The Friends of Hanauma Bay (FOHB) organization was formed in 1990 and incorporated in 1991 in response to a decision by the Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation to tighten rules on access to the Hanauma Bay Nature Park, which is also a world-renowned Marine Life Conservation District since 1967. Many Hawaii residents believed that if such steps were not taken soon, the heavy attendance and general abuse of the Bay would result in irreversible degradation of the physical environment and destruction of the fragile marine ecosystem.

About the same time, a group of extension specialists, marine life experts and educators at the University of Hawaii's Sea Grant Extension Service had been developing an education program centered on Hanauma Bay that would include on-site interpretive talks, tours for visitors and residents, plus an outreach program to schools and interested organizations. This effort resulted in the Hanauma Bay Education Program - A group that closely interacts with the Friends, but is distinctly different.

Many community organizations, such as museums, libraries, cultural centers and even zoos and aquariums have "Friends" organizations to help them pursue their goals. Hanauma Bay is unique, however, in three respects.

First, it is a Marine Life Conservation District.

Second, it comes under several jurisdictions: The City is responsible for its Preserve aspect; the State is responsible for everything in the water; UH Sea Grant is responsible for the educational program; and the FOHB assists in the operations, with the cooperation and approval of the other three.

Third, although the Preserve has a Parks Department manager, it is not so clearly an active, public institution such as a museum or zoo, although it has a high level of activity.

The formation of the Friends, a grass-roots community group, came at an ideal time and was a reinforcement of what was happening at the Bay through the Parks Department and the University. It is supported mainly through the dues of a group of long time Bay users plus those from the current Board Members and a few other persons interested in the operations of the Bay.

The Friends developed into a community-based support group for the City's efforts to preserve the Bay and save it from overuse. To this end, the Friends adopted Hanauma Bay under the Park Department's Adopt-a-Park program in 1997. As a result, the Friends organization conducts the required quarterly cleanups of the Preserve, assists in maintenance, and carries out other projects which the City cannot undertake at once. The organization also adopted Kalanianaole Highway from Keahole Street (Hawaii Kai) to the Shooting Range Road as part of the State’s Adopt-A-Highway program.

The Friends have had many impacts on the Bay over the years:

The initial impact of the Friends on the physical aspects of the Bay came about as the result of members testifying at City Council meetings that resulted in a ban of smoking on the beach in 1995. As a result of the ban, it is now rare to find a cigarette butt in the sand as compared to hundreds in the past. A second major impact was the testimony of Friends at the State Department of Land and Natural Resources Board meetings that resulted in the ban of feeding the fish in the Bay in 1999. The result is that about 300 Rudderfish and 200 Mullets left the Bay and the remaining species reverted to natural feeding practices typical of any marine environment.

In 1997 an impact on the financial aspects of the Bay came about after testimony by Friends supporting a parking fee and an entrance fee for non-resident visitors to the Bay. The result is that the Bay’s funds are now kept separate from the general funds of the City. This has allowed the Bay to have its own budget and to purchase equipment critical to maintaining the Bay in an excellent manner.

Also, in 1997 an impact on the international reputation of the Bay came about in 1997 when the Friends applied to British Airways for an award in its “Tourism For Tomorrow” program. The Bay operation and especially its Management Plan produced three awards: Regional Winner – Americas, Longhaul Special and Global Award. The Global Award was the ‘grand prize’ and, in addition, this was the first time that three awards were given to honor a site. Two members of the Friends Board plus the Manager of the Bay traveled to London, England to learn of any award and, subsequently, to accept the awards after they were announced to the more than 300 guests, all in formal attire.

The Friends had their biggest impact when the City announced plans for a new Hanauma Bay Visitor Center to be built at the top of the craters that form the Bay and new facilities on the beach. Members of the Friends attended City and County and State permit hearings and testified for the proposed new Center. In addition, they became members of the City Task Force (The President of the Friends chaired the meetings.) that redefined the requirements for the Center and the new facilities on the beach. Permits for the new Education Center and beach facilities, which include an Education Kiosk, were approved in February 2001 and construction was completed in August 2002. The Center in its present layout and the multi-language aspects of the video that every visitor must view annually might never have been approved without the intervention of the Friends with the Mayor. The Hanauma Bay Education Program Volunteers (see below), who historically were members of the Friends, staff the Information Desk, Video Theater and beach Kiosk to assist in enhancing the usefulness and education aspects of the facility.

The Friends has become a financial resource and advocate for the Hanauma Bay Educational program operated by University of Hawaii Sea Grant Extension Service. The Education Program has a professional staff of seven full- and part-time educators. Their program includes recruiting and training volunteer docents who interact with the public, taking school groups on educational tours of the Bay and outreach programs that feature lectures, movies and Evenings at the Bay. The Education Program is funded by the City and County Parks Department though a grant to the University of Hawaii Sea Grant Extension Service. Many of the Friends also serve as Volunteer Docents working closely with the Education Program.

Friends who were experienced snorkelers served as hosts to the many visitors from the New York City area who had been impacted by the collapse of the twin towers of the World Trade Center September 11, 2002 and who were here as part of the “Sharing Aloha Program.” These visitors were all-expense paid guests of the Governor and wanted to snorkel while they were in Honolulu. As a result they saw many tropical and beautiful fish for the first time under controlled conditions and left Hawaii with direct knowledge of the spirit of aloha.

For all the plans for the Friends of Hanauma Bay to become a reality, it was necessary that the organization have tax-exempt, non-profit 501(c)(3) status. This was received in 1995 and enabled the Friends to become an established, organized, independent entity able to raise money and expand its educational and environmental programs.

The goals of the Friends of Hanauma Bay may best be summarized as follows:

• To help to protect the Bay and the marine life from the impact of heavy human presence and inappropriate human behavior such as walking on the reef and feeding the fish.
• To enhance the experience and safety of visitors to the Bay, including Hawaii residents and tourists.
• To use the Bay with its natural recreational appeal as an example to other potential protected areas in order to increase awareness of the marine environment and conservation concerns as well as to increase appreciation of Hawaiian history and culture and to emphasize that the Bay as a Marine Preserve rather than a purely recreational beach.
• To assist and support scientific research and other data collection both about the recreational use of the Bay and about the marine, animal and plant life that may be studied there.
• To urge the creation of more Marine Life Conservation Districts both to reduce the pressure on the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve and to spread the benefits of Marine Life Conservation Districts for humans and marine life.