Our History
Hanauma Bay has come to symbolize the struggle between the expanding visitor industry and the need to conserve the natural resources of the Hawaiian Islands.

In 1928, Bishop Estate bestowed Hanauma Bay to the City & County of Honolulu for use as a recreational area. As early as 1952, the Board of Public Parks and Recreation declared that Hanauma Bay was probably the most popular of all Oahu parks. In 1967, Hanauma Bay was designated Hawaii's first Marine Life Conservation District (MLCD) in order "to permit people to see it as nature originally fashioned it, before irreparable damage is done (Conservation at Hanauma Bay, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 23 Sept 1967)."

Over the years the Bay's popularity soared and the marine and near-shore environment sustained enormous stress due to overcrowding and misuse. By 1988, it was estimated that an average of 10,000 people packed the beach at Hanauma each day! People walking on the reef unknowingly damaged corals, algae and other organisms. Fishes were fed a variety of inappropriate and potentially harmful foods. Litter on the beach was abundant. Not only was it an eyesore, but posed a serious hazard from green sea turtles who are known to ingest plastic debris. The Bay was suffering from ignorance, exploitation, and carelessness.

Finally, in 1990, the City & County's Department of Parks and Recreation took measures to actively reduce visitor-related problems by restricting the number of visitors entering the Bay. Visitor counts were reduced by two-thirds but many of the problems remained.

For years the UH Sea Grant College Program had been following the plight of Hanauma Bay with the intent of initiating a beach-site education program aimed at promoting conservation among the visiting public. In the same year that the City & County restrictions went into effect, Sea Grant unveiled the Hanauma Bay Education Program. Consequently, limiting visitor access and increasing public awareness through education evolved as the two key methods in preserving the Bay.

Today, the education program has a corps of ~100 active and seasonal volunteers, a 7-member staff and has received numerous awards and recognition. In 2002, volunteers donated over 8,500 hours to educate and enhance the experience of nearly 1 million visitors to the Bay.

The program continues to grow as part of the Sea Grant Extension Service within the University of Hawaii School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), and has non-profit status through the University of Hawaii Foundation.
In addition to promoting stewardship of the Bay to park users, the education program also acts as a resource for the community. Staff and volunteers help to build and maintain our archives, host special events away from the Bay, and sponsor a bi-monthly lecture series as a part of our growing Outreach Program.

© 2003-2004 Hanauma Bay Education Program, University of Hawaii Sea Grant Extension Service
100 Hanauma Bay Road ~ Honolulu, HI 96825 ~ Ph: (808) 397-5840 ~ E-mail: hanauma@hawaii.edu

Last updated March 17, 2008
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