NELHA monitors the coral coverage and fish counts from 6 sites offshore of the facility. For each site, coral coverage is estimated at the shallow, mid and deep depths, and fish are counted by divers.
Although there are changes in the coral and fish count from year to year, the past studies have found no evidence that these changes are as a result of activities at NELHA. Coral coverage is highly susceptible to weather events including storms and heat waves. Hurricane Iniki (1992) struck soon after the monitoring surveys started damaged a lot of coral reefs throughout the islands. Corals were also affected by a bleaching event in 2014 and 2015. In addition, because fish communities are highly mobile, changes in fish count year to year are consistent with the expected movement of fish communities.
Explore the coral coverage and fish data in the graph below. You can explore the coral and fish data either together or separately by selecting the corresponding button. You can also choose to look at the data as it relates to the site of the survey or the depth (or both). As you make selections, buttons to choose specific sites and depths may become active.
In addition to using the buttons on the top, add or remove columns by selecting on the legend, and zoom in by clicking and dragging along the horizontal axis.
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