Aulani Resort’s Rainbow Reef Fish Help Tell Their Own Sustainability Story

We want you to get the most out of your ‘luxury villa’ stay in Solterra, Davenport (near Championsgate and just south of the Disney World Resort area). To help out, we have sourced the following blog post to keep you up to date with news from Walt Disney World Resort. Thanks to the guys over at Disney Parks for the original post...

In Hawai‘i, there is an ‘ōlelo no’eau, a wise saying, that Aulani Resort’s Animals, Science and Environment team has adopted: He aliʻi ka ʻāina, he kauwā ke kanaka. The land is a chief, man is her servant. 

The Animals, Science and Environment team cares for all of the fish at Aulani Resort, including those at Rainbow Reef snorkeling lagoon. In every aspect of their roles, these cast members work to uphold this tradition of serving the land – or, more specifically, the water. This Earth Month, I wanted to share some insight into a unique and innovative program created by the Animals, Science and Environment team that elevates this purpose even further.

You see, the team does such a good job caring for our finned friends that these fish are constantly spawning or laying eggs. So many, in fact, that it spurred an idea. What if these eggs could be harvested and hatched? Could this be a way to help replenish tropical fish stocks without impacting the ocean environment? 

The idea turned into a pilot program with Oceanic Institute of Hawaiʻi Pacific University (OI), a research facility dedicated in part to aquaculture, or breeding fish. Aulani Resort provides the fish eggs to OI, and they in turn attempt to hatch and grow them. Over the past few years, the program has seen some surprising and optimistic results, including landmark strides in the successful breeding of the Milletseed Butterflyfish, the Potters Angelfish, and the Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse, all fish that historically have had only very rare success breeding under managed care. These successes have the potential to lessen the number of fish being taken out of natural reefs around the world. “Aulani Resort’s Rainbow Reef has allowed us to work with species we did not have access to and enabled us to expand our research and conservation efforts,” said Chad Callan, director of OI’s finfish program.

So what does this mean for Aulani Resort and Rainbow Reef? Dr. Geoff Pye, Disney’s Animal Health Director and the Chair of Disney’s Animal Care and Welfare Committee, explains. “One of the things that Disney is committed to, whether it’s The Seas with Nemo & Friends at EPCOT in Florida or Aulani Resort in Hawaii, is that we really want to promote sustainability and ensure that the impact we’re having is a positive one,” he said. “The fact that we are now engaged in a project to raise young fish under managed care and not having to collect them from the environment is awesome.”

Dr. Geoff feels like this research can have far-reaching implications. “I see a time when aquariums are going to be fully sustainable. And I think we’re close to reaching a tipping point where we could soon be able to raise hundreds of species of fish, and at that point, there’s the possibility that some of these fish could replenish wild populations. And that’s really exciting.”

For now, OI has made arrangements to send the fish originating from eggs in Rainbow Reef to other accredited aquariums across the country. Replenishing those populations is critical because here in Hawaiʻi, collecting fish for aquarium use is banned so any coral reef fish in aquariums are obtained through aquaculture. There are limited species available based on the success rates of those being bred, however Aulani Resort’s work with OI is changing that. It’s the hope of everyone involved that the fish born from this program will act as ambassadors of Hawaii, helping to educate even more guests about Hawaii’s fragile reef environment and how to protect our precious natural resources.

And while some of the fish go on to be world travelers, others continue their mission right here at home. Recently a special delivery at Aulani Resort — several fish born from the Rainbow Reef eggs – completed the circle of life. 

On your next visit to Aulani Resort, be sure to visit our finned ambassadors at Rainbow Reef, and learn more about ocean conservation and the role they are playing in it.