Ocean. It consists of two regions: eight populated large islands, referred to as the Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI), and 124 mostly uninhabited small islands, atolls, reefs, and submerged banks to the northwest of the MHI, referred to as the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI).

The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) stretch for more than 2,000 km (1243 mi) northwest of the main Hawaiian Islands. On June 15, 2006, the President of the United States designated the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) a national monument, enabling nearly 140,000 square miles of the NWHI to receive our Nation's highest form of marine environmental protection. The coral reefs of the NWHI may be the healthiest and most undisturbed of the United States reefs, and unlike most other present-day coral reefs, they comprise possibly the last, large-scale, apex predator-dominated coral reef ecosystem on Earth. The NWHI coral reefs and associated habitats harbor more than 7,000 species, many of which are rare, threatened, or endangered; many are endemic, found nowhere else on Earth. Many more remain unidentified or even undiscovered to science.

Highlights

Coral Reef Condition: A Status Report for the Hawaiian Archipelago (2018)

Publications

Hawaii's Coral Reef Management Priorities

• Full color layout
  • Appendix 1: Hawai'i Coral Reef Strategy: Priorities for Management in the Main Hawaiian Islands, 2010-2020
• Text-only version

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

• Establishment of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument
  • Proclamation 8031 by the President of the United States of America
  • Amending Proclamation 8031 of June 15, 2006, to Read, "Establishment of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument"
• 2011 Accomplishments Report
• Condition Report 2009
• State of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve report (February 2006)
• Natural Resources Science Plan 2011–2015
• Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument - Library
• Forecasting the Impact of Storm Waves and Sea-Level Rise on Midway Atoll and Laysan Island within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument—A Comparison of Passive Versus Dynamic Inundation Models (Open-File Report 2013–1069) \

Marine Biogeographic Assessment of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

A surveillance strategy for invasive species of concern in deepwater habitats of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 108

An Investigation of Survey Technologies and Modeling Techniques for Improving Deepwater Surveys of Nonindigenous Species in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 95

U.S. Western Pacific Fisheries – Past to Present

Report on the Status of Marine Protected Areas in Coral Reef Ecosystems of the United States. Volume 1: Marine Protected Areas Managed by U.S. States, Territories, and Commonwealths. NOAA Technical Memorandum CRCP 2 February 2007

Status Reports

Coral Reef Condition: A Status Report for the Hawaiian Archipelago (2018)

State of The Reefs report (SOTR)

The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the United States and Pacific Freely Associated States: 2008.

The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the United States and Pacific Freely Associated States: 2005.

The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the United States and Pacific Freely Associated States: 2002.

Local Action Strategy

Hawaii Local Action Strategy Factsheet

FLASH Strategic Plan: Fisheries Local Action Strategy in Hawai'i (FLASH)

Metadata, Data and Publications Search in CoRIS

Search the CoRIS Geoportal for Northwestern Hawaiian Islands metadata, data and publications.

You may also choose to enter the name of any individual island, shoal, atoll, submerged bank, etc., in the CoRIS Geoportal search box and press the "Search" button.

ReefBase Coral Bleaching Reports - Select "U.S. Pacific Islands" in the region window and "Hawaiian Islands (USA)" in the Country window.

Near-Real-Time Data

Coral Reef Watch Satellite Monitoring

Coral Reef Watch - Hawaiian Islands Virtual Stations

The Global Temperature-Salinity Profile Program

NOAA/National Weather Service - Data from Hawaii

NOAA Tidal Predictions

• Laysan Island
• Sand Island, Midway Islands
• East Island, French Frigate Shoals

National Data Buoy Center

Other Data & Information

Pacific Islands Benthic Habitat Mapping Center - Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Data

Shallow-water Benthic Habitats of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

Hawaii Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas

Shallow and Deep-water CTD observations

Documented sightings of C. riisei and H. musciformis in NWHI and nearby islands (2010)

Education and Outreach

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument - Education and Outreach

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument - Maps, Images, and Videos

Papahānaumokuākea Site brochure

Papahānaumokuākea World Heritage brochure

Marine Protected Areas/ Marine Managed Areas

Marine Protected Areas of the United States Home Page

The Marine Protected Areas Inventory

Federal MPA Legislation

Marine Federal Areas Fact Sheet

Executive order 13158: Marine Protected Areas

Hancock Seamount

Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge

Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument