upright=1.35|thumb|Map showing the location of Pearl and Hermes Atoll in the Hawaiian island chain

The Pearl and Hermes Atoll (Hawaiian: Holoikauaua), also known as Pearl and Hermes Reef, is part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, a group of small islands and atolls that form the farthest northwest portion of the Hawaiian island chain. The atoll consists of a variable number of flat and sandy islets, typically between five and seven. More were noted in historical sources but have since been lost to erosion and rising sea levels.

The atoll is named after Pearl and , a pair of English whaleships that wrecked there in 1822. It has been the site of at least eight known shipwrecks, including the Japanese Wiji Maru, SS Quartette, and most recently MV Casitas, which ran aground on the reef in 2005.

The atoll is an important habitat for seabirds, marine life, and invertebrate species. Twenty-two bird species nest and breed on the islands, including twenty percent of the world's population of black-footed albatrosses. The atoll has historically been included with the rest of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands in conservation efforts. It is included in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, created in 2006. Ghost nets and other fishing debris, rising sea levels, and the invasive algae Chondria tumulosa pose a significant risk to the atoll and its wildlife.

Geography

thumb|250px|North Island of Pearl and Hermes Atoll in 1999

The Pearl and Hermes Atoll is the third northernmost atoll of Hawaii, behind Midway and Kure, approximately northwest of Honolulu and east-southeast of Midway Atoll. The fringing coral reef which surrounds the atoll is roughly in circumference and open to the west. The islets are low and flat, with an average elevation of no more than in 2012, and there are no sources of fresh water on any of them. As of 2012, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the atoll consists of five islands.

From largest to smallest, the five remaining islands are Southeast Island (), Seal-Kittery (), North Island (), Grass Island (), and Little North Island (). Only the three largest islands have vegetation. Little North Island lies to the southeast, less than away. Southeast Island lies approximately to the southeast of Little North. Grass Island approximately east, and Seal Kittery just under to the east of that.

The Hawaiian-language name for the atoll, Holoikauaua, was established in the late 1990s by the Hawaiian Lexicon Committee following an effort to restore traditional Hawaiian names which had been lost, misspelled, or replaced with foreign names. Because its original Hawaiian name was not known, the Committee conferred the new name of Holoikauaua to the atoll, in reference to the Hawaiian monk seal which frequents the waters there.

History

right|thumb|[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|NOAA bathymetric map]]

Initial discovery by Europeans

The atoll was discovered in 1822 when the English whaleships Pearl and Hermes ran aground on the surrounding reefs. The two ships had been en route to Japan from Honolulu through the uncharted waters of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Sometime late in the evening of April 24 or early in the morning of April 25, the 258-ton Hermes ran aground on an unseen reef. Shortly thereafter, the 327-ton Pearl also ran aground when it approached to provide assistance. The combined crews of both ships, some 57 sailors, were marooned on an unspecified island nearby for several months. During that time, James Robinson, a carpenter's mate, directed the construction of a small 30-ton vessel from the wreckage. Some accounts provide the name of the vessel as Drift, while others state it was called Deliverance.

On July 1, before the beach-built vessel could be launched, the passing ship Earl of Morby was sighted. 46 of the sailors took passage on the Earl of Morby, but Robinson and eleven others opted to purchase the vessel they had built and sail it back to Honolulu in the hopes of recovering some of the losses incurred by the wreck. In 1857, it was surveyed by the crew of the Hawaiian schooner Manuokawai.

The Japanese schooner Wiji Maru was wrecked on the atoll in 1904, destroying the ship and its cargo of feathers. There was no loss of life, however. He reported that they were rich with pearls – the only pearl beds in the United States. Anderson formed a trading company to capitalize on his find. Over the next three years, his trading company harvested some 20,000 pearls from the atoll, with the largest of these having a reported value of US$5,000. In 1930, the United States Bureau of Fisheries decided to conduct a thorough study of the atoll, led by Dr. Paul Galtsoff. The crew was evacuated by the following day. The salvage tug Ono arrived on December 25 to attempt to tow the ship clear, but persistent stormy weather forced a delay of the rescue attempt. On January 3, before another rescue attempt could be made, the ship's anchors tore loose, and Quartette was blown onto the reef. It was deemed a total loss. Several weeks later, it snapped in half at the keel and the two pieces sank. The wreck site now serves as an artificial reef which provides a habitat for many fish species.

thumb|MV Casitas aground on Pearl and Hermes Atoll, August 4, 2005

On July 2, 2005, the research vessel MV Casitas, chartered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), ran aground on the north end of the atoll. The ship was carrying large quantities of gasoline, diesel fuel, and oil, which posed a substantial risk of leaking. Leak-prevention and extraction efforts led by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) in conjunction with other United States Government and State of Hawaii agencies began immediately. Although several people on board were forced to evacuate the ship, there was no loss of life. The initial grounding, combined with the rescue efforts, caused extensive damage to the reef including "breakage of coral heads, scouring of the substrate, and injury to the reef structure itself". The ship was fully removed from the atoll on August 4, 2005, but was too damaged for salvage. She was towed to a site northwest of Pearl and Hermes Atoll approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where she was sunk in waters over deep. Efforts to remove remaining debris and repair the reef began in 2011. Among the components located were "a six-cylinder Atlas Imperial diesel and machinery scatter, propeller shaft and propeller, a marine propulsion plant popular in the early decades of the 20th century." Researchers theorized that the wreckage was an East Asian fishing vessel that struck the reef sometime after 1918, based on the age of the components.

Avian life

thumb|Twenty percent of the world population of black-footed albatrosses breed on Pearl and Hermes

The Pearl and Hermes Atoll is an important nesting area for many seabirds. Approximately 160,000 birds from 22 different species are known to live and breed on the Atoll.

The atoll was once heavily populated with black-lip pearl oysters, but overfishing from 1927 to 1930 caused the population to crash to only 470 in 1930.

Conservation efforts

Because of its small size, Pearl and Hermes Atoll has typically not been singled out for individual environmental protection; historically, it has been bundled with the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as a protected region. The region was first protected in 1909 when U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt created the Hawaiian Islands Bird Reservation through , which included Pearl and Hermes Atoll. Over the next century, protection of the region increased incrementally, culminating in President George W. Bush signing Proclamation 8031 in 2006, designating the waters of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands a national monument under the 1906 Antiquities Act.

Threats

thumb|This monster net found at Pearl and Hermes in 2014 weighed 11.5 tons

Derelict fishing gear (ghost nets) and other types of marine debris have had a major impact on the reefs and associated fauna of the atoll. Pearl and Hermes Atoll is considered a high-risk entanglement zone for monk seals. Efforts have been undertaken to lessen the threat of this growing problem, including attempts at prevention as well as recurring debris removal projects. A multi-agency study was launched in 1999 to remove and catalogue debris from the water surrounding Lisianski Island and Pearl and Hermes Atoll. During this project, a total of of debris was removed from reefs and beaches around Pearl and Hermes. In 2000, the joint NOAA and NMFS Derelict Fishing Net Removal Project was launched, with the objective of removing fishing debris from the atoll and identifying any non-native species. In 2003, of marine debris was removed from the Pearl and Hermes reefs.

Rising sea level is also a major concern for the atoll due to the extremely low elevation of most of the islands. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency projects that sea level will rise by the year 2100. Southeast Island is only above sea level, and would be almost entirely submerged if sea levels rise that much. The other islets would also lose significant amounts of land area.

In 2016, a mysterious new red algae species known as Chondria tumulosa was spotted growing on the reefs. By 2019, it had smothered and killed large amounts of reef on the northeast section of the atoll. Analysis of the species and management techniques will be required to prevent the species from taking over other reefs on the atoll and the rest of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands.

Climate

Because there are no weather stations on the Pearl and Hermes Atoll, the following climate information is taken from sources for the Midway Atoll, which is approximately north-northwest of Pearl and Hermes. Like Midway, Pearl and Hermes has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen classification Aw). The atoll has no cold season. Its wet season corresponds to the high-sun months, and its dry season corresponds to the low-sun months.

See also

  • Desert island
  • Lists of islands

References

  • Quick Facts on the Pearl and Hermes Atoll from the PBS Ocean Adventures site
  • Pearl and Hermes Atoll: Blocks 1015 thru 1022, Census Tract 114.98, Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States Census Bureau.
  • Google Street View images from the Atoll