Crown of Thorns Starfish

The CROWN-OF-THORNS STARFISH is one we don’t like to see in our waters.  It’s an invasive, large, multi-armed sea star that preys on hard or stony coral polyps.  This starfish is covered with venomous thorn-like spines that cover its upper surface, and it’s one of the largest sea stars in the world (second to the sunflower sea star).  The venom has saponins, which can and will cause stinging pain lasting several hours, along with swelling to site of puncture wound lasting weeks to divers who aren’t careful and get too close to this creature.   When preying on coral, the starfish secretes digestive enzymes that allow it to absorb nutrients from the liquefied coral tissue, leaving a white scar of coral skeleton which then becomes infested with algae.  

One of these starfish can consume and destroy 65 square feet of living coral each year.   One of the only ways to control the population is to manually inject sodium bisulphate into the starfish, because it kills the predator but doesn’t harm surrounding coral or fish.  

Come book a dive with Honu Hawaiian Diving & see these coral predators...but don't touch!