Keeping an Eye on the Algae

On a fishing trip along Molokai’s south shore in late July, fisherman Clay Ching noticed something strange. Huge masses of thick seaweed blanketed the shallow flats near Coconut Grove, protruding from the surface and covering hundreds of square yards in several large patches. As owner of local charter fishing company Hallelujah Hou Fishing and having spent decades trolling the area, Ching called it “epic proportions of growth” and said he’d never seen anything like it.
The algae invasion concerned him so much that he notified the Department of Land and Natural Resource (DLNR)’s Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR).
“[I don’t want] this situation to progress to the point of no return for our precious reef ecosystem which us Molokaiians depend on for food, etc.,”…














