Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, a popular snorkeling destination that attracts nearly a million annual visitors, underwent a remarkable and rapid recovery when tourism ceased during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. A study from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB), published in npj Ocean Sustainability, found that this period of human absence led to clearer water, increased sightings of endangered Hawaiian monk seals, and more active fish populations.

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