Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 34, Number 5, 1 May 2017 — OHA advocates for konohiki fishing rights [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA advocates for konohiki fishing rights

The start of May marks an end to another legislative Session at the State Capitol. All year,

I and īn the months leading up to the Legislature's Opening Day, Office of Hawaiian Affairs staff, beneficiaries and community organizations, have been hard at work in their advocacy for our lāhui and for all of Hawai'i at the State Capitol. Among these advocacy efforts this Session is a konohiki fishing rights resolution introduced as part of the OHA Legislative Package. This res-

otution recognizes the success of community-driven stewardship under the traditional konohiki fishing rights systemin sustaining an abundant nearshore environment. The konohiki fishing rights system was an ahupua'a-based resource management approach reflected in the Hawaiian Kingdom's earliest written laws, that provided hoa'āina (tenants) and konohiki (landlords) with exclusive rights to harvest from their ahupua'a's nearshore waters. Konohiki had authority to kapu the harvesting activities of hoa'āina, for conservation or other purposes. Modern community-driven and place-based fisheries management initiatives share many of the same underlying principles that eontributed to the konohiki system's success. These principles, outlined in OHA's testimony in support the resolution, include: (1) looking to those with the most intimate knowledge of and eonneehon to an area's resources and ecological features to establish harvesting and conservation guidelines for the area; (2) incorporating place-based traditions and customs that preserve cultural and community connections to the nearshore area and its resources; and (3) fostering a continued sense of kuleana in community members, to actively steward and care for the nearshore resources of their plaee. These core principles of eommu-nity-driven fisheries management serve as important guidelines that we should follow in all of our everyday work as a lāhui. One of the recurring

themes is a focus on a sense of plaee, and incorporating our knowledge of that plaee into its care. These islands are our

piko. We must, as a collective community, be stewards of the 'āina and of our resources. The kuleana is ours to mālama our 'āina hānau for our mo'opuna and for the generations to follow. The konohiki fishing rights system ensured an abundance in nearshore waters to provide for Hawai'i's pre-West-

ern contact popuiation. Following the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the Territorial government's efforts to abolish the konohiki fishing rights system led to a decline in resources of nearshore fisheries. The ongoing decline undermines Hawai'i's eeonomie, ecological, and recreational interests. This resolution recognizes the potential for community-driven fisheries management to restore and sustain abundance in nearshore waters. Fortunately, there are communities that still possess knowledge of their nearshore areas and who practice loeal management initiatives. These communities are instrumental in serving as guides and inspiration for other eommunities to reconnect with the kuleana of resource management in their nearshore areas. These efforts will preserve our oeean resources and ultimately preserve a key part of our cultural heritage. This resolution received consistent supportive testimony throughout the legislative process. This support is affirmation that OHA is effective in advocating for the needs of our communities. Mahalo to those who supported this resolution and other OHA efforts at the Capitol. Working together, we ean elevate the needs of our communities and raise the eollective voice of our people. ■

<LEO 'ELELE V www.oha.org/kwo | kwo@OHA.org TRUSTEE MESSSAGES ' NATiVE HAWAiiAN » NEWS l FEATURES I EVENT S

Cūlette Y. Machade Chair, TrustEE Malaka'i and Lāna'i