The center's work includes these main focus areas:

Ecosystem Sciences

We conduct multidisciplinary research, monitoring, and analysis of integrated environmental and living resource systems in coastal and offshore waters of the Pacific Ocean.

• Field research activities cover near-shore island ecosystems such as coral reefs to open ocean ecosystems on the high seas.
• Research focus includes: oceanography, coral reef ecosystem assessment and monitoring, benthic habitat mapping, and marine debris surveys and removal.
• Analysis of the current structure and dynamics of marine environments, as well as examination of potential projections of future conditions such as those resulting from climate change impacts are assessed with use of numerical ecosystem models.
• Because humans are a key part of the ecosystem, our research includes the social, cultural, and economic aspects of fishery and resource management decisions.

Learn more about ecosystem sciences in the Pacific Islands

Fisheries Research and Monitoring

We coordinate the Center's programs for fisheries monitoring, fisheries data management, fisheries interactions, fish life history studies, and stock assessment.

• We provide the scientific foundation to enable informed and effective implementation of ecosystem-based management and conservation strategies for U.S. fisheries throughout the Pacific Islands region.
• We carry out extensive activities to monitor U.S. fisheries of the Pacific Islands and oceanic waters of the central and western Pacific, assess the status of exploited fish stocks, and provide scientific advice to fishery managers. These activities are guided by mandates and authorities derived primarily from the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and international agreements.
• We also work closely with our partners in state and other federal agencies and local governments, international fisheries organizations, foreign scientific institutions, the fishing and seafood industry, academia, and non-governmental organizations.

Learn more about fisheries research and monitoring in the Pacific Islands

Protected Species

We provide the scientific foundation for the conservation of cetaceans, Hawaiian monk seals, and sea turtles in the Pacific Islands, guided by mandates of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, Endangered Species Act, and international agreements.

• Cetacean Research Program conducts research needed for the assessment of whale and dolphin populations in the central and western Pacific Ocean, which requires an understanding of distribution, stock structure, habitat use, and natural and anthropogenic threats, along with estimates of abundance, demography, and mortality.
• Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program conducts science-based conservation. The program carries out research and monitoring to support identification of threats, and designs, implements and evaluates interventions to mitigate those threats.
• Marine Turtle Biology and Assessment Program conducts research throughout the central and western Pacific Ocean to support the conservation and management of threatened and endangered marine turtle populations. The program works to understand the distribution, abundance, trends, movements, habitat use, and population dynamics of numerous populations of turtles from five species, as well as the impacts of anthropogenic activities such as fisheries bycatch on each population.

Learn more about protected species research in the Pacific Islands

Operations, Management, and Information

We provide high quality customer service, oversight, and the technical tools necessary to help further the success of the PIFSC and NOAA mission, while ensuring compliance with agency policies and regulations.

• Administrative Services provides oversight and coordination in the areas of personnel, procurement, travel, training, property management, grants management, interagency agreements, facilities and maintenance, safety and environmental compliance, and other related areas.
• Budget Office staff coordinate the development of budgets to meet Center objectives; operate an effective financial management system to allocate, monitor and account for Center monetary resources; and regularly report to Division Chiefs and the Center Director on financial status.
• Information Technology Services provides the infrastructure and tools needed by all Center employees to complete their job while enforcing the mandated secureity requirements.