Synopsis: Lineal descendants and members of the Ka‘ūpūlehu Marine Life Advisory Committee have asked us all to “try wait,” by initiating a fishing kapu, rest period, on a 3.6-mile stretch of shoreline from Kīkaua Point to Kalaemanō. Combining Hawaiian traditional and customary practices with Western science, these dedicated members have developed a detailed plan to ensure the survival and proliferation of this fishery. This 10-year moratorium, codified by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, will allow these resources to self-heal and revitalize the quantity of fish to levels of sustainability similar to those that existed prior to Western fishing methods.

(Ho‘omau ‘ia)

He iwakālua anana ka lō‘ihi o kahi i ho‘okapu ‘ia a he ‘umi makahiki ka lō‘ihi o ia kapu. Eia kekahi o nā i‘a i ho‘omalu ‘ia, ‘o ka ‘ōpakapaka, ke kalekale, ka lehi, ka ehu, ka hāpu‘upu‘u, ka uku, ke aku, ke ono, a me ka mahimahi. ‘O Ka‘ūpūlehu ka mua o kēia ‘ano wahi kapu ma ka mokupuni ‘o Hawai‘i. Mana‘o nui nā kama‘āina, nā paniolo, nā mahi‘ai, nā lawai‘a, a me nā kūpuna o Ka‘ūpūlehu he pono ia kapu ‘ana no ka lehulehu a me nā hanauna e hiki mai ana. No laila, kau ‘ia ke kapu ma ia mau wahi no ka wā i kuhi ‘ia i mea e ho‘onui ai i ke ola pono o ka i‘a a mālama ho‘i i ke kai, kahi o lākou e noho ai. I kēia mau lā, he hana kāka‘ikahi nō ka ho‘okapu ‘ana a ‘o ia paha ke kumu o ka nalowale ‘ana iho o ka i‘a.

Iā mākou i huaka‘i aku ai ma Ka‘ūpūlehu, ua nui ka lokomaika‘i o nā ‘ōiwi. He huaka‘i āiwaiwa kā mākou. Ka‘apuni hele mākou i ke kahakai ‘o Uluweuweu a i ka hono ‘o Kahuwai. Wehewehe maila he ‘ōiwi, ‘o ‘Anakē Hannah Springer i ka mo‘olelo o ia wahi a me ke kū‘ē‘ē ‘ana o lākou i ke kūkulu ‘ia ‘ana o ka hōkele ‘o Four Seasons, Hualālai. ‘Ōlelo ‘o ia, ‘o ka ho‘omoe ‘ana i ke alaloa Ka‘ahumanu i ka makahiki 1975 ka mea i loli nui ai me ka ‘āwīwī ka ‘āina a me ka po‘e e noho ana ma ke ahupua‘a holo‘oko‘a.

Ma ka lā ‘elua o ia huaka‘i, e‘e mākou ma luna o ka moku o Mike Nakachi me kona ‘ohana, ‘ike pāpū ‘ia akula ‘o Ka‘ūpūlehu mai ka uka ‘iu‘iu a i ka lae kahakai. E ‘au pū ana nā nai‘a a me nā manō me mākou. Mahalo iā ‘Anakē Ku‘ulei Keakealani, he ‘ōiwi no Ka‘ūpūlehu, no kona kuhikuhi ‘ana mai i nā palena a me nā inoa o kēlā me kēia wahi pana. I kona haha‘i ‘ana mai i kona mo‘olelo pono‘ī no Ka‘ūpūlehu, ‘a‘ole i kana mai ke kulu waimaka. ‘Ae mai ‘o ‘Anakē Leina‘ala Lightner iā mākou e ‘au‘au kai i Kahuwai. Ma laila i mōliaola iho ai ‘o Kāne i ka wā malo‘o. No kona mōhai ‘ana iā ia iho no ke ola o kānaka i ka wā malo‘o, kapa ‘ia ia wahi ‘o Waiakāne.

I ka Lāpule, ka lā hope o kā mākou huaka‘i, i uka mākou i ka ‘eli me ke kanu ‘ana i ka lama, ka ‘aiea, ka halapēpē, a me nā kumu lā‘au like ‘ole i ‘ane nalowale loa. He wao akua ia ulu lā‘au, he panoa ke ‘ano, no ka li‘ili‘i o ka ua.

Ua piha ko mākou na‘au i ke aloha nui ma hope o ka ‘ike ‘ana i ke kūpa‘a o lākou ma ka mālama ‘āina. He po‘e aloha ‘āina maoli nō lākou. ‘O kēlā mau ‘ōiwi, he kumu ho‘ohālike no kākou. Aia nō ke ola o kākou a pau i ka māhu‘i ‘ana i ko kākou nohona pono‘ī nei, e like me ka nohona o lākou lā.

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E ho‘ouna ‘ia mai na ā leka iā māua, ‘o ia ho‘i ‘o Laiana Wong a me Kekeha Solis ma ka pahu leka uila ma lalo nei:

>> kwong@hawaii.edu

>> rsolis@hawaii.edu

a i ‘ole ia, ma ke kelepona:

>> 956-2627 (Laiana)

>> 956-2627 (Kekeha)

This column is coordinated by Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.