About Us
About Mālama Nā `Apapa
Mālama Nā Apapa is a non-profit organization committed to preserving, sustaining and restoring Kaua`i’s coral reefs.
Our goal is to stop the steady decline in coral reef health and propagate future coral growth. We do this by:
What is coral?
Home to more than 25 percent of all marine life, coral reefs are among the oldest and most fragile ecosystems in the world. Known for the colorful fish and marine life that live within them, the reefs themselves are actually made up of tiny animals called polyps, which create cup-like limestone skeletons around themselves using calcium from seawater. Reefs form as generation after generation of coral polyps live, build, and die, creating vast strongholds for themselves and many other plants and animals.
Why are coral reefs
so important?
Coral reefs provide a habitat for 25% of all marine life, they are the foundation of the marine ecosystem food chain. As such they support the food chain for the larger fish that millions of people rely upon for food and income.
The world’s ocean’s produce 70% of the oxygen we breath. This oxygen is produced by phytoplankton, seaweed, algae and coral.
Coral reefs support the rare and endemic species of Hawaii’s marine ecosystem. Hawaii has one of the greatest rates of endemism in the world. Over 1,000 marine species in Hawaii are endemic.
They protect us from costal erosion.
In Hawai`i, 85% of all visitors participate in some form of ocean recreation. This contributes over $800 million dollars in marine related revenue.
Many of Hawai`i’s sandy beaches are mainly composed of ground up coral, coralline algae, and other calcium carbonate shells of marine life that live in the coral reef.
Some of the best Surf breaks are created by the formation of coral reefs.
How do we
protect coral reefs?
In carrying out our mission, we are involved in marine science educational outreach programs, reef restoration projects, beach clean-ups, in-water scuba reef clean-ups, scuba certifications, waste-to-energy projects with H-power, and coral reef surveys to monitor the changes of the coral reefs we restore and clean.
Get in Touch !
We invite all people to join our alliance and help preserve, sustain and restore our Coral Reefs here on Kaua`i and around the world.
To join as a volunteer or be added to our mailing list please fill out the contact form and we will be in touch soon.
Mālama Nā `Apapa
c/o Scott Bacon
P.O. Box 809
Anahola, HI 96703
scottbacon@kauaicoral.com