Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 32, Number 6, 1 Iune 2015 — Molokaʻi community rallying to battle invasive ogo [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Molokaʻi community rallying to battle invasive ogo

By Cheryl Corbiell Moloka'i High School student teams' projects on gorilla ogo and mangroves are spurring the island community toward removal of the invasive seaweed. When over 1,000 Moloka'i residents crowded the loeal baseball field on April 17 for the island's Earth Day celebration, two . new exhibits cauuht

the community's attention. The new k enemy this year ■ was Gracilaria B salicornia, eomJ monly called 3 gorilla ogo. Two weeks earlier, Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustee Colette

Machado attended a presentation featuring students who won top honors at the Maui County Science Fair and were chosen to represent Moloka'i and Maui County at the international competition in May. "I was astounded as the students described the building crisis on the reef and how gorilla ogo was quietly and quickly taking over," said Maehado. "The student teams inspired me to take action. The community needed to know about the threat to the reef and Earth Day was a prime opportunity." Within a week, Machado gathered seven partners and formed the Moloka'i Gorilla Ogo Survey and Control Project team. The partners were Kua'āina Ulu 'Auamo, OHA, Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources, The Nature Conser-

vancy, Ke Kua'āina Hanauna Hou and Kahina Pōhaku Loko I'a. The team committed to attending Earth Day. The focus of the exhibit was a live ogo sample in a tank and displays showing how gorilla ogo forms thick intertwining mats on the reef ehoking out native limu and threatening native fish. University of Hawai'i Maui Col-lege-Moloka'i students volunteered to join the partners at Earth Day. The students explained why gorilla ogo was harmful. Student Ekolu Ah Yee said, "People had seen gorilla ogo in the water and did not realize it was bad." Then students directed participants to a Moloka'i map, where residents placed colored stickers indicating where they had seen gorilla ogo. Kalani Quiocho, conservancy assistant marine coordinator in the Marine Fellowship Program, said: "I was surprised that most people were not aware of the extent of the gorilla ogo. It made sense where the dots were placed on the south and eastern ends of the island, whieh is where the shallow reef flats are located and the conditions are favorable for gorilla ogo. Onee residents understood what gorilla ogo was doing to the reef, they were willing to donate time to the

project." To complement the partners' exhibit, the Moloka'i high school students' exhibit explained the potential for conunercial agar extraction from dried gorilla ogo. Gorilla ogo was brought to Moloka'i in the 1970s for commercial purposes. Mangroves were also discussed because mangroves have invaded 60 percent of Moloka'i's coastal fishponds and nurtures gorilla ogo. "Mangroves form a symbiotic relationship with gorilla ogo by providing sheltered water, whieh is ogo's prime habitat," said student Lily Jenkins. Other students who worked on the project are Alexandrai Simon, Keaa Davis, Momi Afelin and Sarah Jenkins. Upon their return from the International Science Fair competition on the mainland, these students will join the gorilla ogo survey team. A eonunon question residents asked was how to remove gorilla ogo.

Quiocho said, "The Super Sucker program on O'ahu ... removed invasive algae from from Kāne'ohe Bay using an underwater vacuum system. This might work on Moloka'i." Another method is removal by hand. Today Moloka'i is aware of the invasive limu. "The next step is a conununity workshop in late June to train volunteers how to conduct the survey," said Machado. "This informahon will dictate how and where to remove the gorilla ogo." Onee gorilla ogo is removed, native limu will be reintroduced as a best practice. Maehado, a board member of Ke Kua'āina Hanauna Hou, a Moloka'i nonprofit, has initiated a native limu nursery on east Moloka'i in anticipation of reintroduction.B

Chervl Corhiell is an instructor at the University of Hawai'i Maui. Col-lege-Moloka'i. and coordinator for TeenACE and ACE Readi.ng programs.

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Gorilla ogo forms ihiek mats on reefs, lop. At boftom, the reef after the invasive seaweed was removed. - Courtesy photos

An educational exhibit at Moloka'i's Earth Day celebration showcased live gorilla ogo in tanks. OHA Trustee Colette Machado, right, got involved after hearing a presentation about gorilla ogo by students. - Photo: Cheryl Corbiell