Conservation Arts Day celebrates 50th year of Endangered Species Act

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Local students ranging from kindergarten to high school got together at the Tauese P.F. Sunia Ocean Center on Tuesday March 19, to celebrate Conservation Arts Day by highlighting through art, the importance of conserving and protecting endangered marine species.

The event known as ESA@50 Art Competition which stands for the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, celebrates 50 years of protecting marine life in the Pacific region as mandated in the legislation.

Student artists, ranging from kindergarten to high school, drew inspiration from the ocean environment to artistically portray endangered and threatened marine species such as the hawksbill sea turtle, sperm whale, and corals, which are protected by the ESA.

Parents and friends of the young artists whose work were selected from amongst the works of 600 participants around the Pacific region, were very impressed.

NOAA Fisheries Education and Outreach Specialist Celeste Hanley who is based at the Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO) in Hawaii, participated by virtual communication in the award ceremony and read out the names of the students who won prizes and acknowledged those who achieved honorable mention.

After the prize-giving ceremony, local representative of the NOAA Fisheries PIRO American Samoa Field Office, Fatima Sauafea-Le’au delivered an inspirational speech where she thanked the students who participated for using their God-given talents to highlight and remind the public, that it is our collective responsibility to protect and conserve endangered marine wildlife for future generations.

The NOAA Fisheries local Coral Reef Fisheries Liaison also pointed out the current predicament faced by our coral reefs where many are slowly dying due to bleaching, brought on by global climate change or global warming.

Also included that day, was a showcase of stewardship projects by Ocean Guardian School programs at Tafuna High School, Samoana High School, and Lupelele Elementary School, a tour of the Ocean Center’s exhibits, Sanctuary educational activities, an eco-poetry workshop by ASCC's Sigma Kappa Delta honor society, and performing arts by the ASCC students.

Amongst the crowd was a group of more than 50 students and teachers from Fitiuta, Faleasao, and Olosega elementary schools in Manu’a, who traveled over to compete in the 2024 Music Fest on March 21- 22.  

They concluded this year’s ESA@50 Art Competition with a beautiful song.

The Endangered Species Act was enacted in 1973 and has played a vital part over the years, in the protection, conservation and recovery of many species of marine wildlife and their habitats, a role it continues to do in the Pacific region today.

According to NOAA Fisheries statistics, more than 160 endangered and threatened marine species have survived or recovered under the ESA.

Less than 1 percent of the species listed under the ESA have gone extinct, but others have been recovered to the point where they no longer need protection under the Act.

However, whereas certain species of marine animals and plants which were considered threatened or endangered were protected under the ESA, a much more serious threat has now reared its ugly head — coral bleaching.

Coral bleaching is caused by change in ocean temperatures, overexposure to air and sunlight when temperatures are high, runoff from flooding due to excess rain which can dilute ocean water and can also carry pollutants that will be lethal to coral reef ecosystems.

When coral bleaching occurs, corals lose their vibrant colors and turn white.

Once these corals die, reefs rarely come back. With few corals surviving, they struggle to reproduce, and entire reef ecosystems, on which people and wildlife depend, deteriorate.

Healthy corals were featured in some of the art work that won prize in Tuesday’s ESA@50 Art Competition.

One young artist commented on the importance of protecting our marine wildlife species.

“Our marine environment is a precious resource that sustains our way of life and our economy,” he stated. “We should all work together to protect it for future generations.”

The ESA@50 Art Competition was coordinated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries in collaboration with the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa, AS Department of Education, and American Samoa Community College Sigma Kappa Delta Honor Society.