PRINCEVILLE — Save Our Seas and the St. Regis Princeville Hotel are joining Malama Na ‘Apapa in hosting a free Hawai‘i ocean and coral awareness event, Saturday, at Pu‘u Poa Beach fronting the St. Regis hotel. The Pu‘u Poa reef
PRINCEVILLE — Save Our Seas and the St. Regis Princeville Hotel are joining Malama Na ‘Apapa in hosting a free Hawai‘i ocean and coral awareness event, Saturday, at Pu‘u Poa Beach fronting the St. Regis hotel.
The Pu‘u Poa reef is the site of the first reef check in the world, being surveyed in 1997, a SOS release states.
The public is encouraged to participate in activities, education and awareness of the marine ecosystem with a welcome ceremony consisting of a Hawaiian blessing and a message from Milton Sgarbi, the general manager of the St. Regis Hotel. The ceremony starts at 9 a.m.
A SCUBA Reef Survey headed by Scott Bacon is scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon, and all SCUBA divers interested in joining the team must be certified and provide their own equipment.
SCUBA divers will meet at the Foodland Princeville parking lot at 7:30 a.m. so all the gear can be collected and driven to the beach through the locked access road.
This will be a one-tank dive because SOS will be conducting additional training on surveying invertebrates and the substrate.
Other activities will focus on reef check monitoring, basic reef training on fish and invertebrates, invasive species and coral disease. This will be followed by a snorkel survey headed by Capt. Paul Clark, SOS president, and other volunteers.
Participants are asked to bring their own snorkel gear and underwater camera.
Malama Na ‘Apapa is a diverse nonprofit committed to preserving, sustaining and restoring Kaua‘i’s coral reefs.
Visit www.kauaicoral.com for more information.
