(WAIKOLOA, HAWAI‘I) – The DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) took down shark warning signs on Monday at ʻAnaehoʻomalu Bay on Hawai‘i Island, following an apparent encounter over the weekend.
Aquatic Resources
(HONOLULU) – Insidious is the best way to describe Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD). First discovered off the coast of Florida in 2014, it has now spread along the entire coast of the Sunshine State and has been detected in 23 countries and territories in the Greater Caribbean Basin. This disease kills coral tissue at a rate of 1 to 2 inches per day, which quickly kills the coral, and can affect more than 30 different species of coral.
(HONOLUA BAY, MAUI) – A post-grounding damage assessment conducted by divers from the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR), found that the yacht Nakoa caused damage to corals and reef live rock covering at least 19,434-square-feet.
(HONOLUA BAY, MAUI) – A yacht, fast aground just outside the Honolua-Mokulē'ia Marine Life Conservation District, was pulled off the nearshore rocks around 1 p.m. today.
(HONOLUA BAY, MAUI) – It’s likely to be another few days before the 94-foot-long luxury yacht Nakoa is freed from the rocks and reef at Honolua Bay in northwest Maui.
(HONOLULU) – The owners of the luxury yacht Nakoa have hired a private contractor to salvage the vessel which grounded nearshore at Honolua Bay early on Sunday.
(KĀNEʻOHE BAY, OʻAHU) – A major milestone was reached this week as teams from the Ānuenue Fisheries Research Center (AFRC), a facility of the DLNR’s Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR), planted the one millionth juvenile native sea urchin in Kāneʻohe Bay on Oʻahu. Since January 2011, AFRC has successfully spawned and raised collector urchins in captivity with the purpose of releasing them in the bay as part of an ecosystem-based management plan for environmental mitigation work in the bay and off Waikīkī.
(HONOLULU) – Marine debris, ingested by a 56-foot-long sperm whale, is believed to be at least a contributing cause to its death. The whale washed up on the reef fronting Lydgate Park on Kaua‘i Friday night. On Saturday, heavy equipment was used to get it onto the beach where researchers from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Health and Stranding Lab, spent 15-hours trying to find clues about its death. Their initial examination of the whale was limited because of its immense size.
(HONOLULU) – Today, Hawaiʻi Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey P. Crabtree lifted an injunction in a case filed by opponents of commercial aquarium fishing, prohibiting the issuance or renewal of aquarium fish permits to commercial collectors pursuant to Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) § 188-31 in the West Hawai‘i Regional Fishery Management Area (WHRFMA). An injunction concerning the issuance or renewal of aquarium fish permits in the rest of the State of Hawaiʻi remains in effect.
(Maalaea, Maui) – A dozen or more times each season, humpback whales while on their principal breeding and calving grounds within the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary (sanctuary) or nearby waters get spotted entangled in fishing gear or marine debris. In the worst cases this material can kill the animal.