This small island in Kaneohe Bay on Oahu’s eastern (windward) shore is 28 acres in size and surrounded by more than sixty acres of coral reef. Coconut Island is most famous for being shown during the opening of the television series Gilligan’s Island.
Originally just a 12-acre island, the size was increased in the 1930s using earthen landfill, coral rubble and sand. Coconut Island is now designated as a Hawaii Marine Laboratory Refuge and is home to a research base run by the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, which is part of the University of Hawaii.
Scientists and students come from around the globe to study the ocean and marine life around the Coconut Island.