Visitors and recreational ocean users who enjoy Hawaii's coral reefs generally support whatever management is needed to protect them — even if it means closing off public access, according to a study by researchers from the University of Hawaii-Mänoa and Oregon State University.

The study, conducted over several years, is among the first to examine what people think about coral reef ecosystems in the Islands, according to a UH news release.

"The survey suggests that such coral reef ecosystems are so stunningly beautiful that almost everyone wants them protected ... The core belief is often so strong, in fact, that if it means visitors must be kept out to preserve them, so be it," the release said.

Mark Needham, an assistant professor of forest ecosystems and society at Oregon State and an adjunct professor of geography at UH-Mänoa, said surveys of tourists and others who visit the reefs indicate participants showed a concensus "that human use and access were the most important issues when it came to these areas," he said in the news release. "And if anything was to have a deleterious effect on reef ecosystems, they would want it stopped."

Michael Hamnett, principal investigator with the Hawaii Coral Reef Initiative at the UH-Mänoa Social Science Research Institute, said the study reinforces a previous study on the value of coral reef ecosystems.

"There is widespread public concern about the future health of our coral reefs in Hawaii, and there is public support for further protection by our resource management agencies," he said in the news release.

The research was supported by the Hawaii Coral Reef Initiative and state Division of Aquatic Resources.