This month, the Maui Ocean Center celebrates its 20th anniversary. The aquarium, one of the largest in Hawaii, opened its doors in March 1998 (click here for info on its upcoming Mar. 18 “SeaLOVEbration”). Since then it’s steadily grown, though these days it seems to be changing–and expanding–faster than ever. Tapani Vuori, originally from Finland, […]
More bad news about coral bleaching, both in Hawaii and around the world
The environmental website Grist posted a sad, damning story on Friday, Jan. 5 about coral bleaching–one of many harbingers of the environmental disaster known as climate change. The story, which discusses a new paper published in the journal Science, concludes that coral bleaching events (caused when the ocean gets too warm, which causes the coral […]
Maui’s reefs face many threats–here’s how you can help
Lately, there’s been a great deal of buzz about the health of Maui’s coral reefs. While not a new topic–the reefs have been threatened for many years–there are nonprofits, watersheds, scientists and marine biologists, Maui County officials and state departments like the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Aquatic Resources working to sustain […]
Researchers discover unique species and extensive coral in deep reefs off Maui
Last month we reported that researchers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Bishop Museum had officially described a new species of butterflyfish found in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument‘s deep coral reefs. Researchers are only now studying these reefs in real detail, and now researchers have discovered more wonders in the deep […]
UPDATED: Maui Nui Marine Resource Council hosting all-day workshop on Kihei water quality
Sorry for the last-minute notice (shows what happens when I don’t check my messages over the weekend) but TODAY (May 2, 2016), the Maui Nui Marine Resource Council is putting on an all-day workshop on Kihei water quality over at the Humpback Whale Sanctuary. According to organizers, the workshop is a follow-up to MauiTime‘s Mar. 16 story […]
Kihei marine pollution researchers respond to reader criticism following MauiTime story
On Mar. 17, reader Deren Ash posted a complex comment on the MauiTime Facebook page to my Mar. 16 cover story “The County of Maui is already in hot water over sewage in the ocean off West Maui, but a new study says that the Kihei coast is far worse.” The story detailed recent study published in […]
The County of Maui is already in hot water over sewage in the ocean off West Maui, but a new study says that the Kihei coast is far worse
The County of Maui’s violation of the Clean Water Act by discharging millions of gallons of wastewater into injection wells in West Maui is widely known. The judge’s ruling came in 2014, two years after environmental organizations filed suit, alleging that the injection wells were significantly harming coral reefs in the Lahaina area–most notably, at […]
Federal Court Rules County Of Maui Violating Clean Water Act At Lahaina Wastewater Facility
We’ve known for a year now that the County of Maui’s Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility (LWRF) has been damaging precious coral reefs just off Kahekili Beach (“Airport Beach”) in Ka’anapali. It comes from the practice of injecting three to five million gallons of wastewater into the ground each day. In July 2013, the University of Hawaii released a […]
University of Hawaii Researchers Have Bad News For Coral
New research shows that ocean corals previously thought to be at low risk of extinction may be facing risks after all. A team of scientists are challenging the traditional assumption that corals do not face a risk of extinction unless they become very rare or have a very restricted range. Some coral species are abundant […]
UH: Abundance May Not Safeguard Corals from Increasing Carbon Dioxide
New research shows that ocean corals previously thought to be at low risk of extinction may be facing risks after all. A team of scientists are challenging the traditional assumption that corals do not face a risk of extinction unless they become very rare or have a very restricted range. Some coral species are abundant across […]
RENT and Upcountry Farmers Market Anniversary and Na Hoku Winners Concert and Duo Diorama
THURSDAY, JULY 11 CORAL SPAWNING – Coral spawning season has arrived and Maui Ocean Center is inviting you to Night at the Reef: Incredible Corals. Here’s a rare chance to see live coral spawning (not guaranteed). Talk story with with divers and ocean naturalists. State Department of Land and Natural Resources coral reef biologist Dave […]
Fairmont Kea Lani Helps Clean Up Coral Reef
Earth Day marks a special day to give back to our home planet, and this year even companies are getting into the spirit. This April, the Fairmont Kea Lani sponsored and participated in a community reef clean-up as well as donated $1,000 to the Coral Reef Alliance. The community reef clean-up took place on April […]
NOAA Documents Coral Damage On The Kaanapali Coast
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) completed a watershed management plan for West Maui on Feb. 13, outlining actions the government, private sector and community can do to lower pollutant damage to corals. More than a quarter of these living corals along the Ka’anapali coast have been lost in the last 13 years, damaging […]
New Network For Medical Marijuana Patients and Rich Guys Call Larry Ellison For Help While Artificial Reefs Attack Real Coral Reefs
NEW FREE, CONFIDENTIAL MED. MARIJUANA NETWORK The use of cannabis for strictly medical reasons is legal in the State of Hawaii since 2005, but good luck to patients out here who want it. As far as law enforcement is concerned, drugs are drugs. Brian Murphy, the director of Patients Without Time, a Maui-based medical marijuana […]
Maui Biologist Pauline Fiene Says The Proposed Olowalu Town Project Endangers Some Of The Most Unique Coral Reefs In Hawaii
Pauline Fiene calls them micro-atolls. They’re tiny rings of coral just a couple feet in diameter that grow right up to the shore. During low tide, they pierce the surface like their giant cousins in the western Pacific. She’s found them just a few yards offshore at Olowalu, and nowhere else in Hawaii. “People probably […]