Inside

Many of our readers often comment on how they are fascinated with our stories that journey back in time. We are too and that’s why Lawai’a continues to do them! More importantly, however, we feel it is all too often overlooked as to how our ocean resources of today can benefit from the knowledge of yesterday. We do these stories as a way to emphasize that precious time doesn’t have to be wasted re-inventing the wheel. It is our hope that more realize the importance of tapping the vast traditional knowledge of those in particular who have demonstrated a command of that knowledge by fishing sustainably for decades. In this and future issues, we intend to bring our readers stories of people who have done just that, often in the face of unjustified criticism by the uninformed and, more often, without recognition. Read about how Frank Farm has lived a life dedicated to the ocean and it’s resources.

Chris Cramer brings us another fascinating story of the history of the konohiki system and some of the konohiki of Maunalua Bay, Oahu. While many of the konohiki deserve credit for what they practiced in their own time, today they would be faced with a daunting task of having to do their job under a myriad of rules, regulations and most notably, severely altered  environmental conditions that completely throw off patterns and knowledge of a thousand years. Areas closed to fishing, seasons, sizes, time restraints, indirect impacts such as elemental changes to the ecosystem, tourism based activities and more are all recent changes that konohiki  couldn’t have dreamed of when they managed only a few decades ago. 

Speaking of changes, John Clark wrote about shark riding and the changes brought about in Ke’ehi Lagoon in issue number 3 of Lawai’a while our editorial commented on the drastic man-made changes of that area. Along with those changes, across the State today we have run-off of nutrients flowing directly into the sea, causing alien algae to flourish and choke out native limu within our protected waters. We also have today freshwater being diverted for our residential developments and industry to make our island economy steamroll ahead. Although critical to the delicate chemical balance that our nearshore ecosystem depended on for thousands of years, these two very things have changed what our ocean  has looked like in a mere 100 years. A comment was made recently by one Maui agriculture industry executive when emphasizing the importance of jobs at stake: “What’s a little more fish and flora?”.

While many man-made changes have had serious adverse impacts on the nearshore ecosystem of our islands, not all have been bad. Some have actually been beneficial to our fisheries. In this issue, Honokaa-born Neil Kanemoto writes about the fantastic moi runs of Hamakua on the Island of Hawaii that resulted from the sugar industry sending its processing waste product, bagasse, directly out to sea. There are still many fishermen around who remember standing on mats of bagasse, catching the opae living within it and casting into the schools of moi that ran beneath the mats. Similar stories come from many who fished outside of the Kahuku Sugar Mill on Oahu.

When talking about man-made changes to our shoreline, one cannot help but think of traditional Hawaiian fishponds. They were not only engineering wonders but were also another example of man-made changes that enhanced our shoreline ecosystem. John Clark interviews Dr. Clyde Tamaru about fishponds in this issue and we will also include a feature on He’eia Fishpond of Kaneohe, Oahu in a later issue.  To many, the word “fishpond” automatically brings about the image of a bountiful harvest pulled from the confines of the pond walls. The obvious benefit is that at the height of production, the ponds provided for the native population’s diet through the direct production of food. However, not many realize that the benefit of fishponds extended way beyond those walls in the way of an indirect effect they had on enhancing the entire nearshore ecosystem. Simply put, fishponds increased critical estuarine habitat. While tons of fish like mullet, awa and oio were produced in fishponds, even more were produced outside in the wild as a result of the reciprocating effect and free-flowing movement of young.  Mullet, awa and oio were every day fish for many Hawaii residents up until only a couple of decades ago and the commercial landing reports of the time show this. Not only did it feed our residents but the burgeoning population of the lower food chain surely enhanced prey availability for a predator population. Some even believe that when fishpond operation was at its highest, with nearly 100 along Oahu’s shoreline alone in 1900, our nearshore Hawaiian ecosystem was ultimately manipulated by man to be more productive than its natural state. As a result of the disappearance of fishponds and crucial estuaries, a return to that normal level is expected and that is what we see today, further degraded with the injustices of habitat destruction and reduced capacity. 

While it is convenient for some to blame the decline in our marine resources on the hunter gatherers, it is much more difficult for them to comprehend that habitat degradation, destruction and loss has brought even more significant impacts to the flora and fauna once residing there. Is it the absence of a clear vision of what our Hawaii will be in the future that we pursue development and projects in the guise of economic vitality and necessity, at the expense of destroying the habitat of the marine plants and creatures while pointing the finger at the fishermen? Is it so difficult to achieve economic vitality while preserving our natural resources? Would having a vision and commitment to achieve such, as once provided by former Governor George Ariyoshi, and restated in his current book, “Hawaii: The Past Fifty Years, The Next Fifty Years” be realized? The leaders of tomorrow must take the lead and create that vision. While for us today, we must be respectful and commit ourselves toward providing a complementing framework from which their vision can evolve.  Think about it.