Moonlight Tide Pool Exploration Offered

By Maui Now Staff

Limestone shelves and cliffs and tidepools at âIlio Point. Photo Courtesy Hawaii DLNR.

Check out brittle stars, urchins, and octopi as Pacific Whale Foundation’s marine educators introduce you to the fascinating creatures that roam Hawaii’s tide pools at night.

The Moonlight Tide Pool Exploration takes place tomorrow, November 14 at 6 p.m. at a south Maui tide pool, presumably near the Mana Kai Maui Resort.

Tomorrow night offers the convergence of a relatively full moon and low tide, allowing for the best exploring possible.

According to Wikipedia, tide pools “provide a home for hardy organisms such as sea stars, mussels and clams. Inhabitants must be able to cope with a constantly changing environment — fluctuations in water temperature, salinity, and oxygen content. Huge waves, strong currents, exposure to midday sun and predators are only a few of the hazards that tide pools’ animals must endure to survive.

A tide pool filled with sea stars, sea anemones and sea sponges in Santa Cruz, California. Photo courtesy Wikipedia.

Waves can dislodge mussels and draw them out to sea. Gulls pick up and drop sea urchins to break them open. Starfish prey on mussels and are eaten by gulls themselves. Even black bears sometimes feast on intertidal creatures at low tide,” although obviously that’s one hazard stressed out Hawaiian tide pool creatures don’t have to worry about.

This discovery event is appropriate for families, couples and individuals age six and over and is co-sponsored by the Mana Kai Maui Resort. Participants are asked to wear sturdy shoes and bring a flashlight. Refreshments will be provided.

The cost is $15 per adult and $7 per child or $10 for adult and $5 per child if booked online.

Advance reservations are required and the number of participants is limited.