Maui Ocean Center – the largest tropical reef aquarium in the Western Hemisphere – has unveiled plans for a Marine Institute which aims to tackle issues concerning Hawaii’s wild reefs.

Announced this week at the International Union of Conservation for Nature World Conservation Congress, the Institute will have the resources necessary to address the substantial challenges facing marine environments and sea creatures today, with a focus on developing rehabilitation facilities for endangered turtles and preserving rare and endemic Hawaiian corals.

Working in conjunction with the aquarium, the state and federal governments and private organisations, the centre will also act as a learning hub, providing educational opportunities for marine science with outreach programmes.

The Institute will use existing facilities at the aquarium to create the sea turtle rehabilitation centre, while a safe haven for rare endemic coral will be created with the goal of transplanting healthy corals back to ocean reefs.

In addition to education for students and pre-schoolers, the new Institute will also provide internship opportunities for students interested in pursuing a career in marine science.

Opened in 1998, the 12,140sq m (130,680sq ft) aquarium includes exhibits on coral reef habitats, sea turtles, sharks and humpback whales, among others.

The new Institute will help the aquarium expand its existing conservation efforts, which has a heavy focus on growing artificial coral reefs to later introduce to the wild, due to the recent rapid decline in coral populations in Hawaii because of heavy tourism and global warming.