Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Annual Report 2017

In 2017, the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center joined NOAA in completion of the three-year Campaign to Address Pacific monument Science, Technology, and Ocean Needs (CAPSTONE); surveyed and monitored coral reef ecosystems in the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument and Mariana Islands; investigated the coastal ocean of West Hawaii Island marine ecosystem and its underlying oceanography; conducted the Hawaiian Islands Cetacean and Ecosystem Assessment Survey across approximately 1.8 million square nautical miles (2.5 million square kilometers) of ocean; celebrated the Year of the Monk Seal and monitored the population of endangered Hawaiian monk seals across the Hawaiian Archipelago; surveyed pelagic micronekton and plankton off the leeward coast of Oahu; worked with fishers and used underwater video to collect data on the Deep-7 bottomfishes across over 400 sites; employed novel approaches to conduct a multi-species stock assessment; and engaged in collaborative exchanges, agreements, and reviews within NOAA and with external organizations, governments, academia, and the public.