Kahaluʻu Beach Park will be closed today thru May 31 for coral spawning.

During the closure, the Kohala Center’s Kahalu‘u Bay Education Center (KBEC) and the Division of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources (DLNR-DAR) ask the public to refrain from swimming, snorkeling and surfing in Kahaluʻu Bay to support the reproduction of cauliflower coral (Pocillopora meandrina) and give the bay a brief yet essential time for rejuvenation.

Cauliflower coral was once abundant on shallow coral reefs along West Hawaiʻi, including in Kahaluʻu Bay, according to DAR and Eyes of the Reef Network. However, marine heatwaves in 2015 and 2019 caused catastrophic bleaching and mortality of more than 90% of the cauliflower coral population. In response, yearly rest periods were initiated in 2018, and since then, cauliflower coral has been observed returning to the reef and is in the early stages of recovery.

DLNR Photo