LIHU‘E — The reefs are alive and are damaged when people walk on them, Kaua‘i Save Our Seas President Paul Clark said Sunday. Like Godzilla in Tokyo, walking on reefs harms the endemic ocean environment consisting of fish, algae, coral
LIHU‘E — The reefs are alive and are damaged when people walk on them, Kaua‘i Save Our Seas President Paul Clark said Sunday.
Like Godzilla in Tokyo, walking on reefs harms the endemic ocean environment consisting of fish, algae, coral and other invertebrates, he said. These organisms are essential to the ecosystem.
“There are very few signs or even educational pieces on Kaua‘i that really let people know what’s happening on the reefs or really what the reef is,” Clark said. “People think it’s entirely dead, but it’s really alive, even down to the microscopic level.”
In an effort to help reverse the damage already done, the nonprofit Save Our Seas has been placing new coral reef education signs at local dive and surf shops across the island, urging residents and visitors not to come in direct contact with the reef.
“The entire inner reef is scrapped clean … it’s completely barren,” Clark said, adding that locations with the most destruction are frequently visitor hot spots such as Tunnels and Ke‘e Beach.
The inner reefs are nursery areas for ocean creatures and are a part of a habitat which local fishermen rely on for sustenance, he said.
If people were aware of what they were doing it would change their whole attitude and behaviors, Clark said. “Most people just don’t understand.”
Boss Frog’s store manager Salina Milstein agreed, which is exactly why she decided to participate in SOS’s endeavors.
“It is vitally important that we reach beyond ourselves and our selfish desires and think about everything in the world we’re affecting,” said Milstein, who received a SOS sign for the store in recent months.
“We want people to enjoy snorkeling, but also want the reef here for our future and for the health of the whole planet.”
Also participating in a retail outlet fundraising campaign for SOS, the Kapa‘a dive and surf shop is dedicated to educating people about the importance of oceanic life, she said.
Coral reef is “our garden in the sea,” she added.
The new SOS signs were created by Limor Farber, a student at Kaua‘i Community College, whose work coincided with an art project, according to Clark. He said his hope is for additional signs to be installed across the island at state and county beach parks.
“We would be supportive of any type of effort the Department of Land and Natural Resources would want to make to help protect the reef,” said Beth Tokioka, executive assistant to Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr.
She added that it was the state department’s kuleana to enforce an action such as distributing signage at island beaches.
It’s likely that lifeguards at county beach parks are keeping an eye out for unsafe situations, she said, but the hardest part is protecting the reef in places where no one is watching.
“Just because it’s flat and fuzzy doesn’t mean it’s dead,” Clark said. “The reef is very fragile.”
For more information, visit www.saveourseas.org or e-mail Clark at sos@saveourseas.org.
•Coco Zickos, business and environmental writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or czickos@kauaipubco.com.
