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Lawaia pono — a call to fish righteously — is supported and promoted by 32 Native Hawaiian organizations from across the state. Lawaia pono translates to “good management of our ocean and shoreline resources.” It encourages thoughtful, good neighborly practices to ensure that there will be fish for those who come after us.

Hui Makaainana o Makana and Haena, Kauai, was the first ahupuaa, in modern times, to re-establish traditional cultural practices to restore the health and abundance of their “icebox” and bring back the fish that once were plentiful. They are doing this by reinstating time-honored and tested techniques and methods used by our kupuna.

These methods had allowed Hawaiians centuries ago to catch thrice the amount of fish annually that scientists consider sustainable today. And we know that they maintained and drew on that kind of abundance for more than 400 years.  Hui Makaainana o Makana’s Community Based Subsistence Fishing Area (CBSFA) rules for the Haena fishery were adopted and signed by Gov. David Ige, on Aug. 4, 2015, bringing with it the promise of replenishment of coastal waters that have fed families for generations.

On May 28, the Kaupulehu Marine Life Advisory Council in north Kona became the second to attain a lawaia pono designation, this one for a 3.6-mile stretch from Kalaemano to Kikaua Point, extending out from the shoreline to a depth of 120 feet (20 fathoms). The Board of Land and Natural Resources affirmed the community’s call for a 10-year rest period to give fish the opportunity to repopulate the reef, getting it back to levels of abundance that many members of families who have lived in the Kaupulehu area for generations remember.

Researchers tell us today what people born and raised in the area, like Aunty Lei (also known as Leinaala Lightner), know from family lore: that “ than modern fleets catch today in both Hawaii and the Florida Keys, the two largest reef ecosystems in the United States.”

Education, Rules, Enforcement Critical To Sustainable Fisheries

There are some roadblocks on the path to lawaia pono in our islands. There is little public understanding or education on how to sustain our reefs. Rules exist, but they are poorly adhered to and given scant attention.

Enforcement is stretched thin on each island. If a agent is not seen on the beach, fishing regulations matter very little.

“Lawaia pono” reflects the community’s mindfulness and sense of responsibility to future generations.

This is a far cry from the way it used to be.

We know that Hawaiians used many techniques, such as placing a kapu on fishing in certain areas and restricting the kind of gear used or species that could be caught. People knew the consequences of violating the kapu or exceeding catch limits. Violations brought swift corporal punishment or even death.

Not so today. One researcher, John Kittinger of the Center for Ocean Solutions in Monterey, Calif., pointed out in a 2012 blog post in the New York Times that “you get penalized much more harshly if you shoplift sunglasses from a store than if you take a bunch of fish that are the wrong size or kind.”

I recently learned to identify the different sex of the uhu (Scarus perspicillatus, the parrot fish). I learned if the male uhu (blue one) is removed from the school of red uhu (females), the uhu will not reproduce for a few years until one of the red uhu biologically changes its sex to a male. I now tell divers I know to avoid spearing a male uhu.

We all have a responsibility to educate ourselves about our kuleana to make lawaia pono a lived reality.

Rest Reef Now, Avoid Disaster Later

Where and who do we turn to if we have another shipping strike that cripples the entire state for months? How will we feed our families?

What happens if a hurricane should pass directly over Oahu and wreak havoc in our two deep water harbors, incapacitating inter-island barge companies?

Thinking then, “I wish we had given more thought to sustaining ourselves,” will not put food on the table during these natural and human-made emergencies. We must insure against these possibilities now.

Lawaia pono reflects the community’s mindfulness and sense of responsibility to future generations. It is a call for a change in attitude and practices so that we can keep feeding our families through all our tomorrows.

In adopting the community’s call for a 10-year rest for the reef, the Board of Land and Natural Resources affirmed the soundness of the solution to a problem that has reached critical proportions. All that remains now is for Gov. Ige to lend his signature to the plan of action. Doing so will go a long way toward ensuring that there will be food in our icebox for generations to come.