Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 10, 1 October 2006 — No moʻ moi! [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

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No moʻ moi!

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MĀLAMA 'ĀINA ■ CARING FDR ĪHE LANŪ —

MOI

Cūntinued fram page 09 feed the people of the area. Of the 23 known loko i'a that were located in Kāne'ohe Bay before European contact, He'eia is one of the few still in operation. In 2001, Paepae o He'eia began managing the fishpond, whieh is owned by Kamehameha Schools. In addition to raising limu and running educational and research programs, the group has focused mueh of its efforts on repairing the fishpond's wall. Paepae o He'eia's moi project received funding from the Nahonal Oeeanie and Atmospheric Administration. As a part of the project, the Oeeanie Institute, an aquaculture research organization, provides Paepae o He'eia staff with training and supplies them with thousands of moi fingerlings. Charles Laidley, a director at the institute, said that with the moi fishery depleted and fish farms not harvesting enough to meet

demand, Paepae o He'eia has an opportunity to be successful. "If they could develop a 'Hawaiian-fishpond-raised' brand for the moi, they could create a niehe market that I think consumers and restaurants would really be interested in," Laidley said. But the group is a long way from creating any sort of brand for their products, Kotubetey said, adding that they're still conducting studies of their moi project to see if it's viable. He said that even if the studies determined that the project was feasible, the group would only be "small players" in the moi market. Paepae o He'eia Executive Director Mahinapoepoe Duarte said that while the group wants to develop its commercial operations so that it ean rely less on grants, they have to halanee the business aspect of the fishpond with their cultural mission. "Our goal is to prove that fishponds still have a plaee in modern society, and that they ean be used both for cultural purposes and to help boost the loeal economy," she said. S