THOUGH BENEVOLENCE IS CERTAINLY A FOUNDATIONAL VALUE OF NONPROFIT KULEANA CORAL RESTORATION, SELFISHNESS, TOO, PLAYS A ROLE IN WHY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ALIKA GARCIA COFOUNDED THE O‘AHU-BASED MOVEMENT, WHICH IS DEDICATED TO PRESERVING HAWAI‘I’S UNDERWATER WONDERLANDS.

“We started with just a bunch of us local fisherman that saw some declining habitats, and not as much effort in the habitats that we thought were really important, particularly the coral reefs, which are arguably—but I’m biased—the most important habitat in the ocean,” shares Garcia, a commercial fisherman turned city firefighter. “It’s not just data or science; it’s not just a science project. We’re selfish. We want more fish.”

Ocean enthusiasts in all forms—from surfers to marine scientists—joined forces after realizing they could utilize their collective resources to make a positive impact.

“A part of the kuleana, at least the way I was taught by my grandparents, is that taking is OK, as long as you give back. It’s a balance,” shares Garcia. “We’ve taken a lot and the ocean gives a lot, but we’ve barely given any back.”

Spearheaded by Garcia, science director Danny Demartini, Ph.D., and community outreach director Kapono Kaluhiokalani, the nonprofit formed in 2019. Just last summer, though, the state issued permits, allowing for underwater coral restoration on the Wai‘anae Coast—a feat, Garcia says, that’s hard to come by.

“It was a huge milestone,” he says with a smile. “We’re really focusing our initial efforts on the Westside, which (has) a heavy Native Hawaiian population. There’s hardly any data taken on the Westside because it’s an underserved community.

“There’s a lot of mana in the ocean and we’re trying to work with the community to address what’s going on, then bring it out to other places.”

Of all the items on Kuleana Coral Restoration’s list of to-dos, though, repairing O‘ahu’s aquatic paradise is only a third of it. Reef monitoring and mapping, as well as education and outreach, are also found on the nonprofit’s agenda. By creating 3D maps, specialists can track restoration sites and the surrounding areas to plan and monitor their efforts. For the education portion, Garcia and his team hope to garner community interest.

“We do the mappings for them in their backyard essentially,” he says. “Rather than us come in and say, ‘Hey, this is what we found and this is what you should do,’ we want to provide maps as a tool and use traditional Hawaiian resource management ideologies to deduce what’s important to them in their own neighborhood.

“We got to go and say, ‘Hey, what’s important to you guys? Is this your guys’ fishing spot? Shoots, we’ll map it.’ Waimānalo has a limu program that’s very important to them; ‘Ewa Beach also has a limu program—different priorities for different communities.

“Why wouldn’t you want to know that, if you’re a fisherman? But even if you’re not a fisherman—if you eat fish, paddle, surf, if you have a house that’s anywhere near the coastline,” he continues, “that’s another thing that coral does is protect the community from damage from big storms. So, if you don’t have a healthy coral reef ... it’s going to get worse for communities like ours.”

When it comes to fieldwork, the nonprofit finds difficulty pulling inspiration from other efforts in places like Florida or Australia, due to Hawai‘i’s unique ecosystem.

“Traditionally, restoration programs grow coral like farms, but it’s not applicable for us because we get like 2 centimeters of growth per year, when they’re getting like 18 centimeters,” Garcia explains.

“Our approach is a lot different. There’s a lot of coral out there that’s breaking off for various reasons— anchors, people swimming and kicking it over, natural causes. Rather than us trying to farm new coral, we’re grabbing that existing coral and ... we’re preventing it from dying.

“The value in that is that we’re saving corals that are anywhere between 1 and 50 years old, and by preventing that death for a 50-year-old coral, you just can’t replicate that in a lab.”

As Kuleana Coral Restoration marks its first year in the water this summer, the nonprofit strives to enhance local connections and build relations with four nonprofits from each corner of O‘ahu.

“Reach out to your local group that is the expert in subject matter for that ahupua‘a. They know the resources from mauka to makai,” Garcia says when asked how people can get involved.
“In Hawai‘i specifically, that ... flow of resources is critically important to the coral reefs. Get involved in your local groups and tell them about our education and mapping services. Tell them that you want to know what is the status of the coral reef in your backyard.”

Those who are interested in learning more can visit kuleanacoral.com.