Blog
Photo by Ryan Pernofski
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Maui Leaders “Dive In” to Learn About Local Coral Reefs
For Immediate Release May 31, 2014 West Maui, Hawai‘i—For some local and state leaders, Saturday began with a special tour of West Maui’s most precious natural and economic resource—our coral reefs. Participants—a “who’s who” from within area government, hotel management, and other sectors critical to Hawai‘i’s future—donned their snorkel gear to explore both healthy and stressed reefs…
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Protecting Manta Rays—and Marine Biodiversity
Talking about marine biodiversity means talking about Indonesia, says CORAL Triangle Regional Manager Naneng Setiasih: the largest archipelago in the world with 17,500 islands, Indonesia also has the highest marine biodiversity in the world, including migratory species like the manta ray. Indonesia recently declared three million square kilometers of its seas as a manta sanctuary.…
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A Diver’s Report
When Don Acheson visited Roatan, Honduras, six years ago he was dismayed to see “a lot of algae on the reef … and very little elkhorn or staghorn coral; very few anemones, sea urchins, or sea cucumbers; and very few mollusks or even empty shells.” Fast forward to 2013, when Don decided to visit Roatan…
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Making Scientific Research Relevant
Scientific research has great potential to inform conservation efforts. All too often, however, scientific results that could be useful languish on library shelves (or get lost in the cloud) instead. Some researchers make concerted efforts to address real-world questions, but these attempts frequently fail because the researchers do not fully understand what kind of information…
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Visiting Reefs and Rain Gardens with the Mayor of Maui County
On a beautiful and uncharacteristically calm afternoon in February, Maui County’s Mayor, Alan Arakawa, arrived at Kahekili Beach Park, barefoot and carrying a mask and fins in a bucket. Mayor Arakawa was eager to get in the water to dive with CORAL and our partners from the West Maui Ridge to Reef Initiative and the…
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Monitoring Makua
On the north shore of Kauai, just north of the well known Hanalei Bay, is an idylic stretch of coastline known as “Makua.” Makua, a Hawaiian word for provider, may refer in this case to the important resources that came from this once vibrant reef ecosystem and helped provide for the needs of people living…
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Reef Champion Partners with CORAL
If you’re ever feeling discouraged about the state of the planet, look no further than 15-year old Dylan Vecchione for inspiration. At age 13, Dylan founded his own nonprofit called ReefQuest to foster marine stewardship through citizen science. But the idea for ReefQuest—and his first “initiative,” as he puts it—began when he was only seven.…
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Unique Coral Reef Receives Federal Protection in Honduras
For Immediate Release March 10, 2014 ROATAN/SAN FRANCISCO—With help from the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL), the Healthy Reefs Initiative, and Amatela, a Tela-based organization, the Honduran government has designated Tela Bay, which contains one of the Caribbean’s healthiest coral reefs, a federal Site of Wildlife Importance. Close to 800 elkhorn corals (Acropora palmata), listed as…
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Preparing the Pacific Region for CITES Shark Protections
On February 11 and 12, 2014, in Nadi, Fiji, The Pew Charitable Trusts, CORAL, and the Fiji Government hosted the Oceania Follow-up Regional Workshop on the Implementation of CITES Appendix II Shark Listings. With representatives from 11 countries in the Pacific and over 60 participants and observers, significant progress was made toward ensuring these newly…