Papahanaumokuakea and Pearl and Hermes Atoll

Pearl and Hermes Atoll (Holoikauaua) is primarily underwater with numerous islets, which are rising and subsiding above or below sea level. The total land area is only 85 acres, and the reef area of over 200,000 acres is the second largest among atolls in Papahanaumokuakea. The fringing reef encloses a lagoon that measures more than forty miles in circumference, and opens to the West with an amazing variety and abundance of reef habitats. Pearl and Hermes has a diverse assemblage of coral, including Finger Coral, thirty-three species of Stony Coral, and several species of sponges.

In 1822 two English whaling ships, the Pearl and the Hermes, wrecked on the reef during a storm, and since then several other vessels have run aground in the area. King Kamehameha III then claimed the atoll for the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1854. Pearl oysters were later found, and tons of shells were sold to button manufacturers on the Mainland. Over-harvesting led to the pearl oyster population to be nearly eliminated.

Due to the atoll’s small land base, it was largely spared the ravages of miners and feather hunters of the late 1800′s. Presently, about 22 species of birds reside here including Black-footed Albatrosses, Tristram’s Storm Petrels, Little Terns. The endangered Laysan Finch was introduced here in an attempt to establish an additional colony in case disease, natural disaster, or other calamities exterminated the only other population in the world on Laysan Island.

Spinner Dolphins, Hawaiian Monk Seals, and Green Sea Turtles all breed and feed at Pearl and Hermes. The atoll also has the highest number of fish species in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands including Saber Squirrelfish, Galapagos Sharks, Sandbar Sharks, Jacks (ulua), Masked Angelfish, Japanese Angelfish, Bigeyes (Aweoweo), Parrotfish (Uhu), eels, and lobsters.