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Tern Island (Hawaii)

Coordinates: 23°52′12″N 166°17′02″W / 23.870°N 166.284°W / 23.870; -166.284
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Tern Island (Hawaii)
Map
Geography
Coordinates23°52′12″N 166°17′02″W / 23.870°N 166.284°W / 23.870; -166.284
Area26.014 acres (10.527 ha)

Tern Island is a coral island located near French Frigate Shoals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It is in the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge. It is approximately 490 miles (790 kilometers) west-northwest of Oahu.

The island provides a breeding habitat to 18 species of seabirds, green sea turtles, and Hawaiian monk seals.[1]

The Naval Air Station's WWII seawall, runway, and some of the buildings remain.[2]

History

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Tern Island in September 1943[3]
United States Coast Guard PBY-5A at Tern Island in 1953
Tern Island, the French Frigate Shoals airfield

After the 1942 Battle of Midway, the U.S. Navy built a Naval Air Station on Tern Island, enlarging the island to support a 3300 ft. (1005 m) landing strip. Construction started in July 1942. They constructed a 5000-foot double steel pylon seawall, with walls separated by 4 feet.[4] The original seawall used over 5000 steel pilings.[5] Maintenance was conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard while it operated there.[4]

The facility was commissioned in March 1943.[5] The station's main function was as an emergency landing site for planes flying between Hawaii and Midway Atoll.[2]

The island was expanded from 11 acres to 34 acres, and supported parking spots for 22 aircraft.[4] A 90-foot-tall radar tower and barracks were added.[4] Reconnaissance air patrols were flown from the island.[4]

Base defenses included a battery of 90 mm guns, 3-inch guns, and 30 calibre machine guns.[6] Approximately 130 people staffed the island.[7]

One emergency landing occurred in 1944, when a Curtiss C-46 Commando with dozens of marines aboard had an engine failure and was close to ditching in the ocean.[6][self-published source?] The twin-engine transport plane was down to an altitude of less than 300 feet, despite having dropped as much weight as possible when it managed to land on Tern Island.[6] The aircraft was able to land with one engine out, avoiding fatalities.[6]

In 1945, Tern Island landed the USMC comedy show All Fouled Up when the entourage's R4D aircraft could not land at Midway due to fog.[6] The show was performed for the crew there.[6]

The naval base operated until 1946, when it was replaced by two fisheries. The fish were flown to Honolulu on a DC-3 aircraft.[3]

A U.S. Coast Guard station operated from 1952 until 1979.[8] In 1969, a tsunami wiped out much of the station, which was repaired.[9] The crew was evacuated by helicopter by the ship HMNZS Waikato, and taken to Midway.[3] Also, from 1961 to 1983 a missile tracking station operated there.[5]

Between 1986 and 1991 Tern Island was used to study the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas).[10]

One Piper Aztec landed over 600 times at Tern Island.[11] Monthly flights typically involved travel to Honolulu for mail, while heavier cargo usually comes by water.[12]

The barracks continued to be used into the 21st century.[11] Upgrades included the cleanup of old waste, improved water tanks, and solar power.[12] The solar power runs a reverse osmosis desalinator, capable of producing 1200 gallons a day.[12] A diesel generator runs off a 500-gallon fuel tank.[12]

After decades the steel wall became a marine life hazard, trapping seals and turtles. As a result, Congress approved about 10 million dollars along with another million from a Federal agency to repair it, from 2000 to 2003. However, the funds ran out halfway through.[13]

Sign noting Tern Island as part of a United States' nature reserve in the French Frigate shoals
A view of from Tern Island and in the distance, La Perouse Pinnacle
Birds and Tern Island structures

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) operated a field station on the island from 1979 to 2012.[4] The wildlife station had between 5 and 15 staff.[7] Closure came after a storm in December 2012, when several people evacuated in advance of the storm.[14] The storm damaged facilities including the barracks.[14][15]

In the summer of 2004, 1200 feet of seawall were repaired, and the boat dock was replaced by a boat ramp for small boats.[16] However, thousands of feet of seawall were still in need of repair.[16]

In 2013, the island was imaged for a Google Street View project, to allow the islands to be viewed online.[2] Google and the US government worked to make five islands viewable.[2] The other Pacific islands were East Island (also in French Frigate Shoals), Laysan Island, Lisianski Island, and Pearl and Hermes Atoll.[17] The viewer offered a series of panoramic images from head height to be viewed around the island.[2] The path takes views along much of the length of the airstrip and part of the shore.[2]

In 2013 the NOAA ship Oscar Sette visited French Frigate Shoals and established a field camp on Tern Island. The storm at the end of 2012 had left the barracks uninhabitable, and the water system unusable.[18] Water had to be brought in jugs.[18]

In 2019, a survey of green sea turtles was conducted.[19] 371 were reported.[19]

In 2020, the beach was designated as polluted by plastic trash.[20] This ruling came after years of research, including 14.5 thousand kilograms of trash discovered within 5000 meters of the beach over 11 years.[20] Over 70 percent of the trash was plastic.[20] Debris accumulation was studied in the 2010s.[21] In the 2020s, researchers again noted the threat posed by the corroded double steel wall.

In 2020, the Papahanaumokuakea Marine Debris Project removed tens of tons of debris from French Frigate Shoals, including Tern Island.[22]

Birds

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A white tern at Tern Island, 2006
Albatrosses at Tern Island

The bird populations were studied.[23] One concern was birds eating plastic trash, which was studied between 2006 and 2013.[23] Tern Island is a popular research site to study Pacific sea- and shore-birds.[24]

Sixteen seabird species inhabited Tern Island in the early 21st century,[25] including:[24][25]

In 1998 and 1999, the black-footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) and Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) were studied. The research recorded a particularly unsuccessful nesting season.[26]

A 2010 study noted that other rare birds were sometimes seen at Tern.[27] Examples include the short-eared owl (Asio flammeus) and fork-tailed swift (Apus pacificus).[27]

Tern Island is popular with green sea turtles; while in 1977 no nests were observed; twenty years later, this had grown to around 700 nests.[28]

Migratory shorebirds known to winter at Tern in the early 21st century include:[4]

Geography

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Island beaches include:[21]

  • Shell Beach & Crab Beach, on the north side of the island
  • East Beach
  • South Beach

A small boat ramp replaced dock and boat hoist in 2004.[16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Tern Island Preliminary Assessment and Technical Support Document". epa.gov. December 9, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Giaimo, Cara (March 7, 2018). "Go Tour This Digitized Island Full of Birds". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Atoll research bulletin No. 149. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. August 27, 1971. pp. 149–150.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "TECHNICAL SUPPORT DOCUMENT TO THE PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF THE FWS – HAWAIIAN ISLANDS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE: TERN ISLAND SITE IN THE FRENCH FRIGATE SHOALS, HAWAIʻI" (PDF). epa.gov. September 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Rottman, Gordon L. (2002). World War II Pacific Island Guide: A Geo-military Study. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-31395-0.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Amerson, A. Binion Jr. (2012). "Tern Island Naval Air Facility" (PDF). The Coral Carrier: French Frigate Shoals, A History. Binion Amerson Books. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-9884645-0-6. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Population Dynamics of Hawaiian Seabird Colonies Vulnerable to Sea-Level Rise". researchgate.net. May 2012.
  8. ^ "Tern Island". September 25, 2011. Archived from the original on September 25, 2011. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  9. ^ "LORAN STATION FRENCH FRIGATE SHO". www.loran-history.info. Archived from the original on October 27, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  10. ^ Niethammer, K.R.; Balazs, G.H.; Hatfield, J.S.; Nakai, G.L.; Megyesi, J.L. (1997). "Reproductive biology of the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) at Tern Island, French Frigate Shoals, Hawaiʻi". Pacific Science. 51 (1): 12.
  11. ^ a b "Honolulu Star-Bulletin Hawaii News". archives.starbulletin.com. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  12. ^ a b c d "Tern Island at Work". February 9, 2012. Archived from the original on February 9, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  13. ^ "Honolulu Star-Bulletin Hawaii News". archives.starbulletin.com. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  14. ^ a b "Biologists Evacuated from Remote Pacific Field Station: Storm damage to Tern Island facility is extensive" (PDF). December 21, 2012.
  15. ^ "Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument". www.papahanaumokuakea.gov. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  16. ^ a b c "Tern Island Seawall Reconstruction Protects Wildlife Habitat and Monitoring Station". www.fws.gov. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  17. ^ US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "A Virtual Tour of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands". oceanservice.noaa.gov. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  18. ^ a b "NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Blog". NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Blog. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  19. ^ a b Fisheries, NOAA (January 27, 2021). "Researching and Rescuing Hawaiian Monk Seals and Green Sea Turtles | NOAA Fisheries". NOAA. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  20. ^ a b c McAvoy, Audrey (July 21, 2020). "EPA finds plastic trash contaminates 2 remote Hawaii beaches". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  21. ^ a b Agustin, Alyssa; Merrifield, Mark; Potemra, Jim; Morishige, Carey (January 2016). "Dynamics of Marine Debris Accumulation: Tern Island" (PDF). hawaii.edu. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  22. ^ Wu, Nina (November 14, 2020). "Over 82,000 pounds of trash removed from Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  23. ^ a b Rapp, Dan C.; Youngren, Sarah M.; Hartzell, Paula; David Hyrenbach, K. (October 15, 2017). "Community-wide patterns of plastic ingestion in seabirds breeding at French Frigate Shoals, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands". Marine Pollution Bulletin. 123 (1–2): 269–278. Bibcode:2017MarPB.123..269R. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.08.047. ISSN 1879-3363. PMID 28844458.
  24. ^ a b "Honolulu Star-Bulletin News /2005/08/19/". archives.starbulletin.com. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  25. ^ a b "Research TernIsland Plastic". www.pelagicos.net. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  26. ^ "OBIS-SEAMAP Dataset – Tern Island Albatrosses – 1999". seamap.env.duke.edu. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  27. ^ a b HOWARD, PHILLIP; HARVEY, SARAH C. "Rare and Unusual Birds Observed on Tern Island, French Frigate Shoals, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands" (PDF). westernfieldornithologists.org. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  28. ^ Rauzon, Mark J. (November 1, 2000). Isles of Refuge: Wildlife and History of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-2330-6.
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