Several non-native aquarium coral species have been found repeatedly on one Hawaiian island. The corals were first found off Anini Beach on the north shore of Kauai Island by Reef Guardians Robin Mazor and Tom Woods in 2021, but they’ve been found another six times since then in the same place, raising concerns that they have spread.
On their discovery The Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) was informed, given photographs, and they confirmed that the corals were not native to Hawaii but Indonesia, and popular with reef aquarium hobbyists. What’s more, when they went to remove the corals they found them growing on frag plugs and attached to the rocks with zip ties. They had deliberately been planted there. Experts believe a well-meaning Kauai resident placed them there, either to dismantle their tank or in the belief that outplanting would benefit the native reef.
“If you implant non-native coral into this environment, if they are really resilient species, they can outcompete the native species, which would be problematic because they don’t have natural predators here … We don’t have fish that necessarily want to eat this particular species of coral,” Heather Yitalo-Ward, DAR’s Kaua‘i district biologist, told Kaua’i now.
“The other possibility is the introduction of disease. We don’t know where these corals came from. We don’t know how well they were taken care of. If they’re introduced into the wild and they have any sort of disease, they could spread that to the native population,” continued Yitalo-Ward, “They could have parasites, viruses. Anytime you have introduction of coral species into this native environment, there’s mostly negative consequences. I can’t think of a positive.”
“If you have an aquarium and need to dispose of your fish or other aquatic life, please do not release them in the ocean or streams,” wrote the DAR. “Even if you have native animals in your aquarium, you could introduce disease into the environment. The proper way to dispose of legal aquatic life is to either humanely euthanize them or reach out to other aquarium owners or pet stores who may be happy to take your animals. The Hawaii Department of Agriculture has an amnesty program that allows anyone to turn in illegal animals without penalty.”
The non-native corals have been found around ‘Anini Beach boat ramp, Kauai Island. We have previously documented the discovery of non-native Monitipora in Hawaiian waters, and the Caribbean snowflake soft coral has been growing there since its introduction to Pearl Harbour in 1972. Hawaii is under threat from thousands of species of flora and fauna that could become invasive. More on this story at https://www.theinertia.com/
You can help keep invasive species off Hawaiian reefs by reporting potential sightings to DAR’s Aquatic Invasive Species team. Send a picture, description, and as precise of a location as possible to [email protected].
