Creating a way for tourists and casual oceangoers to flag diseased coral is underway as white syndrome threatens reefs around Hawaiʻi.

The ocean stewardship fee aims to offset impacts of marine tourists. Unlike the green fee, its dollars go into a special fund.

No one was held responsible for the 2024 Kewalo Basin incident, highlighting some of the difficulties in reef damage enforcement.

Experts say labeling sunscreens “reef-friendly” is deceptive since even chemicals that aren’t banned can do widespread damage to coral reefs.

The fishing has resumed in the deep ocean waters that were designated off-limits over a decade ago.

Judges for the National Headliner Award said the work turns readers into explorers and allows them to share the thrill, discoveries and importance of environmental/scientific research.

There have only been about 30 whale generations since whaling largely ceased. Researchers may need twice that long to uncover what is happening.

The extraction process involves dumping debris into the thriving midwater zone.

“The soul of our ancestors, when they leave this world, they go into the deep.”

The added protection for the environmentally and culturally sensitive area in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands is set to take effect in March.