For those that don’t already know, West Maui has a strong sense of place, both for its natural environment and its strong identity felt by the community. (We have our own unique way of doing things here and we’re proud of it!) We can’t name everything that makes this place great, but if we had to list a handful of reasons…
There’s the backdrop of the West Maui Mountains.The amazing sunsets. Seeing mantas at Olowalu. Barbeques at Launiupoko. Snorkeling at Slaughterhouse Beach. Paddling with ohana. Surfing at Shark Pit, Honolua, S-Turns, and more.
Not to mention that we have a rich history, such as Lahaina being the first capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii, from 1820 to 1845, before it permanently moved to Honolulu.
We asked a few community members to put their pride into words and they said:
“West Maui still has that ohana and family feel, the Aloha spirit.”
“West Maui feels like a village.”
“When someone is having a hard ship, people pitch in and help out.”
“The west is the best because it’s beautiful. When you got out on the ocean and you look at West Maui, it’s just awesome.”
Have your own reasons for loving West Maui? Go to our Share Your Story page.
Our Coral Reefs
Maui’ s most developed coral reefs are found along its Western shore. Here, stony corals—some of which began forming 17,000 years ago—form extensive structures that fan out along the coast. This underwater city is home to fishes, algae, and other invertebrates, and is one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet.
Hawaii’s coral reefs have long been a source of pride and value for our state, playing an important cultural role in traditional knowledge and family activities, and boasting significant environmental, social, and economic contributions. Our reefs hold educational and research value, serve to buffer our beaches and coastlines from the erosive power of waves, and support and feed our families.
In 2002, the value of Hawaii’s coastal reefs was estimated at nearly $10 billion, with an average annual value of $364 million (Cesar and van Beukering, 2004). Of this annual value, almost eighty-five percent is attributed to tourism. A 2011 survey gauged the perceived value of Hawaii’s coral reefs from U.S. households, estimating that U.S. citizens value Hawaii’s coral reefs at $33.57 billion dollars (Bishop et al., 2011).
The Current State of Our Reefs
Research tells us that Maui’s coral reefs and its fish populations are in decline due to a combination of factors, including land-based sources of pollution, decreased water-quality, overfishing, invasive algae, and more. Climate change is a particularly important threat to coral reefs, and a major reason to reduce our land-based impacts. (We need to keep our reefs as healthy as possible, so they are better equipped to deal with the elevated environmental stress that comes with climate change).
Long term data from four nearshore reef sites on West Maui (Kahekili, Honolua Bay, Puamana, and Olowalu), has shown a 37 percent decline in tot to 2012 (State of Hawaii, DLNR). That’s more than a third of our cor years.
Trends in Maui cor.
More specifically, coral cover off Kahekili (Airport Beach in Northern Kaanapali) has decreased by approximately 33 percent, from 1995 to 2012 (from 55 percent to 37 percent). At Olowalu, a documented 23 percent decrease in coral cover has occurred during that same time period (from 43 percent to 33 percent). In Honolua Bay, coral cover has dropped a staggering 76 percent (from 42 percent in 1995 to 10 percent in 2012). However, it’s not all bad news. An increase from 3 percent cor percent in 2012 has been documented in Puamana (State of Hawaii, DLNR).
While our reefs at these sites are declining, algae are thriving—and that’s not always a good thing. Algae can block sunlight essential for coral growth, and out-compete live coral, which grows much slower than seaweed. A decline in coral can be bad for fish and other aquatic organisms that rely on the coral reef for food and shelter. Also harmful to aquatic life is the depletion of available oxygen in the water caused by decomposing algae (Dailer et al., 2010).
The increase in algae on our reefs could be linked to a combination of excess nutrients coming from such sources as nitrogen from fertilizers, dirt particles, pesticide chemicals and more, that are running off into the ocean.
In 2001, this issue became apparent when a large-scale bloom of invasive algae blanketed Kahekili’s reefs and washed up on its beaches. In response to concerns about the algal growth and long-term decline of the reef in this area, the Kahekili Herbivore Fishery Management Area (KHFMA) was created in 2009 to protect the herbivores of the area. (Learn more about the KHFMA.)
Over the last 10 years, blooms of invasive algae have shown up intermittingly across 7 kilometers of West Maui coastline (Dailer et al., 2012). (That’s longer than 63 football fields end to end.)
What you can do
You can do something about this. Click here to see our list of ways that you can take action, from simple tips on how to wash your car to volunteering with a local organization.
