[ OUR OPINION ]

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More money needed
to protect coral reefs

THE ISSUE Governor Lingle and county mayors have started a campaign to provide information about the importance of reef systems.

Though commendable, a campaign by state and county governments to inform people about the importance of Hawaii's coral reefs needs to move beyond a Web site and public relations drive.

Individual efforts will help, but without a significant increase in funds for protection, without placing enforcement of regulations at the forefront, reef systems will continue to be in peril.

Governor Lingle and county mayors were to launch the year-long campaign today. As the Star-Bulletin's Diana Leone reports, the effort involves more than 40 government, community and scientific groups. Among the features will be a Web site with information and links to public events as well as ways people can volunteer to help.

It is well and good to boost awareness, especially among visitors who are attracted to snorkeling and other ocean recreation. Even many long-time residents may not be mindful of the sensitivity of coral reefs and the reciprocal ecosystem.

Hawaii is acutely dependent on the sea for its economic livelihood. Government agencies and the tourism industry spend hundreds of millions to lure visitors, but only a small percentage of the money goes toward preserving the environment those visitors find desirable.

The state's natural resources agency, which is charged with enforcing fishing regulations and safeguarding reefs and the ocean, is severely underfunded; there simply aren't enough officers to catch scofflaws.

Land-based pollution, such as fertilizer and human waste, escapes scrutiny and control, causing inordinate growth of seaweed that suffocates reefs. Mud from shoreline and upland developments is allowed to flow into the ocean, smothering coral.

Alien species, such as an algae that has all but eliminated native varieties in Waikiki, go unchecked. While the state spent more than $1 million to remove a plant pest from Lake Wilson, it depends on volunteers to fight the algae along Hawaii's iconic beach.

Hawaii's reefs shelter more than 5,000 species of marine plants and animals, a quarter of which are found only in the islands. The state holds more than 70 percent of all coral reefs in the United States and while most of it is in the protected Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, only 13 percent of reefs in the inhabited islands are in preservation.

Measured solely in money, the worth of Hawaii's reefs is pegged at $364 million a year. We know that healthy reefs and oceans are worth much more than that. As Alan Friedlander of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association said, "It's our food, our recreation, our culture."

Government officials may have more planned than the public information campaign. Let's hope they do.