Environment

Eyes on the Reef

Thursday, June 25th, 2015

Community Contributed

By Cheryl Corbiell

On June 6, Darla White with DLNR’s Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) provided the first “Eyes of the Reef” (EOR) skills training on Molokai at Kulana `Oiwi to an enthusiastic crowd of Molokai residents.

The EOR training has been designed to help ocean users such as community members, reef users, fishers, and commercial operators the skills to provide reliable monitoring and reporting on coral bleaching; coral and fish diseases; Crown-of-thorns Sea stars outbreaks, marine alien invasive species, and native species blooms. The participants learned how to detect the early signs of coral in distress.

“Threats to the world’s reefs have increased by over 30 percent, and today, 75 percent of the coral reefs in the world are threatened,” said White. …

Tackling Invasive Algae

Wednesday, June 17th, 2015

Community Contributed

By Cheryl Corbiell

The Molokai Gorilla Ogo Survey and Control Project was launched on Saturday, June 6 at Kulana `Oiwi by master of ceremony and Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustee Colette Machado. She was joined by 75 people with passion, knowledge and love for the reef and ocean. For five hours, participants learned about the threat and distribution of the invasive algae on Molokai’s south shore and what other communities have tackled gorilla ogo.

Over the last seven weeks, Machado has gathered seven project partners: Kua Aina Ulu Auamo, OHA, DLNR’s Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Ke Kua`aina Hanauna Hou, and Kahina Pohaku Loko I`a.…