The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has proposed building artificial reefs in Waikīkī.
NOAA’s Office of Habitat Conservation, in partnership with the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, the Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources' Division of Aquatic Resources, and more, has proposed a $9 million project — called “REEFrame” — that would install permanent concrete frames off the Waikīkī shore in order to stimulate the recovery of the area’s natural coral reefs.
A draft environmental assessment published Thursday describes the project as dropping about 150 3d-printed concrete modules about half a mile offshore from Waikīkī, at the mouth the ‘Āpuakēhau Channel. These modules would cover about 5,400 square feet, and would be made up of various nooks and crannies mimicking a natural reef environment, providing possible habitats for marine species, and possible sites for corals to grow.
REEFrame is intended to not only help restore marine life to Waikīkī’s ailing reefs, but also to serve as a nursery for corals that can be outplanted in turn at other natural or artificial reefs.
The REEFrame project stems from a 2016 pilot study, called the Coral Resilience Module Experiment, or CReME. That study also deployed concrete modules off the Waikīkī shore, as well as in Hanauma Bay, and found that natural corals were found growing on the modules within a year.
Later on in the CReME project, researchers transplanted “corals of opportunity” — coral or coral colony fragments dislodged from their home reefs — to the modules to test whether they can harbor actively developed artificial reefs. By 2023, more than 30 large coral colonies have survived.
According to the draft EA, CReME proved to researchers that placing artificial reef structures near intact natural reefs can help restore ailing reefs by replenishing the amount of new coral growth and herbivore presence in the area.
Waikīkī was the preferred location for the project because of the poor health of the area’s coral — NOAA describes the reefs in Waikīkī as “among the most degraded in Hawai‘i," with “some of the lowest resource fish biomass in the state” — with eight sites between Kewalo Harbor and Diamond Head considered for the project.
The draft EA estimates that the REEFrame modules can be placed by the end of the year or early next year, depending on how quickly necessary permits, including a conservation district use permit, can be approved. Deployment of the modules will require construction barges and will only take place during calm weather conditions, to reduce the risk of placing a module on the natural reef.
The draft EA anticipated that the project will have no significant deleterious impacts on the environment. A cultural impact assessment in 2025 and early 2026, intended to determine the project’s potential impacts on cultural resources and practices, received no response from more than 50 organizations and cultural practitioners.
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