Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 26, Number 9, 1 September 2009 — ʻOpihi partnership [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ʻOpihi partnership

This monili 's articīe was written by Naomi So(īetani. of the Nature Consetyancy ofHawai'i and published as part of TNC Hawai'i's Member Newslettet; Spring 2009. Grasping the submerged rock, Walter Pu braces himself against the recurring onslaught of white waves crashing over him, eaeh followed by a sucking surge. The deeply tanned, gray-haired Pu scans the foam-veiled surface for the presence of 'opihi, a small, cone-shaped shellfish. Onshore, his eompanion Hank Eharis inspects the rocks higher up in the splash zone, but 'opihi are visibly sparse. "Can already tell this plaee has been pounded since we were here" just a few months prior, the burly Hawaiian observes with dismay. The two men have regularly harvested fish, liniu and 'opihi from this East Maui shoreline their whole lives, as their forebears had done for generations. On this particular day, however, they have eome not to gather 'opihi, but to survey their size and numbers as part of a ground-breaking monitoring effort that seeks to save them. A limpet unique to Hawai'i, the 'opihi chngs to rocks where the surf is roughest. It plays a key role in the nearshore ecosystem grazing on liniu that form on rocks, keeping algae growth in eheek. Since ancient times, Hawaiians have subsisted on 'opihi and used the shells as scrapers for peeling taro and edible root, and as jewelry. They dubbed 'opihi the "fish of death" because so many people were swept away while prying it off the rocks. But today, the 'opihi itself is at risk. Their numbers on all of the main Hawaiian Islands have steeply declined in recent decades because of overharvesting, improper harvesting techniques and degraded habitat. A new pilot project spearheaded by The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i now aims to turn the tide for the much-prized mollusk. The project brings together Hawaiian eultural practitioners, scientists, loeal eommunities, resource managers and govermnent agencies in a shared quest to gather basehne data on 'opihi populations at three sites on the islands of Kaho'olawe and Maui. The 'opihi partnership integrates traditional

knowledge with cutting-edge science to better understand 'opihi populations - information that will benefit stewardship efforts and marineecosystem heahh at these sites and beyond. " 'Opihi is such an exciting species for a little limpet," says Emily Fielding, the Conservancy's Maui marine program coordinator. "This little guy really gets everybody's attention." Indeed, 'opihi is a beloved island delicacy. Served raw at lū'au and parties, it is savored by locals for its crunchy texture and pungent tang of the sea. Ardent consumer demand, however, has driven the market price to nearly $200 a gallon. To keep paee, some pickers are overharvesting easily accessible areas and foraging ever further along the most rugged areas, scraping the rocks bare as they go. "No doubt about it, the 'opihi fishery has crashed," says Christopher Bird, a marine ecologist with the Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology. Recent genetic studies conducted by Bird and fellow HIMB researcher Rob Toonen show that 'opihi populations are unique to eaeh island. Larvae do not travel between islands, rather only along the coastline of eaeh island. The resource management implications are clear. "Eaeh island needs to care for and sustain its own 'opihi stocks to ensure their perpetuation," Bird says. "If things do not change within our lifetimes, we could see 'opihi heeome endangered or even go extinct." The 'opihi monitoring project is rallying an ever-widening circle of support for the heleaguered shellfish - and with it, new hope for a revitalized future. In 2007, Fielding brought together a diverse group of partners that includes the 'ĀhihiKīna'u Natural Area Reserve, Ala Kukui, the state Division of Aquatic Resources, Haleakalā National Park, Hawai'i Institute for Marine Biology, Kahanu Gardens, Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission, Nā Mamo O Mū'olea, and the National Oeeanie and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Their goal: to gather baseline data on the heahh and abundance of 'opihi. "Everyone saw the need to eome up with a standardized way of collecting data to answer critical questions, 'How are our 'opihi doing?' And down the road, 'How will we know if what we are doing to manage 'opihi is working or not?' " Fielding says. Together, the partners developed a eommon monitoring method to gather data on 'opihi populations over time. The partners are field testing the monitoring method at three sites in East Maui, 'Āhihi-Kīna'u Natural Area Reserve and the island of Kaho'olawe. According to Fielding, "This tool helps us work toward long-term abundance of 'opihi available for See MACHAD0 on pagE 24

I Cūlette Y. Machadū TrustEE, Mūlūka'i and Lāna'i

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Cūntinued fram page 23 harvesting." Dozens of natural-resource workers and loeal community volunteers have been trained to help count the 'opihi and record data twice a year. The method imposes strict safety protocols like working in teams and conducting transects only as weather and surf conditions permit. Already, the project is fostering a dynamic cross-fertilization of expertise among the diverse groups. "From the start," says Fielding, "the whole spirit of this collaboration has been: 'Let's learn together. Let's teach eaeh other.' " Bird and other scientists, for example, share what they learn through their research, while cultural practitioners share what they were taught by their kūpuna (elders) as well as what they experience in the oeean. "After all," says Eharis, "we have our scientists, too." Eharis and Pu are among those leading the charge in their community to raise awareness of the problems of overharvesting. Along with their deep lineal ties to the stretch of coastline they are trying to protect, both men are trained naturalresource managers who work at nearby Haleakalā Nahonal Park. When he walks down to the shoreline, Pu hears his ancestors "saying why we have to do it now." In earlier times, konohiki, or appointed stewards who possessed an intimate knowledge of the environment, judiciously managed the natural resources within ahupua'a, traditional land divisions that run from the mountains to the reefs. Eharis says the wisdom of that conservative approach, "taking care of your own backyard to ensure enough for the future," bears lessons for today. "My family, my friends, we're all guilty of overharvesting at one time," Eharis admits. "But you learn, can't just take, take, take." And the mind-set of "picking in others' backyards when your own runs out is a big problem nowadays." As mueh as Pu and Eharis love 'opihi, they won't love it to death. They have stopped bringing 'opihi to parties, and gather only sparingly to consume at home - feeling compelled to let their ancestral shoreline "rest." "It's a no-brainer," Pu says. "Wehave no ehoiee. If we want to have 'opihi tomorrow, we need to care for them today." ■

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