Soil erosion, overfishing, and urban pollution persist

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Kiwi coral reefs are generally in good shape except for stresses from overfishing, particularly for the once-abundant spotted black grouper. The Cook Islands' reefs suffered in the mid-'80s from overfishing of parrot fish and sea urchins. The result? Without these two algae-grazing species, algal growth accelerated, smothering corals and killing their polyps.

Whether lulled into false security by its own healthy reefs or motivated by something more perverse, the New Zealand government last year actually proposed that nations in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum liberalize trade in live fish and corals, despite the documented destruction these trades are wreaking on reefs all over the Pacific and East Asia. Fellow APEC nation Thailand opposed New Zealand's initiative, fearing further damage to its own heavily stressed and cyanide-fished reef environments.