Nearly half of U.S. coral reef ecosystems are considered to be in "poor" or "fair" condition, according to an NOAA analysis of the health of coral reefs under U.S. jurisdiction.

The findings were released today at the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The main Hawaiian Islands and the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands were included in the report, which also said reefs in the Pacific are generally healthier than the Atlantic.

According to "The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the United States and Pacific Freely Associated States: 2008," the the nation's coral reef ecosystems, particularly those adjacent to populated areas, continue to face intense human-derived threats from coastal development, fishing, sedimentation and recreational use. The report said even the most remote reefs are subject to threats such as marine debris, illegal fishing and climate-related effects of coral bleaching, disease and ocean acidification.

More than 270 scientist and managers working throughout the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, the Atlantic and Pacific authored the 15 jurisdiction-specific chapters of the report. The scientists graded the coral ecosystems on a five tier scale: excellent, good, fair, poor and unknown. Their findings indicate coral reefs have been declining for several decades and said that two coral species — Elkhorn and Staghorn corals --- have become the first corals ever listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Besides the main Hawaiian Islands and the the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, the 569-page document details coral reef conditions in the U.S.. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Navassa Island, southeast Florida, the Florida Keys, Flower Garden Banks, American Samoa, the Pacific Remote Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam and the Republic of Palau.

The 2008 report is the third in a series in an evolving effort to track the condition of coral reef ecosystems at both local and national scales. It was called for in the National Coral Reef Action Strategy and was designed to address the primary threats, goals and objectives outlined in the NCRAS, the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, and other guidance documents.

NOAA's Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment's Biogeography Branch led the development and production of the report with support from NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program.