May 22, 2025, MĀʻALAEA, MAUI, HI — Rehabilitated coral fragments damaged by a grounded luxury yacht more than two years ago were returned this week to Honolua Bay on Maui's northwestern coast.
 
An eight-person team from Maui Ocean Center (MOC) and the Marine Institute at Maui Ocean Center (MOCMI), a nonprofit organization, attached 246 coral fragments to the reef. The team, which included six divers and two snorkelers, loaded four species of coral onto MOC's boat early Monday morning before departing Māʻalaea Harbor for Honolua Bay.
 
During the past 26 months, the coral has been cared for daily by MOCMI staff and volunteers at its Māʻalaea-based coral nursery. For the past month, the corals have been placed under filtered outdoor sunlight to aid in their transition back into the ocean.

“We feel it's a privilege and honor to do this work on behalf of the community of Maui,” said Dustin Paradis, MOCMI's executive director. “Honolua is a very special place for many reasons, and we hope this effort can provide some healing and closure for the community.”

MOCMI operates under a Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) special activities permit allowing it to mitigate coral damage incidents in collaboration with the State of Hawaiʻi.

After the yacht Nakoa was removed from Honolua Bay's reef in March 2023, two MOC coral specialists assisted MOCMI staff and volunteers in collecting the damaged coral colonies so they could be rehabilitated back at MOCMI's coral nursery.
 
MOC, an award-winning aquarium opened in 1998 by Coral World International, offers space and critical infrastructre to MOCMI, a nonprofit organization that helps both coral reefs and injured sea turtles.

“Maui Ocean Center has been involved in coral rehabilitation for decades, and it's a rewarding part of the work we do here," said Chris Keller, MOC's curatorial director.

Once at MOCMI's nursery, which utilizes saltwater pumped from Māʻalaea Bay, the damaged coral was eventually cut into small pieces and glued to aragonite plugs. The coral then established itself and grew around the plug before being transferred to the ocean.

Following a preliminary dive of the 36-foot-wide “outplanting zone,” two dive teams went underwater to attach the coral fragments onto the reef utilizing “safe and proven coral restoration methods,” Paradis said.
 
The corals were returned to an area adjacent to the shallower area they were collected from — a location where conditions allow for a better chance of survival.
 
“We look forward to collaborating again with Maui Ocean Center on additional coral restoration projects that help improve our near-shore reefs and benefit our island community for generations to come,” Paradis added.