On Sunday, March 6th Trilogy held another SOLD OUT Blue’Aina coral reef cleanup! We teamed up with Corporate Sponsor Skyline Eco Adventures and Food Sponsor Diamond Resorts to benefit Non-Profit recipient Pacific Cancer Foundation. The March event was special for several reasons, but two highlights stood out: We welcomed aboard a large portion of new participants and as an added treat, we were honored to host the film crew from Xploration Awesome Planet as they chose to highlight Trilogy’s Conservation efforts in one of their upcoming Fall episodes.

With clear skies and little wind we were able to conduct an underwater cleanup at Mala Wharf. The pier was destroyed in 1992 by hurricane Iniki and now provides a habitat for coral and reef fish. The caveat to this degraded structure is its propensity to snag a lot of fishing line. With the wharf's close proximity to the boat ramp, it also accumulates a good amount of trash.

After cleaning the reef, Raul from the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary gave us the water quality details. We found the water temperature is still high at 76F. Salinity was up, most likely due to the little amount of rainfall we had prior to the cleanup. pH was down (a more acidic ocean) which is concerning. The ocean absorbs CO2 causing the pH to fluctuate naturally. With an increase in human produced CO2 we are seeing negative effects of an ocean with rising acidity.

On the way home we followed a competition pod of humpback whales.  A manta trawl was deployed for the trip and collected a micro-plastic sample to be sent to the Algalita Marine Research and Education Center for processing.

It was humbling to see our small group of passionate and committed local community members helping to preserve one of our favorite spots. Our next reef cleanup is April 22nd for Earth Day. Hope to see you out on the water!

By: Magen Schifiliti, Conservation and Education Director