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Community Solutions for Vessel Groundings

This project, led by the Marine Institute at Maui Ocean Center, seeks to develop community-informed strategies to reduce vessel grounding incidents, improve response efforts, and protect Maui’s nearshore coral ecosystems through shared knowledge and local perspective.

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Vessel groundings in shallow reef areas can physically break or crush centuries-old coral structures and disrupt critical marine habitat.

The Stakes for Maui’s Reefs

15 Vessel Groundings

In 2023 alone, Maui recorded 15 separate vessel grounding incidents that caused significant damage to our nearshore coral reefs

25% of All Marine Life

Maui’s coral reefs provide the essential ecological structure that supports over 25% of all marine life, despite occupying only 1% of the marine footprint

5,000+ Community Voices

This project aims to reach and engage over 5,000 individuals to help co-produce a community-driven framework for reef protection and response

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Why Our Reefs Matter

Maui’s coral reefs are vital to the health of marine ecosystems and coastal communities. Protecting reefs from damage helps preserve biodiversity, cultural connections to the ocean, and long-term environmental resilience.

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  • Ecological support: Coral reefs sustain a wide range of marine life by providing habitat and food resources.
     

  • Community protection: Healthy reefs help reduce wave energy reaching shorelines and support fisheries that many families rely on.
     

  • Long-term vulnerability: Vessel grounding incidents can cause lasting physical damage to reef structures that may have taken centuries to develop.

Project Goals

This effort is centered on co-production of solutions, meaning that residents, ocean users, cultural practitioners, and stakeholders all play an important role in shaping future reef protection strategies.

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​Building a Shared Framework

  • Establishing a coordinated network to improve rapid response and mitigation efforts

  • Incorporating community knowledge, ocean user experience, and local observations into planning

  • Translating public perspectives into actionable recommendations for management and restoration
     

Policy and Management Pathways

Survey findings will help inform information shared with resource managers and partners working to strengthen marine protection and response systems.

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Roadmap to Action

Community participation represents the first step in a longer-term effort to improve reef protection and grounding response capacity.
 

Focus Areas

  • Understanding common environmental, operational, and management factors contributing to groundings

  • Building a stakeholder network to support prevention and response coordination

  • Developing community-informed guidance for mitigation strategies
     

Rapid Reporting Support

The project is exploring the establishment of a 24-hour hotline system for reporting vessel grounding incidents. This model draws inspiration from successful marine wildlife response programs and is intended to support faster communication and response

Take the Stakeholder Survey

Your voice will contribute to developing community-informed solutions for safeguarding Maui’s marine environment.

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