Fagatele Bay

Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary is located on the southwest shore of Tutila Island, American Samoa, 14 degrees south of the equator. This sanctuary encompasses a coral reef system that has weathered many storms, literally.

Though scientists do not fully understand the biological processes that govern coral reefs, many believe that alternate periods of growth and destruction characterize the life cycles of these ecosystems. After a series of natural events that have brought much damage to Fagatele Bay, the corals are making a comeback.

The current cycle of damage began in the late 1970’s with a crown-of-thorns starfish attack that decimated 90% of the living corals, and affected over 200 different species of coral. While the site was designated a sanctuary in 1986, the reef’s recovery has been slow—in particular because the corals have recently weathered two successive hurricanes: Hurricane Ofa (1991) and Hurricane Val (1992) as well as a number of tropical storms.

The El Niño in 1993 also destroyed many corals. During the austral summer of December 1993-April 1994 the waters off American Samoa were unusually hot, with temperatures at 85 degrees Fahrenheit, well beyond the comfort range for corals. What happened was a process called coral bleaching, which turns the coral white. This happens when pigment-carrying zooxanthellae eject themselves from the coral tissue. These species normally live alongside the coral and give it its color.

Today, the number of living corals on the reef is on the rise and this is good news not only for the survival of individual coral species but also for the many plants and animals whose existence depends on the reef.

The papolo worm is one such species. Visitors to the sanctuary can see the annual spawning. Seven days after the full moon in October or early November, the gonadotopes of the papolo worms are ejected from the coral reefs into the sea. Once in the water column, the worms are easily netted by Samoans who eat this delicacy both raw and cooked.

Trivia: Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary makes its home in the crater of an inactive volcano.

Return to  The National Marine Sanctuaries