Conservationists rush to restore coral colonies after yacht’s grounding off Maui

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - An extensive coral restoration project on Maui is showing promising results.

When a 94-foot luxury yacht — the Nakoa — ran aground at Honolua Bay last February, it left a big mess.

“When they removed it, it was drug across the reef and it really dug in quite a bit,” said Dustin Paradis, Maui Ocean Marine Institute conservation manager.

“Some of them were large colonies that were toppled. Some of them were colonies that were like crushed to bits or some of them were in between where they were just broken into pieces.”

In all, 100 colonies were across 1,600 square meters.

Yet, it didn’t take long for teams from the Maui Ocean Center to jump into action, gathering chunks of what remained.

“By collecting them we can bring them back and use them and give them a chance to survive and put them back on the reef,” Paradis said.

“They can just go back to where they belong and they have a higher chance of survival.”

The next step is a process called micro-fragmentation where chunks are cut into smaller pieces and then attached to a ceramic-like plug where they can re-grow and thrive.

“They’re about this big and they’re perfect for coral outplanting because they have a little stem on them and you can just adhere them right to the reef,” Paradis said.

“Then the coral will grow over them back onto the reef and re-establish themselves.”

As the pieces rejuvenate, the plan is to bring them back home to Honolua in the coming months.

Experts say this incident should serve as a reminder for the public to be more cautious of their surroundings.

“I think that coral reef disturbance instances don’t happen on purpose, but they happen when people maybe aren’t being so mindful,” Paradis said.

“They’re dropping anchors in an area they didn’t check or in this case, they’re hooking up to a mooring they were advised not to. It’s a good opportunity for the community to come together and work for something great, but also assess ourselves.”