The mooring pin project has already put pins at Molokini, Kona dive spots and some spots on Oahu. Earlier this month, members of the dive community put in moorings off Lanai, thanks to the leadership of Erik Stein of Extended Horizons.The Ocean Recreation Council of Hawaii (TORCH), formed in 1987, has for years promoted mooring pins as one solution to the reef destruction often caused when anchors are dropped or dragged over coral. "It was one of our very first projects," said TORCH's statewide president, Jim Housh.
"Putting mooring pins in is really a no-brainer," Housh said. "Dive operators were seeing the damage and decided we have got to get active and do something about it."
But the State of Hawaii resisted TORCH's efforts, and threatened to fine frustrated divers who installed their own mooring pins in sensitive spots off Kona.
Those first pins were funded by the Malama Kai Foundation, which started in 1990 with a $10,000 donation from Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia. Since that initial battle, the state shifted its position and by 1995 had worked out a plan to allow 330 moorings. "It might have been another 10 years, if it wasn't for those (Kona) guys stepping forward and taking the risk," Housh said.
The plan receives very little state funding, and is largely implemented by volunteers and Malama Kai donations. That's despite the fact that in Hawaii ocean recreation is a $800 million a year industry.
Day mooring pins, developed in 1981 in the Florida Keys and modified for Hawaii's marine environment, consist of a stainless steel eyebolt, cemented in a 1 inch diameter hole drilled into a solid substrate, with a rope attached to a buoy.
By no longer having to drop anchor, further coral damage is avoided and the boat is also more secure, said Housh. At Molokini, approximately 35 mooring pins are in, place, put in with volunteer boats and labor, said Housh.
The diving community has also pushed for more stringent regulations at Molokini, in effect for the last year. These include expanding the conservation area to 100 yards around the land mass, putting in a no-wake zone and a no fish feeding rule so the natural balance can be restored , Housh said.
Far from being the environmental bad boys, Housh said about two-thirds of the dive and snorkel boat operators actively help TORCH projects, spending "thousands of dollars in time and money to get the state to do what is mandated by the state constitution: to manage the resource in the public interest."
The Lanai project was sparked by a $1750 donation made by Extended Horizons to Malama Kai, and was aided by participation from Lahaina Divers, Trilogy, Navatek, Pacific GreenDivers.
Stein wants to encourage other dive operators and individuals to contribute to the Adopt-A-Buoy program. The moorings are available on a first-come, first-serve basis to dive boats, but the "adoption" goes a long way toward building and maintaining the mooring pins and buoys.
For information on TORCH, call 808 875-1778.