PRINCEVILLE — Back in 2021, Robin Mazor and Tom Woods of Hawai‘i nonprofit organization ‘Reef Guardians,’ were at Anini Beach on a routine snorkel to monitor reef activity and fish population when they discovered something unusual.
“I was highly concerned,” Mazor said. “We immediately began to take pictures.”
Mazor’s pictures revealed invasive saltwater aquarium coral colonies not native to Hawai‘i placed in crevices tied with jute string in the reef.
‘That’s right,’ said Woods. “We started looking around and saw a lot of different coral varieties in the area called ‘The Mermaid Garden,’ so we sought help from scientist Doug Fenner and sent all the pictures to Heather Yitalo-Ward with the Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) to let them know of our alarming find.”
The DAR team looked at the photos and confirmed that the corals were not native corals found in Hawai‘i.
The Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) team then flew in from Honolulu to inspect and remove the invasive colonies from the reef. Using genetic testing, DAR confirmed the coral was from a region of the Indo-Pacific, making it clear that the coral was intentionally placed at Anini Beach.
Since the original discovery back in 2021, the Reef Guardians have repeatedly found non-native coral at Anini Beach. DAR has recorded six incidents in total with the most recent find occurring in March 2024.
“The finds are not due to multiple plantings. We found what seems to be pieces that have broken off and spread, unfortunately they seem to be thriving in this environment. However, my message to whoever is responsible for doing this is: Remember that it’s against the law to take or bring coral into the state, and you must have a permit to sell coral,” Mazor said.
“We know coral restoration is exciting for people, but planting coral from someplace else is not beneficial. Planting coral in Hawai‘i is a process through the state and you must have a permit to do so. We have no desire to know who specifically did this, but we want to tell this story and let everyone know that this isn’t allowed.”
Woods agreed.
“That’s correct,” Woods said. “Pono behavior in Hawai‘i does not include planting coral from another area of the world onto the Hawai‘i base. DLNR has an amnesty program that allows you to turn your aquarium coral or illegal animals without penalty, so make smart choices.”
DLNR, which is investigate this incident, had no comment.
For more information on how to become a Reef Guardian volunteer and help protect native corals please visit, reefguardians.org.
For further information on DLNR’s amnesty program visit https://hdoa.hawaii.gov/pi/pq/amnesty-program-2/.
