The French Frigate Shoals (Hawaiian: Kānemilohai) is the largest atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, located about northwest of Honolulu. Its name commemorates French explorer Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse, who nearly lost two frigates when attempting to navigate the shoals. It consists of a crescent-shaped reef, twelve sandbars, and the La Perouse Pinnacle, the only remnant of its volcanic origins. The total land area of the islets is , while the total coral reef area of the shoals is over . Tern Island, with an area of , has a landing strip and permanent habitations for a small number of people. It is maintained as a field station in the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. East and Trig, the two largest islands after Tern, have mostly washed away. The islands are surrounded by a coral reef, and the islands themselves are noted breeding ground for turtles, seals, and birds. Habitation is difficult with little vegetation and no fresh water. The French Frigate Shoals are also called Lalo as part of the marine nature reserve, and along with other islands are visited periodically for research. The highest point in the shoals is on La Perouse Pinnacle, which is a volcanic rock that rises above the surrounding lagoon.
In the 20th century, the shoals were used by the Imperial Japanese Navy as part of an operation to attack Hawaii. Afterwards, a small United States Navy base was established there to prevent it from being used again. After the war it was used by the United States Coast Guard for a LORAN radio navigation station. By the 21st century, it was primarily used for oceanographic and biological study as a nature reserve. Studies at the island helped establish the nature of plastic pollution, and in 2020 one island was designated as contaminated by plastic pollution from the ocean. The reefs are noted for having survived many Pacific storms, although these storms have damaged facilities, wildlife, and significantly reduced the area of some islands.
History
The islands were discovered by the French in the late 18th century and were formally claimed by the United States in 1859 under the Guano Islands Act. The main focus of the USA was to administer the territory as a wildlife refuge, but it became involved in military events during WW2. The shoals were used by Japan as a staging point for their surprise attack on the Hawaiian Islands, but were then occupied by U.S. forces. A few months later, the shoals were again near the front lines in the battle of Midway. After that battle, one island, Tern, was made into an airstrip and base. East Island also had a base. After World War II, the shoals were turned over to Hawaii, and served several purposes. The shoals were used for a LORAN radio location base, and the airstrip was used for fishing. A coast guard base was on the islands until 1979, and then the Fish and Wildlife Service until 2012. One issue was the Pacific storms that affect the islands. In the 21st century, the decayed Tern Island seawall was partially repaired, and in 2018 East Island was nearly washed away. In the 2020s, the shoals are a noted nature reserve, regularly visited for research on marine life, including coral, sharks, fish, seals, sea turtles, and many types of birds. There is also marine archeology conducted on sea wrecks, including a rare whaling vessel wreck.
Overview and early history
Although there is no evidence of extensive human activity or presence in the area, the earliest human visitors to the French Frigate Shoals probably came from the main Hawaiian Islands, which were settled by Polynesians between 1100 and 1300 AD.
The Hawaiian island chain lay outside the routes followed by early European explorers, and it was not until Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse's near-disastrous discovery that the shoals were known to the outside world. La Pérouse, aboard the frigate Boussole, was sailing westward from Monterey en route to Macau. During the night of 6 November 1786, sailors sighted breakers directly in their path, about a thousand feet ahead. Both the Boussole and her companion vessel, the frigate Astrolabe, were immediately brought about, passing within a few hundred feet of the breakers. At daybreak, the ships returned and mapped the southeastern half of the atoll, as well as finding the rock that would later be named after La Pérouse. La Pérouse named the shoals Basse des Frégates Françaises, the "Shoal of the French Frigates".
The expedition went on to discover the nearby Necker Island. His ships were Astrolabe (under command of Fleuriot de Langle) and the Boussole. La Pérouse was on a mission of exploration from the French Academy of Sciences, and they made many discoveries in across the Pacific. The expedition was lost at sea in 1788 while still on the expedition, but was able to send its logs home.
In 1823, the whaling ship Two Brothers sank near Shark Island. This wreck was discovered in the early 21st century.
In 1841 the French Frigate Shoals were visited by the United States Exploring Expedition authorized by President Andrew Jackson. The shoals were visited by the sailing ships, brigs Oregon and Porpoise.
In 1859 the barque Gambia (a) and clipper Modern Times visited the French Frigate Shoals. That same year the whaler South Seaman wrecked on the shoals. About a dozen of its crew were rescued by another vessel in the area, but about 30 were left on the island until another ship could retrieve them. In December 1859 the brig Wanderer was also lost on the shoals, but the crew was rescued.
During the late 19th century American and European companies became interested in the possibility of mining guano in the Hawaiian Islands. U.S. Navy Lieutenant John M. Brooke, sailing on the naval schooner , formally took possession of French Frigate Shoals for the United States on 14 January 1859, in accordance with the Guano Islands Act. In 1894, French Frigate Shoals, Kure Atoll, Midway Atoll, and Pearl and Hermes Reef were leased for 25 years by the Republic of Hawaii to the North Pacific Phosphate and Fertilizer Company; however, guano and phosphate deposits at French Frigate Shoals were found to be impractical to mine. The Republic did not formally claim possession of the shoals until 13 July 1895.
French Frigate Shoals was included among the lands and waters acquired by the United States on 7 July 1898, when Hawaii became a United States territory. In 1909 it was made a part of the Hawaiian Islands Bird Reservation.
In 1896 the seal hunting ship Mattie E. Dyer wrecked on the shoals, and the crew abandoned ship in whaleboats. There was no water on the island they landed on among the shoals so they sailed the boats to Hawaii.
Early 20th century In 1902 the Albatross expedition visited the French Frigate Shoals and studied the birds. Several naturalists visited and published an ornithological report.
In 1903 the ship Connétable de Richemont wrecked on the shoals, but its crew escaped on boats to mainland Hawaii.
In 1909 the French Frigate Shoals became part of the Hawaiian Island Reservation and administered by the United States Department of Agriculture.
In 1917 the four-masted schooner Churchill wrecked on the French Frigate Shoals. The crew of 12 survived.
The Tanager Expedition visited the French Frigate Shoals in 1923 and did a survey of the islands.
The United States Revenue Cutter Service sent many patrols to this region in the early 20th century. The U.S. Revenue Cutter Service vessel USRC Thetis visited the French Frigate Shoals in 1912, 1914, 1915, and 1916. In 1918 the shoals were inspected by the United States Navy ship USS Hermes. Shoal inspections in the 1920s and 1930s include ones by in 1924, USRC Itasca in 1931 and 1934, and the United States Coast Guard vessel in 1936.
In 1932, the minesweeper visited the shoals, anchoring near East Island. A seaplane tendered from the ship took some of the first aerial photographs of the islands.
In 1936, the seaplane tender came to the shoals, and established a base on East Island to support a month of seaplane operations.
In 1937, a member of a USN seaplane crew died at the French Frigate Shoals while his PK-1 seaplane was moored there.
World War II
In March 1942, Imperial Japanese Navy planners took advantage of the shoal's isolation to use its protected waters as an anchorage and refueling point for the long-range flying boats employed in Operation K, a reconnaissance operation that aimed to disrupt salvage and repair operations following the attack on Pearl Harbor. The operation involved three IJN submarines and two Kawanishi H8K flying boats. It was the combat debut of the H8K. The H8K flying boats stopped to refuel in the shoals from two of the submarines, and . After the operation, United States Pacific Fleet Commander Chester W. Nimitz ordered a permanent United States Navy presence at the shoals.
Some U.S. Navy ships that were stationed at the Shoals in 1942 were the seaplane tender and the mine warfare ship . Over twenty flying boats were operated from the French Frigate Shoals during World War II, typically flying reconnaissance missions.
After the Battle of Midway, the United States Navy built a naval air station on Tern Island, enlarging the island sufficiently to support a landing strip, increasing its land area to . The station's main function was as an emergency landing site for planes flying between Hawaii and Midway Atoll. French Frigate Shoals Airport comprises what remains of the original naval air station.
The ship YHB-10 arrived at French Frigate Shoals in August 1942, carrying staff to help establish the naval base there. It was moored on the north side of Tern Island and used as a floating barracks. On March 26, 1945, it was sunk as a torpedo practice target near the shoals.
United States Coast Guard station
The United States Coast Guard operated a LORAN navigation station on East Island until 1952, and Tern Island until 1979. At any one time, 15 to 20 military personnel were billeted to French Frigate Shoals. As with all Coast Guard isolated duty stations, the Service attempted to fill open billets with volunteers. If there were no volunteers for essential billets, the Coast Guard would at times fill open slots as a disciplinary measure.
The LORAN station commanding officer was typically a lieutenant junior grade officer, the executive officer a chief petty officer enlisted rank. The station was staffed with USCG enlisted specialists such as Radioman, Electronic Technician, Fireman, Boatswain's Mates, plus seaman or seaman apprentice nonrated service members (assigned to perform maintenance and other generalized duties).
The Coast Guard designated the French Frigate Shoals billet as "isolated duty", thereby entitling Coast Guard members serving at the station to additional monthly "isolated duty pay". Because of the billet's remoteness, a duty term was limited to one year.
In December 1969, a tsunami devastated the islands, forcing the crew on Tern Island to evacuate the station, which was destroyed. The station was off the air from 1 to 6 December. The USCGC Kukui (WAK-186) was sent to help support repairs.
Whale-Skate Island washed away in the 1990s.
21st century
A United States Fish and Wildlife Service field station was active at the island from 1979 to 2012. In 2000, the atoll became part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, which was incorporated into the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument in 2006. In 2009 the islands were evacuated during the approach of Hurricane Neki by landing a USCG C-130 on Tern's coral airstrip.