Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 21, Number 9, 1 September 2004 — Low-mercury reef fish part of healthy diet [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Low-mercury reef fish part of healthy diet

By Claire Hughes Dr.PH., R.D.

Hawaiian reef fish are an excellent source of low-fat, high-quality protein and should be part of a healthy diet. Akule, awa, moi, mullet, 'ōpelu and other small fish, as well as squid, octopus, scallops and shrimp are considered best in a healthy diet. Warnings about the mercury content of fish are made because mercury ean harm the developing brain of infants and children. All fish contain mercury. However, because large fish eat many smaller fish, large fish quickly attain higher levels of mercury. Pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and young children should NOT eat Pacific blue marlin (kajiki), shark, and swordfish (shutome). Eating 'ahi, ono, and opah should be limited to twice a month (onee every two weeks). Aku, canned tuna, butterfish (cod), grouper, halibut, mahimahi, striped marlin (nairagi), orange roughy or polloek should be eaten only onee a week by pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and young children. Early Hawaiians preferred eating fish and sea creatures caught on or near the reef. They used many different kinds of nets, hooks and traps to catch fish. Their nets varied from small hand-scoop nets to large hukilau nets. Hawaiians knew that reef fish were tastier because of their diet of seaweed. Hawai'i still has a great variety of fish. The seasonal running of fish offers an abundance of many different fish every year. Today, restaurants tend to serve filets of large, deep sea fish. In fact, a lot of super-

market fish choices and poke are the large deep sea varieties. These large fish are high in mercury eontent. Early Hawaiians built walled fish ponds along protected shorelines around all of the islands. These ponds assured a steady and dependable supply of ehoiee reef fish for the table at all times. Gates on the makai side of the rock walls could be opened to allow fish to enter the pond. Small fish could swim in or out of the pond. However, as the fish grew in size, they would be trapped within the walls of the pond and remained to grow large enough for consumption. In old Hawai'i, most large fishponds belonged to ali'i. Today remnants of ancient fishponds remain in only a few places along Hawai'i's shorelines. Cultural experts indicate that Hawaiian fish farming demonstrated a high level of civilization. Raising fish and animals for consumption is seen in advanced civilizations, as opposed to hunting and fishing for immediate consumption. Kuapā was a very large fishpond on Maunalua Bay in what is now called Hawai'i Kai. A ka'ao about Kuapā fishpond tells how menehune eame one night and completed construction of the partially-built pond before daybreak. One curious thing about the fishpond was that it was said to be connected by an underground passage to the Ka'elepulu pond in Kailua (Enchanted Lakes). From time to time, the great mullet population in Kuapā would disappear and be found in Ka'elepulu pond. At the same time, the

awa from Ka'elepulu would appear in Kuapā. When the mullet reappeared, the awa would disappear. In ancient times, Laukupu, a mo'o guardian lived at the Koko Head end of Kuapā. She took care of the fish for her high chief and his people.

From the time that it was built

until the 1800s, Kuapā covered 523 acres. By the mid-1950s, Kuapā had dwindled to less than a fourth of its

original size. Then, most of the pond was filled in for development of the Hawai'i . Kai subdivision. Today, Kuapā Island is an upscale residential and retail area. The name Kuapā means fishpond wall. ■

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Hawaiians used various methods to catch nutritious reef fish.