Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 25, Number 9, 1 September 2008 — Alo a he alo [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]
Alo a he alo
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» I DON'T REMEMBER EVER BEING RATTLED AT THE SIGHT OF A 20-P0UNŪ ULUA WHILE SNORKELING BEFORE. WELL, l'VE ALSO NEVER HAD ONE SWIM RIGHT UP TO MY FACE EITHER. BUT IT HAPPENEŪ. IT WAS JUST ONE OF THE MANY FIRSTS - ALTHOUGH NOT MY PROUDEST - THAT I EXPERIENCED IN JULY, WHEN I VISITED THE NORTHWESTERN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS AS A MEMBER OF THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE REEF EDUCATOR EXPEDITION. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are a plaee unlike anywhere in the Hawaiian Archipelago. It's a plaee where wildlife rules, and hmnans are just hmnhle visitors. It's a plaee where you ean find yomself looking directly into the eyes of what are nonnally sort of timid creatmes in the main Hawaiian Islands
- like, I dunno, a small ulua - ane wondering if you are the one that is supposed to scurry away and hide. In 2006, President George W. Bush strengthened the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands' nearly 100-year conservation history when he proclaimed the
region a maiine nahonal monument, with strict
protection measmes, like notake zones and the phasing out of conunercial fishing, all of whieh are aimed at ]imiting the impact of hmnans on the area. Called the Papahānamnokuākea Maiine Nahonal Monument, the region represents the second largest marine
protected area in the world, eneompassing some 140,000 square miles, stretching north from just above Ni'ihau to Kme Atoll. The tiny islands, atolls and reefs in this remote region are home to approximately 7,000 species of marine and terrestrial life forms, about one quarter of whieh are found nowhere else in the world. Observing this unique, world-class environment was the focus of our ll-day expedition. The voyage was a part of the International Year of the Reef, a worldwide initiative to increase the awareness about the importance of coral reefs and what ean be done to save them from their current global decline. The Nahonal Oeeanie and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) pulled together 10 marine educators from across Oeeania to experience the region and learn about its conservation measures. One of the expedition's goals was to establish an educator network among the Pacific Island participants so they ean continue to learn how their neighbors are incorporating traditional rights, knowledge and values into their loeal management strategies. (See sidebar) "This was a really exciting opportunity to be able to share Papahānaumokuākea with Pacific Island educators, and let them see the plaee firsthand," said Andy Collins, the education and technology coordinator for the monmnent. "Not only was it a great euhmal exchange, but it was also incredibly inspiring to know that the message of marine conservation is so strong throughout Oeeania." Our expedition started on Iuly 13, as we
departed Pearl Harbor aboard the NOAA research vessel Hi'ialakai. Over the next 11 days, as we traveled from Nihoa to Mokumanamana to French Frigate Shoals and back, we caught a glimpse of what the reefs on O'ahu may have looked like generations ago, and what ean still be found in small pockets of remote areas on Neighbor Islands.
While the monument's conservation measures have ensured that the area's coral reefs will remain rich with marine life, it presented an odd situation for some of the expedition participants. We were completely surrounded by fish, yet we couldn't eat a single one. "We talked about what we could learn from catching and tasting the fish, to help us see the differences between the fish in om backyards and here," said Legario "Hanky Boy" Eharis, a longtime subsistence fishennan in Hāna, Maui. "But we're not disappointed because we understand how fragile this area is and the impact that would have on the resources." One of three Native Hawaiian cultural educators on the expedition, Eharis was eonducting a project to assess what reefs and fish populations should look like in an area almost devoid of human impact. He plans to use this baseline data to help develop a conununity management plan for the marine resources of Mū'olea, an East Maui ahupua'a. Eharis said that Hāna's marine ecosystem is comparable to what he observed in the monument, noting that he estimates about 80 percent of the fish species are found in both places. However, he said he was surprised
not to see fish species, like moi (threadfish), āholehole (Hawaiian flagtail) and 'ō'io (bonefish), whieh are eonunon in the main Hawaiian Islands. But what's the biggest difference between the marine life in the main Hawaiian Islands and Papahānmnokuākea? "These fish are wild," Eharis said. "They stay iight in front of you." There's perhaps no other fish in the monument for whieh this type of behavior rings more true than the ulua. No matter what their size, they swim around the shallow reefs like playground bulhes, eyeing out everything in sight as they pass by. We saw an ulua at Tern Island trying to eat a juvenile albatross that fell into the oeean while it was leaming to fly. We heard several stories from the Hi'ialakai crew about how ulua try to bite anything shiny, from spinning speedboat propellers to underwater cameras. That ulua behave like this is important. A robust marine ecosystem is supposed to be donūnated by apex predators, like ulua and sharks, whieh paūol the reefs, making sure the populations of eaeh species are kept in eheek. In the main Hawaiian Islands, ulua and sharks are heavily fished. As a result, only three percent of the area's fish biomass is made up of apex predators, a far cry from the 54 percent of the biomass they represent in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. While the natmal resources alone made the
expedition an extraordinary experience, the cultural elements that were woven throughout the trip added a unique dimension that helped us make a personal eonneeūon to the region and eaeh other. At certain points dming the trip, like when we entered and left the monument, Hawaiian cultural protocols were eonducted to greet and honor the deities and spirits of the area. When appropriate, the Pacific Islanders shared songs and prayers from their cultures to complement these ceremonies. Hō'ike, or cultural presentations, were also held on several nights, with educators perfornūng traditional dances and Eharis playing slack-key guitar. A kava ceremony was also conducted on one of the last nights, offering expedition members and the Hi'ialakai crew a ehanee to say what they were thankful for. The nearly pristine waters of the monument ean teach us a lot about what our reefs onee looked like and how mueh more needs to be done to repair the damage we've caused. While getting a liūle anxious about an onconūng ulua wasn't my most impressive moment, it's one that more people should have. It may be an indicator that you're swimnūng in a healthy reef. Editor's note: Sterling Wong is a policy advocate in OHA's Native Rights, Land and Culture division and participated in the expedition as a media liaison. This part one in a two part series. one of seven members of the Monument Management Board, the Offtce of Hawaiian AJfairs represents the interests ofNative Hawaiians. I
We were completely surrounded by fish, yet we couldn't eata single one.
SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS:
» At Nihoa, om first stop, a cloud of nenue (chub fish) swept over the reef shelf, and instead of dashing off at the sight of hmnans, they completely engulfed us. On our hike to the saddle of the 171-acre island, we saw some of the remarkable stone heiau, agricultural terraces and housing sites left bv
an ancient Native Hawaiian settlement.
» At Shark Island in French Frigate Shoals, we swam through a spectacular emerald green labyrinth of coral,
witn wnat seemed mee every reef fish imaginable i abundance. » On the bird colony that is Tern Island in French Frigate Shoals, we practically
had to bob and weave at certain points along the island's runway as terns, boobies and frigates curiously hovered
over om heads, swooping down every so often to
catch a better look at (or grab) our hair. The island's sandy beaches are popular hauling out and basking grounds for Hawaiian monk seals and green sea turtles, whieh lie side by side like a fanūly of sunbathers.
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