For 249 years, the United States Navy has defended the nation from amphibious invasion, and it is now working to stop an invasion threat to Pearl Harbor. It isn’t a foreign power that has eyes on the Hawaiian military installation, but rather Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam is under threat from an invasive octocoral, which could seriously impact the local marine ecosystem.
According to the Pacific Command (PACOM), two species of octocoral not native to Hawaii were discovered near Bishop Point. While great efforts are made to preserve coral reefs around the world, such coral – which is popular with aquarium enthusiasts – is illegal to own in Hawaii.
At issue is that octocorals could pose a significant threat to reef-building corals.
“We have an octocoral known as pulse coral (Unomia stolonifera) which is highly invasive. We also have Kenya tree coral (Capnella spicata), Hammer coral, goldspotted angelfish and a corallimorph species,” explained Nicole Olmsted, conservation manager for Commander, Navy Region Hawaii (CNRH). “The pulse coral has the ability to fragment and spread easily and attaches to other corals. We want to maintain reef biodiversity and this coral can easily take over so we need to get rid of it.”
As of January of this year, the sea service had already cleared more than 33,850 square feet – nearly three-fourths of the area of a football field – of the harmful octocorals from Pearl Harbor. The concern is that the fast-growing octocoral has already returned, and the upcoming removal effort, which will use a combination of tarp smothering and manual removal, could take years to complete.
Don’t Let It Loose Campaign
The Navy is now supporting ongoing efforts by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) Plant Quarantine Branch, the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR), the University of Hawaii-Waikiki Aquarium, and the Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species (CGAPS) to prevent the release of illegal and harmful marine aquarium invasive species into the ocean.
This week the service and the different groups launched the “Don’t Let It Loose” campaign, a week-long effort that includes talks, webinars, and an exhibit at the Waikiki Aquarium.
The U.S. remains the largest importer of international marine species, and there continues to be an urgent need to educate the public about the threat of invasive species and the need for containment.
“The vast majority of marine aquarium species are not allowed in Hawaii because of this risk, but we see more and more things coming in and we see more and more things on our reef,” explained Christy Martin, program manager for CGAPS. “This one species that we have on Joint Base, the pulse coral, it is so invasive that it was dumped once and now it covers a footprint of 80 acres and it is carpeting the bottom and killing coral.”
In January, the U.S. Department of Defense Readiness and Environmental Integration Program (REPI) also awarded the 50th state more than $7.1 million to tackle invasive species and to help recover native plants and wildlife across the archipelago.
Warships Are Often Carriers of Invasive Species
Vessels that travel the world can all too often – and entirely inadvertently – ferry invasive species. This often occurs as aquatic creatures are carried in the ships’ ballast tanks – where water is pumped on board for stability and released in distant global ports.
This has been a problem for decades, but ships have carried invasive species, notably rats, for eons. As the U.S. Navy travels the world, it continues to pick up stowaways, which can also attach to the hull.
The efforts to clean the hulls and remove potentially invasive species present other problems. Critics warned in 2017 that efforts to scrap the hull of the retired USS Independence (CV-62) before moving it from the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA, to Brownsville, TX, could release toxins in the water.
The Navy suggested that highly skilled divers could gently scrub marine growth on the hull to prevent the possible transfer of an invasive species, without scraping off the paint. However, due to concerns, in 2022, the sea service placed about 10,000 cubic yards of sand on the site of the former carrier to ensure the copper-based paint wouldn’t impact salmon and other marine life in Puget Sound. The U.S. Navy has also agreed to stop scraping the hulls of decommissioned ships in the waters.
Ongoing Efforts
Currently, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has no ongoing programs that are directly focused on invasive species, but the research agency has explored efforts to reduce biofouling on ship hulls, which are a contributor to the spread of invasive maritime life. The research has looked into limited the ways that organisms could attach to the ships.
In addition, the U.S. Department of the Interior has advanced federal capabilities for early detection and rapid response (EDRR) to combat invasive species. That has called for the integration of new technologies, innovations, and greater public education to stop such invasions.
