Hawai'i Fisheries Initiative - The Hawaii Institute for Public Affairs

And, adjacent to the Hualalai Resort on
the Big Island, biologist David Chai has
restored Waiakauhi, a rare anchialine
(near the sea) fishpond. Anchialine ponds
have tidal fluctuations due to subsurface
connections with the oceans via cracks
and crevices in lava. Chai stocks this pond
with “traditional fishpond fish” such as awa
(milkfish), mullet, papio (young crevalle),
aholehole (Hawaiian flagtail), and manini
(convict tang).” 499 Others have presented the
idea of combining tourism as an economic
byproduct of fishpond revitalization: “Ideal
resources for fish and crustacean culture,
a number of Hawaiian ponds will likely
be restored for commercial culture of
mullet, milkfish, threadfin and seaweeds,”
wrote J.A. and C. Arki Wyban in 1989.
“Fish production in these ponds could be
integrated with visitor activities such as fee
fishing or visitor centers.” 500
On Moloka‘i, Hawaiian activist Walter Ritte
has led local youth in a rebuilding effort
of the dozens of fishponds that line the
island’s south shore. On the east end of
the island, the Hawaiian Learning Center
fronts a restored 54-acre fishpond called
Keawanui, from which thousands of
pounds of fish are harvested annually. HLC
offers a curriculum called Kahea Loko to
educate school children and others in the
community interested in ancient Hawaiian
land and ocean stewardship.
Ancient Hawaiian
Fishponds
Six major types of ancient Hawaiian
fishponds have been identified:
n Loko wai was a freshwater pond.
n A loko i‘a kalo was a combination of a taro
patch and a fishpond.
n A loko pu‘uone was a pond isolated from
the sea either by a sand ridge, a lava flow,
or a limestone formation. It contained either
brackish water or a combination of brackish
water and fresh water.
n A loko kuapa is a shore pond enclosed by a
rock wall (kuapa) broken by a ditch (‘auwai)
or one or more sluice gates (makaha). The
makaha was used to regulate the flow of water
and it also allowed the fingerlings (young fish)
to enter the pond.
n A loko ‘umeiki was a fishtrap and was
similar to loko kuapa in construction. The
loko ‘umeiki had several lanes that were
walled on both sides and either led in or
out of the pond. Loko kuapa and loko
‘umeiki were found mostly on O‘ahu and
Moloka‘i because their fringing reef had
shallow water and wave protected areas.
n Natural pools or ponds that are found
along the rocky shores were also used and
occasionally modified by the Hawaiians.
A kaheka gets its water from high waves
while a hapunapuna is fed by springs. 501
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