03/09/23 – GROUNDED YACHT CAUSED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO LIVE ROCK HABITAT

JOSH GREEN, M.D. GOVERNOR DAWN CHANG CHAIRPERSON For Immediate Release:  March 9, 2023 GROUNDED YACHT CAUSED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO LIVE ROCK HABITAT (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. The four-person DAR team conducted a preliminary damage investigation the day after the vessel grounded just outside the Honolua-Mokulē’ia Bay Marine Life Conservation District on Maui’s northwestern coast. On Sunday, March 5, the boat was pulled free, but then sank in 800 feet of ocean water while towing it back to Honolulu.  Russell Sparks, the DAR aquatic biologist leading the assessment team, said, “We are looking for two things. The initial impact when the vessel grounded, and then the scars that occurred as the boat was dragged back off the flat reef surface into deeper water.” The preliminary assessment showed nineteen coral colonies were damaged or destroyed during the initial grounding. For nearly two weeks the Nakoa remained grounded in extremely shallow water along the basalt boulder shoreline in a high wave environment. Highly visible, parallel scars extend 246 feet into deeper water. The first 49
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