Diving for Corals & Fish at Puako, Hawaii

[Reef Builders]

Hawaii’s fish and reefs are some of the most iconic marine life and recognized the world over. Some of the aquarium hobby’s most important fish like yellow tangs, flame wrasses and bartlett’s anthias come primarily from Hawaii, yet the reef hobby doesn’t really know that much about what Hawaiian ocean environments really look like. Here at […]
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[VR28man]

Thanks Jake! As mentioned on youtube, did you really see worms growing on Pocillopora? I only saw Porites in the video, and have never seen it in the wild before (so I'm very interested).

Also, that Monti is Montipora capitata. It's fairly common worldwide and very common in Hawaii, but not generally available in the aquarium trade.

They can grow big. If you see the video in my sig of a now volcanically buried snorkeling site, you'll see some of the 6 foot M. capitata plates that used to be there.

 

[Alex808]

What’s up man. Was stoked to see you guys diving in Hawaii. Am originally from Oahu and made me feel really at home to see that.

Next time you have a chance to go exploring. There are places on Oahu that have some sick reef shelves. Kaneohe bay on the Marine Base side has some bad butt shelves near the surf break and the sand bar right in the middle of the bay is a super underrated spot. Very easy to access and not far from the beach at all. Also, the mokuluas immediately off of lanikai have some great reefs and big underwater rock formations. Never was into looking for corals back then but if you wanna see some sick stony coral formations and a crazy variety of tangs and different rock fish. Those are a couple of good places.

Much love. Safe diving. Aloha.

 

[VR28man]

What’s up man. Was stoked to see you guys diving in Hawaii. Am originally from Oahu and made me feel really at home to see that.

Next time you have a chance to go exploring. There are places on Oahu that have some sick reef shelves. Kaneohe bay on the Marine Base side has some bad *** shelves near the surf break and the sand bar right in the middle of the bay is a super underrated spot. Very easy to access and not far from the beach at all. Also, the mokuluas immediately off of lanikai have some great reefs and big underwater rock formations. Never was into looking for corals back then but if you wanna see some sick stony coral formations and a crazy variety of tangs and different rock fish. Those are a couple of good places.

Much love. Safe diving. Aloha.

Indeed. K-Bay and the area around Lanikai are really underrated as ocean destinations. There’s all kinds of neat things to see while kayaking and snorkeling there.

i’m also fond of Hanauma. It’s got to be my favorite side of the island (sorry @Alex808 and K-bay), and once you get past the reef (not always a good idea), but also lots of good sps growth.

 

[Alex808]

Indeed. K-Bay and the area around Lanikai are really underrated as ocean destinations. There’s all kinds of neat things to see while kayaking and snorkeling there.

i’m also fond of Hanauma. It’s got to be my favorite side of the island (sorry @Alex808 and K-bay), and once you get past the reef (not always a good idea), but also lots of good sps growth.

Dude I haven’t seen hanauma bay in years but I recall there was a stretch of time when it looked bad and was in very bad health. The Alawai canal in Honolulu was filthy and there was more than a month of straight rain. I want to say this was 2006? Someone can correct me but it rained for 40+ days. Sewage run off ruined the beaches and basically all the sea life disappeared for a while.

Only issue now is the incredible amount of tourists in hanauma who touch everything and enter the water with tons of sun block on. lol.

 

[reefluvrr]

This is too cool for me. On summer vacation with family. I am relaxing tonight 4 miles away from Puako. Getting ready to snorkel with my kids tomorrow close by the area.

 

[hatfielj]

We discovered Puako this past February without knowing what was there. We stayed at a rental place there for several nights towards the end of our trip. We were really excited to find such nice snorkeling in several of the large tide pools on that shoreline. I'm not a scuba diver, but I saw a lot of people heading out to dive there, so I figured it must be a good spot. My profile photo was taken there, haha
I actually got to see an octopus one morning when I first got in the water! I was so stoked to see that. It's one of those animals that I never thought I'd see in the wild since they are so good at hiding.