DLNR and Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority team up to restore coral on Oʻahu

The first of a series of coral installations funded by a Travel, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation grant from the US Department of Commerce – Economic Development Agency and administered by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority began this week.

On April 28, SCUBA teams from the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources dove to a selected location in Kewalo Basin on O‘ahu’s south shore to conduct the first deep-water installations of corals grown in DAR’s Hawaiʻi Coral Restoration Nursery. 

“We are grateful for the support of EDA to restore and protect O‘ahu’s delicate reef ecosystems,” said HTA interim President and CEO, Caroline Anderson. “It also creates new opportunities for both kama‘āina and visitors to experience and enjoy Hawai‘i’s ocean life for generations to come.”

“Weʻre excited to be partnering with the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority to be able to restore our reefs and also provide experiences and educational opportunities for both residents and visitors,” said DAR Coral Aquatic Biologist Christina Jayne. “These are places where people go and are diving and enjoying the reef, so they’re able to see restoration in action in these really popular undersea sites.”

The process involves DAR divers and snorkelers transporting the corals from the nursery on Sand Island by boat to the outplanting site. Snorkelers pass the corals to divers who then secure them to the ocean floor.  

“Corals in Hawai‘i do grow really slowly, which is why we’re having this restoration effort where we’re growing corals on land faster than they grow naturally,” said Jayne. “Then we can plant them back out into the ocean so they will continue to grow..”  

Corals are vital to our ocean ecosystem health. At the Kewalo site, the restoration project builds on previous efforts by DAR and partners from Kuleana Coral Restoration to save live corals after an anchor-damage event in 2024. The project also provides a new educational experience for recreational divers and operators. 

“I think it’s just really great to see this project moving forward at sites that the community selected, and so we’re really excited to see how these corals grow,” Jayne added.  

DAR is coordinating with a few local dive operators to provide training and materials for their divers to help the state track the health of the coral outplantings after the installations are complete.  

Corals are the foundation of our coral reef ecosystems which provide habitat for fish, protect our coastlines, create beauty and recreation, and sustain cultural resources. At these SCUBA sites, residents and visitors have the opportunity to see restoration in action.

The second coral outplanting of this EDA-funded project is in Maunalua Bay near the Hawaiʻi Loa Ridge SCUBA dive site. In total, the DAR team plans to plant approximately 100 corals across the two south shore sites.