The ocean gives life to everything we love about Maui
Whether you are riding the wind and waves at Kite Beach or relaxing on the sand, Maui’s beaches are a special place for locals and visitors alike.
But, Maui’s ocean and marine environment are facing increasing threats from rising temperatures, pollution, and a host of other human-related stressors.
The Maui Nui Marine Resource Council helps to protect our reefs and ocean through research, restoration, and land-based initiatives from mauka (the mountains) to makai (the ocean).
Land-Based Initiatives
Protecting local reefs starts on land and our Limu (algae) studies around the island including North Maui give us clues about chemical and wastewater pollution in local waters. Commercial fertilizers, pesticides, wastewater, and other pollutants can enter Maui’s ocean through storm runoff or groundwater.
Clean Ocean Water
Our water quality testing program, Hui O Ka Wai Ola protects Maui’s waters by using water quality data from 41 beaches on Maui to reveal long-term trends and hotspots that may need our help. By following strict EPA standards, the Hui produces quality-assured data that is used by the State of Hawaii Department of Health, EPA, Aqualink, PacIOOS, and other organizations and agencies to inform responsible and effective management of Maui’s oceans.
Research
Our dive team regularly performs Rapid Assessment Technique (RAT) and Coral Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (CRAMP) surveys to gather data on the health of reef ecosystems in South Maui. These dives help to give us an idea of how reefs around South Maui are changing over time and can also give us indicators of potential problems that may be occurring in nearby waters.
Restoration Work
To combat the threats facing Maui’s we collaborate with the community to establish Community-Based Coral Restoration Areas (CBCRA) that give damaged corals a second chance at survival. Through the CBCRA process, corals that have already been detached from the larger colony are collected and re-planted on bare reef where they will hopefully start to grow again.
Overcoming limits and scaling conservation efforts
Using Technology to Protect Maui’s Ocean
Thanks to support from the generous ACTAI community, drone technology, and AI played a critical role in protecting Lāhainā’s reefs after the devastating wildfire.
Without precedent for an urban fire close to a reef, predicting the short and long-term impact of runoff from toxic debris was difficult.
With support from ACTAI, the Vertigo3 underwater drone made it possible for local scientists to survey more miles of reef at more locations than would have been possible by divers alone.
In the race to understand the fire’s impact, local organizations faced limitations in manpower and time. Using the Vertigo3, 11 sites were captured in a single day–a feat that would take dive teams two weeks to complete.
Watch the AI analysis of Vertigo3 Footage
ACTAI’s support also made it possible to use AI to analyze footage from the Vertigo3 drone. The AI was trained to identify fish and coral species populations, giving scientists another indication of reef health near the burn zone.
The good news is that the areas we surveyed seem to be doing fairly well one year after the fire. Overall health, fish, and coral ratings show minimal change between 2023 and 2024.
Thanks to support from the ACTAI community we were able to collect this critical data faster than ever before and at a scale that would have been impossible without the use of technology.
Donate to support a clean ocean water in Maui
Join Rally for the Reefs and Give Back to Maui
Join us as we work together to raise $20,000 for clean ocean water and healthy reefs at places like Kite Beach in Maui. Your tax-deductible gift of any amount will power critical conservation work that makes a difference from mauka (the mountains) to makai (the ocean).
