05/31/23 – ONE HUNDRED CORAL COLONIES DAMAGED BY CINDER BLOCK LANE MARKERS

JOSH GREEN, M.D. GOVERNOR DAWN CHANG CHAIRPERSON For Immediate Release:  May 31, 2023 FIFTY TO SIXTY CORAL COLONIES DAMAGED BY CINDER BLOCK LANE MARKERS Follow-up Assessment Made After Canoe Regatta To view video please click on photo or view at this link: https://vimeo.com/831939020 (KAILUA-KONA, HAWAI‘I ISLAND) – Sixty-pound cinder blocks placed in the ocean for a Hawai‘i Island canoe regatta last weekend caused a range of damage to approximately 50-60 coral colonies in Kailua Bay. This number is lower than what was reported earlier and is based on a closer analysis of photos taken during an assessment.  Two dive teams, from the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR), spent Tuesday documenting and photographing damage. The Founders Regatta, put on by the Keauhou Canoe Club, was paused on Saturday when it was discovered that 16 of 28 cinder blocks had been dropped on top of live coral. Racing was allowed to resume after officers from the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) did initial dives to photograph the blocks and GPS their locations for the DAR assessment.   As of yesterday, all but three of the blocks had been relocated to sandy areas. Those three blocks are located on
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