I work in Kealakeakua Bay and I love the bay very much. I can see the damage that bleaching has caused and it is heartbreaking to know we lost almost 50 percent of our coral because of it. There is nothing we can do about that.
What we can do something about is the crown of thorns starfish, also known as cots. It is against the law to stand on the reef in Kealakeakua Bay because of damaging the reef, but honestly, even one cot eats so much coral that eventually it turns it into debris that fish can’t eat or even use as a home. To me having one cot in the area is more damaging than anyone standing on the reef, even though I’m not recommending that, either.
I have emailed our government officials in charge of the bay, many times letting them know that cots need to be taken out of the bay because they are slowly destroying it. It’s a big challenge because the cots come in and then leave and then come back again, and they are destroying our reef every time they come in.
Cots have destroyed a lot of the Great Barrier reef in Australia and they are now destroying Hawaii’s reef as well.
I’ve been told that cots are native and one reason why they don’t take them out is because they don’t know what good they do. Thing is, Kealakeakua Bay is a very sacred bay and is slowly being eaten away by these things, so to wait to find out what good they do will destroy our reef permanently.
Today I counted at least 10 in a small area and I decided to write this letter to you to see if others out there can help this cause.
Cots are very poisonous to touch and if you cut them they will not die, they will multiply. You must be trained in removing them. I heard they can be injected with something that will kill them.
I have told our government officials in charge of this area, that I’m happy to help save our bay and learn how to keep the cots out of our bay, as I’m there almost everyday. They told me you must be trained and I’m happy to be trained and in my own time, help save our bay, but they do not offer any training.
I would like to let people know what is happening to this sacred bay and hope people can step up, help talk to our government to really try and get a handle on these coral eating creatures before our amazing reef turns into a lot of debris.
Cots are eaten by the conch but unfortunately, there are way more cots than there are conchs in the water. I’m not sure what the answer is, but I do know we must start walking in the directions of taking cots eating our bays a lot more seriously before its to late.
If you know how I can get training to help remove these cots please contact me.
Rebecca Melendez is a resident of Kona.