Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Hawaii
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Effective management of reef fishes is constrained by a lack of spatially and temporally relevant life-history data. For example, Bluespine Unicornfish Naso unicornis, commonly referred to by its Hawaiian name: Kala, is ecologically important as its browsing activities on turf-forming macroalgae aids in maintaining resilient coral reef ecosystems. It is also a heavily targeted species in both commercial and noncommercial fisheries. Yet little is known of its ​basic biology beyond the heavily-fished waters around Honolulu on Oahu. The most recent length-based stock assessment performed on the species estimated that the Hawaiian population is at < 10% of its spawning potential ratio (SPR), suggesting Kala may be experiencing heavy recruitment overfishing throughout the man Hawaiian Islands, but this assessment was performed almost exclusively with data from Oahu. With the recent push for community-led fishery management efforts, more spatially explicit data are required. The primary collaborator for this work is the Hawaii Division of Aquatic ​Resources, but local fishers ​are vital partners to the success of this effort. When completed, this project will inform management decisions for Kala around Maui, Molokai, and Hawaii Island.