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This reports presents the information gathered during a short (10-day) survey of the marine resources of Palmerston Island, Cook Islands, carried out in September 1988. The report essentially consolidates, in publishable form, the draft version of the survey results and fishery management recommendations presented to the Cook Islands Ministry of Marine Resources in early October 1988.

The mission of NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) is to serve as the trustee for a system of marine protected areas, to conserve, protect and enhance biodiversity. To assist in accomplishing this mission, the ONMS has developed a partnership with NOAA's Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment's Biogeography Branch (CCMA-BB) to conduct biogeographic assessments of marine resources within and adjacent to the marine waters of NOAA's National Marine Sanctuaries (Kendall and Monaco, 2003).

Healthy coral reefs are among the most biologically diverse and economically valuable ecosystems on earth, providing hundreds of billions of dollars in food, jobs,

The Act declared Helen Reef as a State Marine Protected Area and called for a creation of a Management Plan. However, a Draft Management Plan came out of an Action Plan which satisfied the requirements from the Act. The Plan consists of a Vision that states: “We the Hatohobei people envision our islands to have an abundance of natural resources, a pristine healthy environment, and our community and friends are engaged in the sustainable use and management, utilizing traditional and scientific knowledge of our natural resources for us all today and our children for the future”