Kona Aquatics Conference
November 5th & 6th, 2026
Aloha!
A group of us from nonprofits like Technical Aquatic Research and Exploration (TARE) and Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund (HWF) have noticed a worrying trend in Kona aquatic science: Ongoing research is increasingly difficult to disseminate and is being conducted by compartmentalized entities. In an effort to communicate, educate and collaborate with fellow scientists, community members, and citizen scientists, we thought it would be a good idea to bring those efforts together.
For two days (November 5th and 6th, 2026) we hope to bring as many resident scientists and ocean / coastal kiaʻi in the same room so they can share and collaborate. What’s more, we’re inviting the public to get involved, too. We’re calling it the “Kona Aquatics Conference” to honor both the past Hawaiʻi Aquatics Conferences (1996 – 2006) and the West Hawaiʻi Integrative Ecosystems Assessment meetings that followed – but we welcome any presenters and attendees from across Hawaiʻi Island.
Our ask for now is two-fold:
- Save the date, and start encouraging any of your researchers who might like to share to start prepping abstracts.
- Are you interested in being involved? We are still building this thing from the lava up, so if you have input, ideas, or financial support, we’d love to collaborate (and could use the kōkua).
The venue is already secured (Terraformation has graciously donated the Ridge to Reef Restoration “3RC” Center at the Natural Energy Lab to host us) but everything else is in the works so come join us in making this a successful, intentional, and amazing event! While we hoped to host this event for free of charge, we are asking for a small $20 registration fee to cover any costs and to hopefully to raise funds for several local nonprofits (in addition to HWF & TARE) to support ongoing research, education and community-based management efforts in the area.
July 2026 Update:
Registration is now LIVE and available here:
Step 1. Kona Aquatic Conference 2026 — Registration
Step 2. Make the $20 registration payment via our website (be sure to note: “KAC 2026” in the comments section)
Questions or want to be more involved or help sponsor a session (or snack break)? Please contact us at KonaAquatics2026@gmail.com.
Me ka mahalo,
Jeff Milisen, author
Neal Hoogenboom, Technical Aquatic Research and Exploration
Megan Lamson, Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund
