Reef Fish

For decades, our harbor has been an environmental 

write-off due to its degraded condition (frequent 

fuel spills, toxic fish, contaminated substrates, 

extensive sedimentation, eutrophication, noise, 

air pollution). In recent years things have gotten 

better. In 1991 the canneries were required to stop 

dumping their wastes into the inner harbor. Now 

their fish wastes are piped to the outer harbor and 

discharged in deep water (176 ft depth) where there 

is better circulation, and the cannery’s high strength 

wastes are hauled daily to a dumping zone five miles 

offshore. This has made a noticeable improvement 

in water quality and some corals are growing there 

again. Another improvement is that nine shipwrecks 

were removed in 2000 after rusting on harbor reefs 

for nine years, and fuel from an old sunken ship 

was successfully removed in 2010. Bear in mind 

that harbor recovery has a long way to go. Harbor 

sediments and some fish and invertebrates are still 

contaminated with heavy metals and excessive 

quantities of dirt and plastics flood into the harbor 

after heavy rainstorms. Neither swimming nor 

fishing in the inner harbor is recommended.

American Samoa: 2011 Environmental Trends

Coral Reefs The status of local reefs in American Samoa is mixed. 

One the positive side, the corals are in generally good 

condition, having recovered from cyclone damage in 

1991. Slight damage to Manu’a reefs occurred during 

cyclones in 2004 and 2005, and in Tutuila during 

the 2009 tsunami, but given the observed resilience 

of corals in the territory and the generally low level 

of human stressors here, regrowth is expected. 

There have also been improvements to local reefs: 

the removal of a shipwreck at Rose Atoll, a ban on 

the export of “live rock” (coral rubble), a ban on 

scuba-assisted fishing due to overfishing, and the 

establishment of a sanctuary for sea turtles and 

marine mammals in all territorial waters (0–3 miles 

offshore). At the same time however, local reefs 

show signs of fishing pressure (there are few large 

fish left). Another looming issue is global warming 

which warms nearshore waters causing the corals to 

bleach and/or die. Some warm-water bleaching now 

occurs annually and significant bleaching events 

occurred in 1994, 2002, and 2003. Recent episodes 

of coral disease are also of concern. Additionally, 

some coastal pollution continues—high counts 

of enterococci bacteria (mostly from streamside 

piggeries) often make swimming near streams 

unsafe, and the unsightly dirt and rubbish flowing 

from the streams and onto the reefs after heavy 

rainstorms is harmful to corals.

How healthy is our environment in American Samoa these days? We can get a sense of this by looking at some of 

the parts that make up our island environment. In the boxes below, an upward arrow indicates an environmental 

improvement. A downward arrow indicates a resource in decline or a worsening environmental problem.

Pago Pago 

Harbor

Our reefs support a fair selection of small fish less 

than 12 inches in length (surgeonfish, parrotfish, 

damselfish, butterflyfish, etc.), but large fish and 

sharks are not often seen. To help reduce fishing 

pressure, the use of scuba-assisted fishing at night 

was banned in 2001. Efforts are also being made to 

develop effective Marine Protected Areas to provide 

long-term protection to fish stocks.

Sea Turtles Local sea turtles (green and hawksbills) are in serious 

decline, both locally and throughout the South Pacific 

due to harvest, habitat loss of nesting beaches and 

incidental catches in fishing gear. Conservation of 

“our” green sea turtles is complicated because they 

Whales 

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are also vulnerable to harvest in Fiji, 800 miles away, 

where most migrate after nesting at Rose Atoll. Sea 

turtles are now officially listed as a “threatened or 

endangered species.”

Humpback whales migrate here from Antartica 

to mate and give birth to their young, mostly in 

September and October. Local populations are still 

few in number, probably because most of their stock 

was killed by whalers in the 1800’s. Commercial 

whaling was banned in 1966, but recovery of 

southern-hemisphere populations has been slow.

E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C ATM www.nps.gov/npsa

National Park of American Samoa National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior
Rainforests Thirty percent of our plants are endemic 

to the Samoan Archipelago. The island’s 

steepness protects most of the rainforest from 

ever-expanding human activities, but lowland 

rainforests on the Tafuna plains have been 

replaced by urbanization. Tutuila’s rainforests 

have recovered from severe cyclone damage in 

1991, but a major concern now is that invasive, 

Wildlife Most wildlife populations on Tutuila have 

recovered from previous cyclone damage in 

1990 and 1991 when birds and fruit bats (flying 

foxes) were decimated. Their recovery was 

greatly aided by DMWR’s ban on hunting 

that’s been in effect since those cyclones. But 

some terrestrial species are not doing very 

well. The small sheath-tailed bat was wiped 

Pest and weed species Invasive pest and weed species are doing quite 

well. These are newly introduced species that 

out-compete the native species because the 

pests and weeds have no natural enemies on 

our islands. Some examples are the tamaligi 

Wetland Loss Wetlands are special habitats that occur in 

only a few places around the territory. They 

support mangroves, fish, shellfish, and other 

species not found elsewhere on the island, 

and wetlands are important in moderating 

stormwater runoff and sedimentation that 

 non-native plant species are beginning to 

out-compete native species in some areas. In 

2005 rainforests in Manu’a took a direct hit 

by Cyclone Olaf; there was massive damage 

to the landscape, but recovery is underway. 

Damage by Cyclone Wilma in 2011 was not 

extensive in most areas.

out by the 1991 cyclone and has not been seen 

in recent years. Other rare birds include the 

many-colored fruit dove, friendly ground 

dove and spotless crake. The Pacific boa snake 

is also rare and now found only on Tau Island. 

Native land snails are disappearing due to an 

introduced species, the pink predatory snail.

trees that overtop the native forests, the noisy 

myna birds that populate urbanized areas, 

weedy vines that drape over our landscape, 

toads that are everywhere, several aggressive 

ant species, feral pigs, African snails, rats, etc.

would otherwise flow onto our coral reefs. 

The islands wetland areas continue to dwindle 

in size as people fill them in for other uses. 

Former mangroves in Pago Pago Harbor 

are long gone, and remaining wetlands are 

threatened by human activities.

Population Growth The growth rate of people in American Samoa 

is a significant issue. The current population 

of about 68,000 is growing rapidly, adding 

about 900 people every year. This growth 

rate is simply not sustainable on our small 

island. Population pressure issues include: 

Summary Island environments in this part of the world 

are subjected to a continuing cycle of damage 

and recovery from cyclones (hurricanes). 

These storms occur irregularly here, hitting 

at intervals of one to 13 years over the past 

25 years. The impact of each one is generally 

patchy, with small refugia remaining here and 

there, and not all islands in the archipelago 

are hit at any one time. Because cyclones are a 

predictable feature of the local environment, 

it is likely that most native species living here 

traffic congestion, solid and hazardous 

waste disposal, soil erosion and coastal 

sedimentation, loss of wetlands, fishing 

pressure, and a limited supply of 

drinking water.

can cope with this severe disturbance and 

recover, given enough time, and assuming that 

their recovery is not jeopardized by human 

activities. A full recovery cycle probably takes 

at least 10-20 years. But we also have other 

serious environmental issues to deal with 

over the next decade, such as overpopulation, 

climate change, coral reef bleaching, invasive 

pest and weed species, overfishing, and landbased sedimentation and nutrients that flow 

onto our coral reefs.

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11/11