Hu’i Hu’i Surf Bracelet Woman’s Size (Coral)

Stretching for more than 1200 miles (2000 km) in the Central Pacific, Hawaiian coral reefs account for about 85 percent of all coral reefs in the United States. Because it is under water and not visible, the importance of the reef remains largely hidden – including its importance not only to the ocean environment and its inhabitants, but also to humans.

Hawaii consists of eight larger islands (seven of which are populated), and 124 small, uninhabited islands, reefs and shoals, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, where the majority of the Hawaiian coral reef, about 70 percent of it, is located.

Coral reef support marine and terrestrial life

Even though they may appear to be nothing but rock, reefs are alive. Corals give reefs their structure. The limestone skeletons of living coral, the hard skeletal remains of dead coral and a soft type of coral provide structure for a reef, offering habitat and food to the many fish and invertebrates, including lobsters, octopus and crabs that live around it. And algae which not only provides fish with food, but also provide life-sustaining oxygen for all marine life. In fact, the oceans’ algae provide more oxygen than all land plants worldwide combined.

About one-fourth of the plants, fish, and invertebrates found in the Hawaiian coral reef are endemic to Hawaii, meaning that they can’t be found anywhere else on Earth. In the past, reef fish provided Hawaiians with the majority of their protein.

In addition to providing humans with food, reefs protect shorelines from erosion and storm damage by dissipating wave energy and limiting the impact of strong waves. Also, the sandy beaches enjoyed by island residents and visitors alike only exist because of Hawaii’s coral reef. Beach sand’s main components are dead fragments of coral, shells and calcified algae. But the reef is also responsible for creating the big Hawaiian waves. The shape of the reef is one factor in determining how big a wave gets.