MAUI NUI MARINE RESOURCE COUNCIL INC

OCEAN WATER QUALITY MONITORING PROGRAM:MNMRC CO-MANAGES HUI O KA WAI OLA, A UNIQUE COMMUNITY-BASED OCEAN WATER QUALITY MONITORING PROGRAM THAT TESTS COASTAL SITES EVERY THREE WEEKS ACROSS LEEWARD MAUI. IN 2024, THE PROGRAM EXPANDED FROM 35 TO 41 SITES, INCLUDING CONTINUED MONITORING AT SEVEN LOCATIONS IN LAHAINA TO ASSESS ONGOING IMPACTS FROM THE 2023 WILDFIRE. THE HUI ALSO COMPLETED ITS FIRST FULL YEAR OF MONITORING ON THE NEIGHBORING ISLAND OF LANA'I. ALL DATA ARE COLLECTED UNDER STRICT QUALITY ASSURANCE PROTOCOLS AND SUBMITTED TO THE HAWAI'I DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH CLEAN WATER BRANCH. SINCE LAUNCHING IN 2016, HUI O KA WAI OLA HAS COLLECTED OVER 4,822 WATER SAMPLES TO HELP GUIDE POLLUTION MANAGEMENT, RESOURCE PROTECTION, AND COMMUNITY AWARENESS.

CORAL REEF RESTORATION & ASSESSMENT:MNMRC CARRIED OUT CORAL REEF RESTORATION AND ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT THE LONG-TERM HEALTH AND RESILIENCE OF MAUI NUI'S NEARSHORE ECOSYSTEMS. IN PREPARATION FOR ESTABLISHING COMMUNITY-BASED CORAL REEF AREAS IN NORTH KIHEI, MNMRC LED COMMUNITY OUTREACH, DEVELOPED SITE PLANS, AND CONDUCTED TRAINING IN REEF RESTORATION TECHNIQUES. USING STANDARDIZED CRAMP AND FAHU METHODS, THE ORGANIZATION COMPLETED 130 REEF AND FISH SURVEYS ALONG LEEWARD MAUI, COLLECTING AND ANALYZING OVER 79,000 DATA POINTS. ALL DATA WERE SUBMITTED TO STATE AGENCIES AND PARTNERS TO SUPPORT DECISION-MAKING AND TRACK THE EFFECTIVENESS OF LAND-BASED POLLUTION MITIGATION. MNMRC ALSO PARTNERED WITH FLYING FISH TECHNOLOGIES TO CONDUCT HIGH-RESOLUTION BENTHIC MAPPING OF MAUI'S ENTIRE LEEWARD COAST USING UNDERWATER DRONES AND AI, WITH EXTRA MAPPING PERFORMED AT TARGETED REEFS IN LAHAINA. THESE EFFORTS GENERATED CRITICAL BASELINE DATA AND STRENGTHENED LOCAL CAPACITY FOR INFORMED REEF MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNITY-LED CONSERVATION.