Mission: The mission of the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division is to provide sound science to enable informed and effective implementation of ecosystem-based management and conservation strategies for coral reef ecosystems of the U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands Region. To accomplish this mission, the Division leads an integrated, interdisciplinary program of ecosystem assessment and long-term monitoring, benthic habitat mapping, and applied research on the coral reef ecosystems of 50 primary islands and atolls in the Hawaiian Archipelago, the Mariana Archipelago (Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands), American Samoa, and the Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIA). The Division's work supports NOAA and other agencies in meeting mandates of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 and various executive orders issued to ensure conservation and protection of the nation's coral reef ecosystems.
 
 

Background: Supported by NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program, the NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center has embarked on a comprehensive program to understand our coral reef ecosystems and to reduce adverse impacts of human activities. This involves collaboration with scientific, private, government, and nongovernmental organizations at the local, state, federal, and international levels.

NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program is a partnership among the NOAA Line Offices working on coral reef issues: the National Marine Fisheries Service, the National Ocean Service, the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, and the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service. The Coral Reef Conservation Program brings together expertise from across NOAA for a multidisciplinary approach to supporting effective management and sound science to preserve, sustain, and restore valuable coral reef ecosystems.

In our efforts to reduce the effects of derelict fishing gear on coral reef ecosystems of the Hawaiian Archipelago, the NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center also partners with the NOAA Marine Debris Program. The NOAA Marine Debris Program, part of the National Ocean Service, Office of Response & Restoration, aims to reduce the amount of debris that enters the coastal and marine environments through research, prevention, and reduction activities. These actions were recommended by the U.S Commission on Ocean Policy and are required by the U.S Ocean Action Plan, Marine Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act of 1987, and other mandates delegated to NOAA.