Kama‘āina receive $10 admission for World Ocean Day

World Ocean Day is held each year on June 8 to “help unite and rally the world to protect and restore our blue planet,” organizers said.

At Maui Ocean Center, marine naturalists will host a coral feeding station and shark tooth dig activity along with educational presentations throughout the event at exhibits ranging from Shallow Reef and Deep Reef to Turtle Lagoon and Nursery Bay. A diver presentation will take place at 11 a.m. at the Open Ocean exhibit, and Ali Miller will read her book, “How Cara Lost Her Color,” in the Makai Theater.

Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute (MOCMI) will be among the conservation groups participating in the event. MOCMI rescues sick and injured sea turtles on Maui and rehabilitates sea turtles in need of long-term medical care from the main Hawaiian Islands. Since 2019, MOCMI has rescued nearly 1,200 sea turtles on Maui.

Other groups represented during Maui Ocean Center’s World Ocean Day event include Whale Trust, The Marine Mammal Center, Save the Wetlands Hui, Stormwater Maui and NOAA’s Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

Additional conservation groups will be on hand for Pacific Whale Foundation’s “For Da Keiki” World Ocean Day Education and Resource Fair, held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. nearby at the Mā‘alaea Harbor Shops. That event will include live music, face painting and educational games.