Crew Member Works to Protect Wildlife on Coral Reef
I have been swimming off and on for over two decades at Richardson Beach Park about five miles from the town of Hilo, Hawaii. This beach is considered one of the best places to swim, snorkel and, (unfortunately for me, spear fish) on the west side of the island. The area is about two football fields in size and is protected from high surf by a lava reef. Many of the islands’ fish may be found here: angelfish, blennies, box fish, cardinal fish, chubs, goat fish, jacks, lizard fish, needle fish, parrot fish, surgeon fish, wrasses, eagle rays, eels, small octopi, and the occasional monk seal.
I have noticed a decrease in the variety and number of fish over the years. With the eruption of Kilauea in 2018, and the lava flow wiping out many beaches, more people are driving the extra miles to Richardson. After the fire destroyed Lahaina, Maui in 2023 more tour boats now make stops in Hilo. These two factors, and an increase in population in general, is putting stress on Richardson Beach. The number of people using the park range from 50 on a rainy weekday to close to 2000 on a sunny weekend when the tour boats are in. The reef and fish habitat are slowly being damaged.
With lower spring tides, more people are walking on the coral and underwater lava. For a while I would confront people who touched or stood on the coral and submerged lava. It has not gone well. So I had metal signs made saying:
PLEASE RESPECT THE CORAL AND UNDERWATER LAVA BY NOT TOUCHING OR STANDING ON IT.
- It will kill the living coral and the fish habitat.
- It kills the microorganisms on the underwater lava that the fish eat.
Mahalo,
Crew Member, Spaceship Earth
Brochures, with the same information were made and delivered to the local rental car center at the airport, the port where the tour boats dock and the tour buses.
If this effort saves any coral or fish at all I will feel thankful.
John M. Daggett
April 10, 2025
Hilo, Hawaii
John was born in Portland, Oregon and is a life-long educator. He taught and administered at the elementary, middle and high school levels, and was a superintendent of schools for 15 years. He holds a PhD in educational policy with an emphasis on organizational development. John also served in the Marine Corps for four years.
He believes his father, born before the turn of the 20th century, was an innate ecologist long before the word was commonly used.