Climate Change Impact

Forereef Off Malem, Kosrae
Micronesia Challenge Evaluates Reef Recovery
Large Habitat-Forming Corals
Maintaining Healthy & Sustainable Fisheries
Improving Fishing Gear
Subsistence Fishing
Our monitoring teams
Puwe Patch Reef
Puwe Patch Reef

Puwe patch reef in Chuuk before and after a climate-induced bleaching event and typhoon passing by. Climate change is impacting reefs and fisheries across Micronesia and our database project provides information to predict these impacts and monitor recovery so we can create proactive management policies.

Forereef Off Malem, Kosrae
Forereef Off Malem, Kosrae

Sequential images from the forereef off Malem, Kosrae, before and after a climate-induced bleaching in 2016. After the coral dies, turf algae grow on top of the dead skeletons which represents a food source for herbivore fishes.

Micronesia Challenge Evaluates Reef Recovery
Micronesia Challenge Evaluates Reef Recovery

Some reefs can recover quickly after disturbances events (left) while others take longer to recover or may never recover (right) due to declining fisheries or increases in land-based pollution. The Micronesia Challenge evaluates reef recovery potential and the causes behind poor recovery to build a management framework that can sustain reefs and fisheries as best we can into the future.

Large Habitat-Forming Corals
Large Habitat-Forming Corals

Climate change is causing more frequent disturbance events to our reefs. The time frame between disturbances will dictate the types of corals we see on the reef into the future. Large habitat-forming corals such as these will become more rare into the future.

Maintaining Healthy & Sustainable Fisheries
Maintaining Healthy & Sustainable Fisheries

Fish biomass can nearly double in response to the food availability, and over time, can clean the reef to facilitate recovery. Maintaining healthy and sustainable fisheries is perhaps the largest challenge Micronesia reefs face.

Improving Fishing Gear
Improving Fishing Gear

Improving fishing gear and technology gives us better access to our prized fishery resources. In order to balance the subsistence needs of societies, the economic needs of markets, and the ecological needs of our reefs, our database project also collects data on fish catches and sales to support a balanced future alongside our marine resource management agencies.

Subsistence Fishing
Subsistence Fishing

Subsistence fishing, seen here in Namo, Marshall Islands, typically targets smaller fish that can grow and reproduce faster. Thus, subsistence fishing may have less of an impact on fisheries resources as compared to commercial fishing that targets the largest fishes that take much longer to replace.

Our monitoring teams
Our Monitoring Teams

Together, our monitoring teams work for a common goal across a large part of the Pacific bringing data together to sustain our future livelihoods.

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