Long before sustainability became fashionable, ancient Hawaiians built an extensive aquaculture system across the archipelago that included more than 400 fishponds that contained prized fish for ali‘i. The system and its methodology were uniquely Hawaiian, found nowhere else in the world.
Nearly all of Hawaii’s old fishponds are long gone. Preserving what’s left — about 10 percent — has proven difficult in a modern developed world. So it’s encouraging that federal and state officials are working together to make it easier to bring more fishponds back to life, reviving both a valuable aquaculture resource and a rich cultural tradition.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources proposes to serve as a clearinghouse to help handle processing permits with various state and federal agencies, cutting through some of the red tape that hinders restoration work.
Under the plan, the permit process would take no more than a year. The state Office of Environmental Quality Control has made available a draft environmental assessment related to this plan.
Any change in the rules that encourages more qualified people and organizations to engage in this important work should be implemented.
The restoration of traditional fishponds promises many benefits: an increase in the supply of fish in an ecologically sustainable way, for instance. But there is also the less-tangible benefit of the preservation and revival of a long-dormant cultural heritage that would inform not only modern Hawaiians but non-Hawaiians and tourists alike.
The effort began nearly two decades ago when Molokai officials included fishpond restoration in addressing economic issues for the state’s poorest island. Molokai once was considered prosperous, due to more than 60 fishponds encompassing more than 1,500 acres mostly next to the sea. Some fishponds in Hawaii have been carbon-dated to the 1400s, and their annual yield approached 2 million pounds, according to leading authority Graydon "Buddy" Keala, in a treatise through the University of Hawaii’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.
The fishponds’ primary role was "to provide a reliable, convenient and ever-ready supply of fish seafood for the ruling ali‘i and the royal court. … The system was not developed for great amounts of yield but rather for the convenience of the Hawaiian royalty," Keala noted.
Fishponds declined drastically over the past century, not just with the passing of royalty but because of land development, population, lifestyles and economics. Those factors were less on Molokai, thus the logical island for the revival to begin. Since 1999, Congress has allocated $1.4 million to restore many of those fishponds and analyze water quality effects.
"There’s tremendous interest from the Hawaiian community about this," said Sam Lemmo, a DLNR administrator. "It’s not just about restoring a physical pond. It has a cultural element, too."
Private groups have taken a commendable role in the effort:
» The fishpond advocate Hui Malama Loko I‘a, representing 25 fishpond groups, is supporting the state proposal.
» Paepae o He‘eia, the Friends of the He‘eia Fishpond, has been waiting for years for an Army Corps of Engineers permit to repair an 89-foot section of a fishpond wall.
» The nonprofit Ka Honua Momona ("the fertile land") has been restoring the Alii and Kalokoeli fishponds on South Molokai in recent years, with a mission for them to "become a self-sufficient model for all nations."
These groups and others see promise in this proposal, and for good reason. Restoring long-neglected fishpond systems could be a significant act of environmental and cultural preservation in the face of relentless development.
