Hawaiian Trough the Hawaiian Arch. The Hawaiian Arch extends about 200 meters above the surrounding ocean floor, and contains tilted coral reefs. The coral reefs in the Hawaiian Tough are described as mesophotic coral ecosystems, which can be found between 100 and 500 feet below sea level. 43 percent of fish species documented at the mesophotic reefs are unique to the Hawaiian Islands. At Maui’s ‘Au’au channel the largest uninterrupted mesophotic coral ecosystem was discovered, with an area larger than 3 square miles. These reefs contained many stony, reef building coral that belong to the genus Leptoseris, which are adapted for deep
Hawaiian monk seal Theodore Roosevelt created the Hawaiian Islands Reservation that included the Northwest Hawaiian islands. The Reservation later became the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge (HINWR) and moved under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Throughout the 1980s, the National Marine Fisheries Service completed various versions of an Environmental Impact Statement that designated the Northwest Hawaiian Islands as a critical habitat for the Hawaiian monk seal. The designation prohibited lobster fishing in waters less than 10 fathoms in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands and within 20 nautical miles of Laysan Island. The National Marine Fisheries Service designated all beach