Twenty years ago, I was mired in graduate school at UH Mānoa, trying to figure out a whole lot more in life than just what I’d write for my MA thesis. As luck would have it, I’d stumbled into an internship with The Nature Conservancy’s (then) brand new Marine Program. With TNC, I began supporting the Miloliʻi community—learning […]
Mālama Kahana and Huilua Fishpond
The Huilua fishpond, located in Kahana, is one of a handful of ʻia loko (fishponds) that still exist on ‘Oahu. Hoʻāla ʻĀina Kūpono, led by community members from and of the Kahana ahupua’a, aim to continue stewardship of Huilua fishpond, including the mākāhā in need of restoration. The organization’s leaders are students of both the […]
Mahalo Miloliʻi
Over twenty years ago I was a UH graduate student, interning for the back-then very-new Marine Program for the Nature Conservancy in Hawai‘i. Invited by Uncle (and eventual State Senator) Gil Kahele, Miloliʻi was my first community-based ocean management ‘project.’ Over the course of many late-night talk story sessions, day-long dives, canoe paddles, and […]
Our lessons learned from the Promise to the PaeʻĀina
You came from us. We are family. Your blood is my blood. Your bones are my bones. So when you sail, I am with you. These are words that still haunt me after almost 3 years. They are the words of a Samoan chief at the home of his highness Tuiatua Tupua Tamasese Efi before […]
Non-Commercial License, Registry, Permit (LRP) Study Group Report: A Promising Start to Solutions for our Shared Nearshore Fisheries Issues
It’s not our fault, but it’s still our problem. This is a response I often share with fellow fishermen who are understandably frustrated because they see problems like pollution and development affecting nearshore fisheries, while hearing about proffered solutions that only target extractive users like them. It’s true, that problems like invasive species and runoff […]