Who We Are

The Marine Institute is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit protecting Maui's marine life — and helping the people who live alongside it understand why that work matters. A bleaching reef can't save itself, and neither can a honu with a severe entanglement; it takes people who see what's at stake and choose to act.
 
We were incorporated in April 2016, introducing our work globally at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Honolulu, with a founding focus on rehabilitating endangered sea turtles and preserving rare, endemic Hawaiian corals. That focus has since grown into a whole-ecosystem approach: today we run Maui's only land-based coral nursery, a rapid-response network for sea turtle rescue and Hawaiian monk seals, and education programs that inspire the next generation of ocean stewards.
 
Because none of this holds without the community behind it. Through student visits, hands-on volunteer days, and partnerships with local businesses, we're growing the number of people on Maui who see this coastline as theirs to protect — one reef, one rescue, one classroom at a time.