On Friday, Gov. Josh Green Kipahulu in Maui’s Hana district is the third official Community-Based Subsistence Fishing Area in the state of Hawaii. The two existing CBSFAs are Haena on Kauai and Milolii on Hawaii Island, according to a news release.
Each CBSFA has individual rules that regulate marine species, harvest quantities, and traditional harvesting seasons and methods.
The Kipahulu community has worked with the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources, the Nature Conservancy and other organizations for more than a decade to obtain CBSFA status.
The Linds, a family of Kipahulu fishermen and generational stewards, founded Kipahulu Ohana, Inc., a non-profit, in 1995 with a small group of Native Hawaiian Kipahulu residents. KOI has continued sustainable land and sea gathering practices for generations.
“It’s natural for us. We were taught when we were children to be like, hey protect, don’t be too much,” said Pekelo Lind. He added that they are always reminded to pick up trash and leave the place better than they found it.
Kamalei Pico, executive director of KOI, said the CBSFA is another tool that will help protect community resources.
“Kipahulu’s CBSFA foundation is built on place-based generational knowledge gained through observations of kupuna and lawaia, traditional kumukanawai (codes of conduct) and Native Hawaiian cultural values that manage pono fishing practices,” said Pico. “Other communities, especially in the East Maui region, look to Kipahulu’s CBSFA as a model for setting their unique place (foundation) and developing strategic fisheries management plan for their own moku.”
DAR Education Specialist Adam Wong worked closely with the Kipahulu community to create the CBSFA.
“Ultimately, the Kipahulu community is the most dependent on these resources to sustain their daily lives and that’s what we want to help them protect,” Wong said. “It’s also a state resource, for other fishermen around the island who want to come out here and fish, like me. We just have to make sure everyone is on the table, gather everyone’s input, or input, and find a path forward.”
Michelle Broder Van Dyke covers the Hawaiian Islands for Spectrum News Hawaii. Email her at [email protected].
