The U.S. Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIAs) are nine sovereign Federal territories that straddle the equator in the central Pacific. All are single reef ecosystems that are a part of a large central Pacific biogeographic and geological province consisting mostly of ancient low reef islands and atolls (Figure 12.1; Stoddart, 1992). Six of the PRIAs are atolls or atoll reefs: Johnston Atoll (16˚N, 169˚W), Palmyra Atoll (5˚53΄N, 162˚05΄W)), Kingman Reef (6˚25΄N, 162˚23΄W), which constitute the three northernmost of the U.S. Line Islands; Rose Atoll (14˚S, 168˚W), the easternmost of the Samoan Islands; Wake Atoll (20˚N, 155˚W), the northern most of the Marshall Islands; and Midway Atoll (28˚N, 177˚W), near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian Archipelago. The remaining three PRIAs are low reef islands within one degree latitude of the equator: Jarvis Island (00˚S, 160˚W), in the central U.S. Line Islands, Howland Island (00˚18΄S, 160˚01’W); and Baker Island (00˚13΄N,, 176˚38΄W), the two northernmost of the U.S. Phoenix Islands. All except Wake and Johnston are National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and all fall under cojurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) and the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), except Johnston, which is managed by the U.S. Department of Defense, and Palmyra, which is under the joint jurisdiction of DOI, DOC, and The Nature Conservancy.

Although all nine are outside the political jurisdiction of other U.S. Pacific States and Territories (Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands [CNMI]), Rose and Midway Atolls are geographically a part of American Samoa and Hawaii, respectively. For organizational purposes, Midway Atoll is mostly treated in the chapter on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI), and Rose Atoll is partially covered in the chapter on American Samoa. Swains Island (14˚S, 168˚W), the northernmost island in American Samoa, is also a remote reef island but it is not technically a PRIA because it falls under the jurisdiction of the Territory of American Samoa.

All of the PRIAs were uninhabited at the time of their discovery by Americans and Europeans over the past two centuries, although Polynesians (and Micronesians, in the case of Wake) probably visited all of the islands periodically over many centuries to harvest fish and wildlife. The U.S. claimed most of the islands via the Guano Act of 1856. Except for Palmyra, Kingman and Rose, the PRIAs lie within arid zones of the tropical Pacific, with insufficient groundwater and rainfall to support continuous human habitation. Moreover, Kingman, lacks vegetated islets, and the land area at Rose is too small and vulnerable to storms to allow habitation. Although Palmyra is certainly capable of supporting human settlements, it is unclear as to why it remained uninhabited during recent centuries. The lack of human habitation allowed the coral reef ecosystems of the PRIAs to remain completely pristine until the early 20th century. Even today all lie beyond the influence of
urban centers, associated pollutants, and major shipping lanes.

Most of the PRIAs were materially modified during the World War II (WWII) era: the U.S. constructed and occupied military bases at Johnston, Palmyra, Wake, Midway, and Baker, while Kingman, Jarvis, and Howland were also briefly occupied or utilized during the war era. With the closure of the military base at Johnston in early 2004, only Wake Atoll remains an active U.S. military base. The seven NWRs in the PRIAs were established between 1924-2001, and all are presently no-take island and marine protected areas (MPAs) except Palmyra, on which limited catch and release sport fishing for bonefish and offshore pelagic catch for local consumption are allowed.

Ocean currents transport and distribute larvae among and between different atolls and islands, and particularly in the Pacific equatorial region, define sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and available nutrient regimes. The North Equatorial Current (NEC), Equatorial Counter Current (ECC), Equatorial Undercurrent or Cromwell Current (EUC), and South Equatorial Current (SEC) provide the mechanism by which many species are distributed among the PRIAs, nearby central Pacific islands, the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI), as well as other distant regions.

Overall Conditions and Summary of Analytical Results

NOAA, USFWS, Bishop Museum, and other scientists and volunteers have now completed species inventories (including many new records) and assessments and initiated monitoring of reef fishes and corals using several complementary underwater survey techniques at most of the PRIAs: the U.S. Line and Phoenix Islands, Johnston Atoll, and Rose Atoll. Based on the inventories, assessments, and monitoring thus far, several summary statements can be made:

• Based on the fish assemblage composition surveyed from 2000-2004, coral reef ecosystems of the PRIAs appear to remain quite healthy and productive.

• Levels of unauthorized fishing around the U.S. Line and Phoenix Islands are unknown, but believed to be negligible to light. Overall, reef fish assemblages at these islands appear to be basically healthy, with large apex predators common.

• There is presently no known harvesting for the coral and live reef fish/species trades in these islands.

• Substantial COTS predation on corals has been observed at Kingman and Palmyra but appears low elsewhere in the PRIAs.

• High densities of small planktivorous fishes found along the west side of the equatorial islands (Jarvis, Baker, Howland) were associated with upwellings caused by impingement of the EUC.

• Coral larvae transported in ECC from the western Pacific may be responsible for the substantially higher levels of coral species diversity at Palmyra and Kingman.

• Surveys conducted at Kingman in 2004 suggest an apparent decline in large fish densities (e.g., gray reef sharks, jacks, groupers) from earlier years.

• Abandoned WWII material, military construction, occupation, and ship groundings continue to be sources of stress, alien species, and perhaps coral disease to resident reef ecosystems.

• Although uninhabited atolls and islands s erve as important minimally-disturbed refuges, they are also vulnerable to unauthorized fishing and collecting due to the lack of on-site surveillance and enforcement.

The eastern portion of the Samoa Archipelago consists of five high volcanic islands and, in the east, Rose Atoll. It is an unincorporated territory of the USA, and its administration also covers Swains Atoll, a remote atoll which lies between the main islands and those of Tokelau to the north. The high islands are surrounded by fringing reefs, with reef flats typically 50-500 meters wide terminating in a reef slope which drops sharply for 3-6 meters and then descends gradually down to a depth of about 40 meters.

There are small areas of mangrove on Tutuila and Aunu‘u. The reef rim of Rose Atoll is dominated by coralline algae. It has an important green turtle nesting colony, and having been cleared of rats is also a thriving seabird colony. Swains Atoll lies at sea level, but there is a circular island on the reef flat completely enclosing the brackish atoll lagoon. There is a small population of some 50 people on the island.

The vast majority of the rapidly growing population of American Samoa lives on the southern shores of Tutuila. Although fisheries are very important, changes in the economy have meant that there is less reliance on subsistence fishing than in the past. About 150 tons of reef fish and invertebrates were taken by subsistence and small-scale artisanal fisheries in 1994, and overfishing has been shown to occur on Tutuila Island. There are further problems arising from land-derived sediments and pollutants. Although there is sewage treatment in the main population centers there are still some nutrient inputs from sewage in these areas and elsewhere. There are two tuna canneries which used to add considerable amounts of nutrients to Pago Pago harbor. These inputs have now been substantially reduced with the construction of a treated waste disposal pipe further offshore, and the dumping of high nutrient waste at some 8 kilometers distance. The coastline on Tutuila has been heavily impacted by road building and construction, and nesting turtles have largely stopped using the area.

Socioeconomic monitoring is conducted in Fiji, Samoa and Solomon Islands. Greatest activity is by the Fiji Locally Marine Managed Area (FLMMA) network at 270 villages across all Fiji provinces. Most households harvest marine resources for subsistence and partially for sale, with few commercial fishers. In Samoa, more people eat canned fish than fresh fish, possibly because of decreased fish stocks in the last 10 years. In the Solomon Islands, some traditional managed systems have collapsed due to poor understanding of fisheries and resource management issues or poor national regulations. Mangrove destruction and greater fishing pressure are reducing family incomes;

Reef related ecosystems (mangroves and seagrass) are considered important for food security, biodiversity conservation and coastal protection but less so for tourism. Seagrasses are important feeding grounds for turtles which have great traditional significance;

Reefs continue to play an integral part in the lives of the people of the South Pacific where coastal communities depend on them for subsistence, coastal protection and income generation. Most of the South West Pacific economies are dependant to a large extent on coral reefs, especially through the tourism sector, as detailed in the ESCAP statistical yearbook for Asia and the Pacific, 2007.

Coral reefs support the livelihoods of Polynesian populations through subsistence fishing in all countries and through tourism and black pearl industries in French Polynesia and the Cook Islands;

The countries of Polynesia Mana (Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Niue, Tokelau, Tonga, and Wallis and Futuna) have vast areas of coral reefs scattered over 12 million km² of EEZ with 347 islands representing 6000 km² of land and only half a million inhabitants. Reefs sustain tourism and black pearl industries as the main income in French Polynesia and the Cook Islands. Reef-based tourism has generated revenue of US$130 million in 2007 and employs 60% of the population in the Cook Islands. French Polynesia produced 6.4 metric tons of black pearl in 2006, to a value of US$100 million and employs 5000 people in more than 50 islands. Other countries have some form of tourism, usually to a lesser extent, and reefs mainly sustain livelihoods through subsistence fishing (Figure 13.1).

Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIAs) are isolated US sovereign islands and atolls outside the jurisdiction of any specific State or Territory. The 7 islands and atolls are dispersed over a vast and remote area in the central Pacific Ocean and influenced by varying oceanographic and climatic conditions and processes; 6 of these are National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) under the jurisdiction of the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Wake Atoll, the only one that is not a refuge, is under the control of the Department of the Interior and operated by the US Air Force, with a population of 150-250 Air Force personnel and contractors. The coral reefs of the PRIAs remain quite healthy and productive, with few impacts from unauthorized fishing, abandoned WWII materiel, and residual effects from guano mining, ship groundings, and climate change. These islands experience occasional tropical storms (Figure 15.1).

This report is the third in a series of assessments of the current status of coral reef ecosystems in the Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIA). PRIA are defined as isolated U.S. sovereign islands and atolls not within the jurisdiction of any U.S. state or territory. Seven of the eight PRIA (except Midway) are discussed in this chapter including: Howland, Baker and Jarvis Islands; Johnston, Palmyra, Kingman and Wake Atolls. Midway is included in the chapter on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). Rose Atoll and Swains Island are a part of the Territory of American Samoa and are covered in the chapter on American Samoa.



The first State of the Reefs Report (Turgeon et al., 2002) provided a broad overview of the status of the seven islands, atolls and reefs covered in this chapter and concluded that all the [PRIA] coral reefs are generally in excellent-to-good condition.In the second PRIA State of the Reefs Report, Brainard et al. (2005) identified specific threats to the coral ecosystems observed before 2005 and described the oceanographic and biological monitoring methods being applied across the PRIA. In addition, the 2005 report concluded that the coral reef ecosystems of the PRIA remained quite healthy and productive, with limited impacts noted from unauthorized fishing, abandoned WWII material and ship groundings. The report also recommended that Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (RAMP) surveys of all PRIA continue on a biennial basis.



Six of the seven PRIA are National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Department of the Interior (DOI). Palmyra Atoll is unique in that part of it (Cooper Island) is privately owned by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), with the remainder of the atoll being managed and operated by the USFWS. Wake Atoll, the only PRIA that is not a NWR, is under the control of the DOI and operated by the U.S. Air Force, with a population of 150-250 Air Force personnel and contractors, who primarily provide infrastructure support. Wake has an active airstrip that is used mostly by the U.S. military as a refueling stop. Johnston, Kingman, Palmyra, Baker, Howland, Jarvis, and Rose (American Samoa) were proposed to be added to the U.S. Tentative List for World Heritage Sites and are now being evaluated as "Ramsar" (1971 Convention on Wetlands of International Importance at Ramsar, Iran) sites.



The seven islands and atolls of the PRIA discussed in this report are dispersed over a vast and remote area in the central Pacific Ocean and influenced by varying oceanographic and climatic conditions and processes (Figure 11.1).



From north to south (Figure 11.1 and Figure 11.2):



Wake Atoll

(19° 17’N, 166° 36’E) and Johnston Atoll(16° 45’N, 169° 31’W) are influenced primarily by easterly trade winds, the westward-flowing North Equatorial Current (NEC), and significant winter swell from the North Pacific. The climate is tropical and relatively dry with rainfall of generally less than 300 mm/year. Wake Atoll is the northernmost atoll of the Marshall Island seamount chain, while Johnston Atoll is considered by some to be the northernmost atoll of the Line Island Chain (although it is geographically closer and biologically more similar to the Hawaiian Archipelago).



Kingman Reef

(6°24′N 162°24′W) and Palmyra Atoll(5°52′N 162°6′W) are both influenced seasonally by the eastwardflowing NECC and the westward-flowing NEC. Weather and sea conditions at both atolls are strongly influenced by their location within the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) during the summer months. When within the ITCZ, both atolls experience mostly light, variable winds, extremely high precipitation (4.5 m of rain per year at Palmyra) and a humid tropical climate. During the winter months, both atolls experience moderately strong easterly trade winds and seas. Both are part of the Line Islands seamount chain.



Baker Island

(0°12′N 176°29′W),Howland Island(0°48′N 176°37′W) and Jarvis Island(0°22′S 160°03′W) all lie near the equator under the influence of both the westward-flowing SEC at the surface and the strong (1-1.5 ms-1) eastwardflowing EUC with a core depth of approximately 50-200 m. The EUC causes localized topographic upwelling on the western side of all three islands that varies with time (e.g., El Niño/La Niña conditions). All lie within the arid zone of the equatorial Pacific with insufficient groundwater and rainfall to support continuous human habitation. Jarvis Island is a southern member of the Line Islands group and Howland and Baker Islands are northernmost members of the Phoenix Islands group and Tokelau Ridge.



The history of the PRIA are covered in a companion report (Maragos et al., 2008) and the 2005 edition of this report. Between October 2005 and April 2007, NOAA conducted biennial Pacific RAMP cruises at all seven locations, staffed by scientists from the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center’s Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (PIFSC-CRED), the USFWS and collaborating institutions. In addition, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) sponsored surveys at Palmyra and Kingman in August 2005, Palmyra in August 2006 and Kingman in August 2007. Since 2005, military use and occupation at Johnston Atoll has ceased, and all permanent residents were removed in 2005. TNC constructed a research station at Palmyra Atoll in 2006 that now accommodates up to 20 researchers for parts of the year. Numerous new research projects at Palmyra were proposed and initiated in 2005. In August 2006, Typhoon Ioke, the strongest storm ever reported in the Central Pacific, struck Johnston as a Category 2 hurricane and Wake as a Category 4 typhoon.