"Solutions not Complaints"
SOLUTIONS
"not complaints"
Traditional Hawaiian Management:
In 2003, a movement started that brought representatives from communities around the State of Hawai'i to meet on the island of Moloka'i in response to conflicts, among stakeholders, regarding the use of marine resources. Mo'omomi on Moloka'i was the first attempt to revive the need for community involvement based upon traditional Hawaiian management practices which evolved into the Community Based Subsistence Fishing Area (CBSFA) initiative.
For more information please visit KUA - http://kuahawaii.org/about/
Nai'a:
Spinner dolphin (nai'a) have been coming into Kauhakō Bay to rest and socialize before man inhabited these islands. Hawaiians understood this, and did not bother them even when fishing. However, in the past fifty years swimming with the dolphin became a popular and now, lucrative activity. Whereas before, a few people would swim in the Bay without disturbing the nai'a. Today scores of people swim out to the pod and try to interact with them. Some maha'oe people pursue them across the bay trying to grab onto them or blocking their path.
For the past thirty years members of the Ho'okena and Kauhakō communities have participated in numerous meetings and public hearings to address this problem. The National Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has adopted rules to enhance adherence to the Marine Mammal Protection Act that will restrict the ability of people to interact with the nai'a and prevent harassment. One of the restrictions, the 50-yard distance rule will be enforced along with other measures to ensure the dolphin pod is able to live undisturbed by human presence in Kauhakō Bay. If you come to Ho'okena Beach to enjoy the ocean please respect our wish for visitors to observe the nai'a from an appropriate distance on the shoreline.
The 50 yard no approach rule was recently established. NOAA is also proposing a time area closure zone in 4 bays including Kauhakō. They also have proposed exemptions to allow Ho'okena canoe fishermen to harvest for consumption and transit through the zone on the way to fishing grounds.
E Alu Pu
Statewide community network
E ALU PŪ is a network linking more than 32 communities from around Hawai`i to increase their effectiveness in managing local biocultural heritage. Ho'okena has been a E Alu Pu member for over 17 years.
"In 2019, the kuaʻāina, grassroots people of KUA networks brought together 537 people (353 unduplicated) from 80 different organizations in 8 gatherings, 1 workshop, and 3 exchanges."
For more information visit the KUA website http://www.kuahawaii.org
Hana laulima
Kupuna work together at Ho'okena Beach to clean and prepare opelu for drying and frying. The dried opelu was shared with our guests and opelu was fried for our paina on the last night of our community get together.
E Alu Pu gathering
July 21, 2019 E Alu Pu Gathering at Mailepai, Maui. Kona Lawai'a Douglas Alani Sr., Molokai lawai'a Mac Kelson Poepoe, Lanai lawai'a Sol Kaho'ohalahala, and Community Based Subsistence Fisheries Area coordinator Luna Kekoa share mana'o.
Lawaiʻa Pono – to fish virtuously, to fish in a Hawaiian way.
“Hānai a ʻai” (feed the fish and you may eat)
is a saying attributed to the Kapalilua region of Kona Hema, Hawaiʻi Island. It specifically refers to the relationship between hoaʻāina of the region and the ʻōpelu (mackerel scad, Decapterus spp.) fishery, which was a shared, “give before you take” relationship in the time of our kūpuna.
Kuleana: With the support of the communities of the Hoʻokena area, a proposal will be submitted to the Department of Aquatic Resources that
will seek to amend the rules in the Hoʻokena Fish Replenishment Area (FRA), where aquarium fish collecting is prohibited. These rules will include pono harvesting practices for preferred fish and other marine life in the FRA. This
is an opportunity for the hoaʻāina of the Kapalilua Region to make sure that future generations will be able to harvest and enjoy the preferred iʻa of
their kūpuna. The proposal, developed as a result of years of research and data gathering, is intended to benefit the families of the area, perpetuate
the ʻŌpelu Canoe Fishing Culture, and promote traditional fishing practices.
Project Area (Ho’okena FRA): Loa Point in Kealia 1 extending 6 miles south to Kauluoʻa point near Kaohe.
Purpose: To promote sustainable harvesting of iʻa and perpetuate the Hoʹokena ʻŌpelu Canoe Fishing Culture for future generations.
Objective: With community input and support, establish rules to
standardize the harvesting of identified marine life and submit a proposal
to the Department of Land and Natural Resources to amend the rules in the Hoʹokena FRA through the DLNR Chapter 91 process.
KUA gathering
HIHI meeting Mokuleia
August 12, 2022
Coral Reef Conference
KOA Outreach
