The only coral nursery on Kauaʻi has housed its first coral specimens that will contribute to reef restoration and emergency response.
Kauaʻi Coral Restoration Nursery at Nōmilu Fishpond is dedicated to reviving the island’s coral reefs. By providing a facility and trained staff, the establishment of the new Kauaʻi nursery aims to supply healthy source colonies for restoration projects.
In collaboration with Kauaʻi Ocean Awareness, Kauaʻi Sea Farm, the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources, and the University of Hawaiʻi Coral Resilience Lab, the ocean conservation and restoration group Hoʻomalu Ke Kai collected the corals of opportunity, or loose corals, that had been dislodged from parent reefs or damaged by storms, boat groundings, or anchors.
The team collected two coral species: Montipora capitata (rice coral) and Porites lobata (yellow-lobed coral), which will be cut into fragments and attached to pyramid-shaped cement modules at the nursery.
Through a rapid-growth methodology developed at the DAR Hawaiʻi Coral Restoration Nursery on Oʻahu, the fragments will grow along their living edges and eventually fuse into large, healthy colonies measuring approximately 30 centimeters by 30 centimeters.
Following recent bleaching events and increasing environmental stressors affecting coral reefs, the urgency and importance of restoration efforts represent a long-term contribution to reef stewardship in Hawaiʻi, a press release said.
