Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 12, 1 December 2014 — LAWAIʻA PONO [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

LAWAIʻA PONO

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The ahupua'a of Ha'ena starts at the stream at Hanakapi'ai and it ends by Camp Naue. There's a reef there called Kahaki. That's the boundaries of Ha'ena ahupua'a." Simple though it may seem, this description delineates the coastal reaches of Ha'ena ahupua'a on Kaua'i from someone intimately familiar with it, longtime fisherman Keli'i Alapai, whose family has called the area home for generations. It is within these reaches, on a sliver of the island's northern coast, that a return to traditional fishing practices is primed to take place. Since 2006, Ha'ena ahupua'a has had the distinction of being one of two communities in the state designated a Community-Based Subsistence Fishing Area "for the purpose of reaffirming and protecting fishing practices customarily and traditionally exercised for purposes of native Hawaiian subsistence, culture and religion." The designation was meaningful, but with no rules to implement, it was a designation in name only. In October, after eight years of hammering out fishing rules for the area, the community witnessed the unanimous approval of its rules by the Board of Land and Natural Resources - making it the first in the state. Two BLNR hearings in October, in Hanalei and Honolulu, attracted hundreds, including supporters from

across the state. BLNR Chair William Aila called the board's vote "historic." "This decision (by the board) reflects a recognition of traditional management practices where the communities have a say in how their marine resources are managed. Rather than in the past, when we passed statewide rules, these are rules specific to an area that come from the bottom up as opposed to the top-down process. And therefore, it'll likely be more effective because the community has bought in." CBSFAs are "another management tool" that communities "have at their disposal for the protection of their resources," he said, adding that other communities hoping to follow suit can now see that "there is an end of the process based on how one community has gone forward and received approval from the land board."

AWAITING FINAL OK

As of press time, two hurdles remained for the final approval of the Ha'ena rules: a con-

tested case that was deferred by the board at a November hearing where the case was listed for dismissal, and lastly, approval by the governor. Should these hurdles be overcome, the rules would put certain old-time fishing practices back in the books - the closest thing to a gov-ernment-backed konohiki system of resource management that existed in the islands until the konohiki fisheries were systematically dismantled under the 1900 Organic Act, which made Hawai'i a territory of the United States. "It would be a watershed moment for our Hawaiian community and especially those who are interested in integrating Hawaiian traditions and values in the way our state operates, at least in the realm of fishing, for now," said Kevin Chang, executive director of Kua'aina Ulu 'Auamo, a backbone organization that supports priorities set by communities through the statewide E Alu Pu network. KUA was instrumental in mobilizing people from across the islands to submit testimony and attend the hearings. Chang compared the rules - designed by the community and "shaped by the values of that ahupua'a" - to a form of Hawaiian selfdetermination. "To me it's as close to konohiki system you can get right now where the community of that ahupua'a, you can't exclude people from fishing somewhere, but at least the community can make rules about fishing there."

FISHING PONO

Long before western contact, fishing traditions sustained Native Hawaiians and the marine resources that they depended on for food and

Source: State Board of Land and Mural Resources cultural practices. But under western laws, a century of collective memory loss ensued, with fewer and fewer people living and practicing the old ways. Given enough time, commercialization creeps in, populations increase and diversify, and people forget - or never learned, maybe through no fault of their own, that the closely held tenets of pono, or right and good, practices, call for certain types of behavior.

Such as asking permission to fish in someone else's ahupua'a. Taking only what you can eat.

And, "If you catch a little more than you need, go share," says Alapai, the longtime fisherman

who is vice president of Hui Maka'ainana o Makana, a nonprofit that has worked to revitalize lo'i and the ahupua'a as a whole from mauka to makai since the 1990s. Hui President Presley Wann lives in Wailua homestead in Kapa'a. He grew up on O'ahu and spent summers with family in Ha'ena, where his 'ohana still has kuleana lands near Limahuli Stream. "Coming from a long line of fishermen" from the area, Wann says the idea of the rules is not to restrict people from coming to Ha'ena to fish, but asking that when they do come, that they respect the resources and the ways of the place. He's seen overfishing for lobster and fish, saying people cast and leave their nets overnight. "It's not sustainable to do that. We're really trying to encourage throw net. All my uncles, that's the method we used. If you set net it would be bang-bang or paipai style, when you set the net and chase the fish into the net. It's much more sustainable. That's why our rules and regulations presently reflect that same style of fishing." He added: "In my couple years of outreach, I even had members of the community tell me: 'It's my right to go fishing there. It's my right as a Hawaiian to go there. It's my right as an American to go there. . . . "It is your right," he said. "We're not telling anybody you cannot come down there and fish." Instead, he'd like people to understand that harvesting is the easy part. The hard work comes in caring for the place, participating in the monitoring system, filling out catch forms, among other things. "The malama is the hard part. That's the other part of being a true cul-

tural, pono, traditional fisherman." For Ha'ena fishing-rule proponents, the word pono took on special significance. The rallying cry "Lawai'a Pono, Fish Hawaiian" was emblazoned on white T-shirts worn by supporters.

OHA SUPPORT

In February, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees passed a resolution support-

ing CBSFAs, led by Kaua'i andNi'ihau Trustee Dan Ahuna. "In the case of Ha'ena, the community was

and is united in its support and acceptance of these rulemaking efforts," says Ahuna. "That's

why I have supported those organizing and drafting the rules and that is why the trustees passed a resolution supporting CBSFAs in general, and Ha'ena specifically. "For me, it's about supporting the people and their desire for self-determination over this important resource and its management. While it took many years to get to this point, Ha'ena was not the first community to try, but did benefit from learning from the experiences and lessons of other communities throughout Hawai'i on strategies to overcome obstacles and ensure success. Now, we will all be better off because this area will be stewarded for future generations." Wayne Tanaka, OHA public policy advocate, says the agency has consistently supported community-driven, community-based stewardship of resources, particularly in fisheries. "We understand there's a resource value that comes with that," he said. The value is both cultural, in perpetuating traditions that "have sustained our communities since time immemorial," and practical, he said. "If you have healthy fisheries, then subsistence families and rural communities who don't have access to Costco or grocery stores can provide for themselves, their families, their communities. "But really, it comes down to making sure the resource is intact. Since annexation, the traditional method of place-based stewardship of fisheries has deteriorated with the repeal of the konohiki system." In that system, the konohiki and tenants of an ahupua'a had the exclusive right to fish in their nearshore waters. The konohiki would determine fishing seasons and periods when fishing

www.oha.org/kwo kwo@OHA.org NATIVE HAWAIIAN » NEWS | FEATURES | EVENTS mo'olelo nui • cover feature was banned. Konohiki could also reserve a species for their own personal use. Tanaka says the Ha'ena rules are significant because few state regulations exist for catching fish. Many species that subsistence fishers depend on, like nenue, kole, 'u'u and pualu, aren't regulated at all, he said. The rules for Ha'ena would impose the state's only bag limit for he'e, or octopus, Tanaka says. The limit is two per day. It further specifies that they can only be taken by hand or using sticks up to 2 feet long. The rules would also create the Makua Pu'uhonua, a shallow- water area that is an "important habitat for juvenile fish," he says. Schools of moili'i, for one, are "very sensitive to disruptions. Not just fishing pressure but windsurfers and other users. They want to set this area up as a refuge. It's a small area. It's pretty well-defined because there's a fringing reef, well protected. That's pretty cool, too. I don't think there's any other (state) regulation that specifically takes a look at that kind of thing." CBSFA rules return the control to the community, he says, allowing those who have most at stake and who most intimately know the nearshore area to guide the harvesting practices of their place. "The people that have the most interest in these resources are empowered to make sure that their place is taken care of."

CBSFA DESIGNATION

Besides Ha'ena, Miloli'i on Hawai'i Island is also designated a CBSFA, although rules have yet to be implemented. And a handful of other communities are pursuing the designation: Ho'okena, Klholo and Kalapana on Hawai'i Island; Klpahulu, Mu'olea, Polanui and Wailuku on Maui; Kahana on O'ahu; and the islands of Ni'ihau, Lana'i and Moloka'i. On Moloka'i, many consider Uncle Mac Poepoe the de facto konohiki of Mo'omomi Bay, the site of a pilot CBSFA program in the 1990s. The area has been pursuing a CB SFA designation for two decades, and Poepoe says the community is beginning to work on its rules. "I'm pretty much the guy that . . . takes care the place," he said about the role he has taken on since 1994. "More like a caretaker than a manager. I see myself as somebody who is steward of the land." Overfishing in the area started in the 1970s, and got "really bad" starting in the '90s as people, including boaters from Neighbor Islands, started seeing fish and lobster as commodities, he said. Today, the nearshore populations are stable, he said, meaning there's enough stock to repopulate the area, but rules are needed to achieve real sustainability. The green spiny lobster could especially benefit from such protection, he said. Right now, a voluntary moratorium on green spiny lobster is in effect for the area. "The fishermen saw the effect of the low population and they just voluntarily didn't go," he said. "But those people that have the bad habit, they went sneak in one day and they went go get the lobsters when everybody else held back. We need the law, so if they do break the law they going be penalized. . . . We gotta make these rules to deal with the people that don't comply."

STUDYING RULEMAKING

Kaua'i native Mehana Blaich Vaughan, who received a Ph.D. from Stanford in environment and natural resources, did her dissertation on the Ha'ena rulemaking process. As part of her research, she helped track subsistence fishing in Ha'ena and where those fish end up. Over 18 months, researchers studied who caught fish, what types of fish they caught, who they gave it to, their relationship with those recipients, and what they did with the fish. "What we found is these reefs are a very important food resource for Ha'ena but all over Kaua'i," she said. "Fish was a way of keeping people connected with Ha'ena," especially those with ancestral ties there who moved away or who had ties to its people. The rulemaking process was an arduous one. Over eight years, she said, there were more than 60 meetings and 20 drafts of the rules, which were shaped by input from various segments of people with an interest in access, from recreational users like surfers and kiteboarders to commercial operations, fishermen and Hawaiian families. In the process, all the groups made sacrifices. Using Makua Pu'uhonua as an example, she said, "Fishermen gave up some of their best fishing sites, because they know it's an important hatchery." The pu'uhonua was also reshaped and made smaller to allow for access to windsurfers and surfers. The rulemaking process has been a long journey, she said, but an inspiring one to witness. "It's been beautiful to watch the Hawaiian community navigate this process and to watch people step up to take care of their place," she said. "That hearing in Hanalei was so beautiful because people came up as families, they testified as families, kupuna, makua and keiki. It wasn't people who normally come to meetings; it wasn't people who normally speak at microphones." Now an assistant professor in the Natural Resources and Environmental Management Department at the University of Hawai'iManoa, Blaich Vaughan studies similar processes and efforts in other communities with her students. In Ha'ena, they will help the community to document the changes resulting from the fishing rules over time. "Science does say that protected areas cause rejuvenation in resources," she says. "Not only that but that it will spill over and replenish other areas. That's the hope in Ha'ena." ¦

: it*-*; ¦ This aerial of Ha'ena shows the Makua |^^A'.uhqnua area, which would be created under the rules, injgeground. - Courtesy: Joel 6uy

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Rules Here are some highlights of the fishing rules: • No commercial fishing • No entry into the Makua Pu'uhonua area, except by special activity permit by the BLNR • No collecting of live shells or 'opihi through Nov. 30, 2017, with a bag limit of 20 live shells/'opihi from the 'Opihi Management Area thereafter • Fishing allowed using two poles with two hooks per line, pole spears during the day, and certain types of nets, including throw nets • Bag limits set for lobsters, he'e and wana (urchin)

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EXHIBIT A. MAP OF THE HA'ENA COMMUNITY-BASED SUBSISTENCE FISHING AREA, KAUA'I April 16, 2014 1 Miles I

Members of Hui Maka'ainana o Makana and friends posed for a picture during an advocacy workshop a week before the Oct. 3 hearing in Hanalei. - Courtesy photo

Board of Land and Natural Resources Chair William Aila, right, visited Ha'ena and met with Hui Maka'ainana o Makana leaders Presley Wann and Keli'i Alapai. - Courtesy nnnin