Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 38, Number 8, 1 August 2021 — Holding on to a Self-Sufficient Lifestyle Establishing Kīpahulu as a Community Based Subsistence Fishing Area [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Holding on to a Self-Sufficient Lifestyle Establishing Kīpahulu as a Community Based Subsistence Fishing Area

By Scott Crawford The residents of Kīpahulu live off the grid. They generate their own power, obtain water through catchment systems and streams, and grow, gather, raise and catch their own food. The only puhlie utility servicing the area is Hawaiian Telcom. It is a quiet, self-sufficient lifestyle. Located on the southeast side of Maui, about 10 miles southwest of Hāna town, the moku (district) of Kīpahulu is a traditional fishing, farming, hunting and gathering area that sustained a substantial Native Hawaiian population for centuries. Yet despite its remote location and quiet lifestyle, the moku attracts more than one million visitors every year. In order to preserve the area's culture and customs, in 1995, Unele Mike Minn, Unele John Lind and Auntie Tweetie Lind founded the Kīpahulu 'Ohana. This grassroots Hawaiian nonprofit organization is dedicated to ensuring the cultural sustainability of Kīpahulu Moku. Their goal is to enahle families in the community to work together to not just preserve, but to enhanee their traditional cultural practices. A key strategy to accomplish this is through eulturally based agricultural and resource management

projects, mauka to makai. Their flagship project is Kapahu Living Farm, a traditional Hawaiian wetland taro farm, managed through a partnership agreement with Haleakalā National Park. Ancient lo'i kalo have been restored on the farm, and other eanoe plants like ulu and mai'a are also grown. Poi and other products grown and produced on the farm are processed at their certified kitchen for distribution in the community. They also have an educational component, and host schools and community groups at the farm. As part of their ahupua'a approach to resource management, Kīpahulu 'Ohana also focuses on shoreline and near-shore stewardship. In 2012, they developed the Kīpahulu Moku Mālama i Ke Kai Community AeUon Plan with input from fishermen, cultural practitioners, scientists, and other community members. There is growing eoneem about unregulated and over-harvesting of marine resources - including harvesting undersized individuals, harvesting species out of season, or harvesting during spawning times - whieh leads to decreased productivity and diversity. Over the years, unsustainable harvesting has resulted in the decline of marine resources and the community heeame increasingly frustrated with the ineffectiveness of state-level management and one-size-fits-all rules that don't always account for loeal cultural and ecological factors. In response, Kīpahulu 'Ohana proposed the designation of Kīpahulu Moku as a Community Based Subsistence Fishing Area (CBSFA). Hawai'i's CBSFA designation formally recognizes loeal communities as valued partners in protecting natural resources and reaffirms and protects tradi-

tional and customary practices for subsistence and culture. CBSFAs are place-based, community-driven, and are the only type of fishery or marine management designation in Hawai'i that protects traditional subsistence practices and Hawaiian lifestyles that depend on these resources in addition to protecting the fish population. CBSFA designation and a collaborative management plan ean help change fishing behavior, allowing fish populations to stabilize and recover. Whieh, in turn, will ensure that future generations also have aeSEE ESTABLISHING KĪPAHULU ON PAGE 18

A community akule harvest ot Lelekeo. Residents of Kipohulu hove been prooctive about protecting their sustainoble subsistence lifestyle.

Conducting an 'opihi populotion survey in o protected oreo. Klpohulu Volley is in the background.

ESTABLISHING KĪPAHULU

Continued from page 9 cess to marine resources. Onee this status is approved, conservation measures for Kīpahulu will be enforceable at the state level. However, Kīpahulu 'Ohana's focus is on education and outreach, so fīshermen understand the reasons behind them and the importance of lawai'a pono practices. For years, Kīpahulu 'Ohana has been conducting outreach activities to gather input and grow support for CBSFA designation. In October 2019, they submitted their Kīpahulu Moku CBSFA Proposal and Management Plan to the State Division of Aquatic Resources. The proposal includes management recommendations such as expanding the seasonal closure for moi and ula by two months, as recent studies indicate active spawning beyond the current season. It also recommends adding a maximum size along with the existing state minimum size for key species to protect "prime spawners" who contribute to the reproduction of those fīsh populations, and suggests creating a pu'uhonua, or a nofish zone, to allow diverse species to spawn and reproduce. The proposal also encourages lawai' a to move from a "trophy fishing" mindset of biggest is best, and to focus instead on lawai'a pono - feeding their families now and in the future. A founding member of the Maui Nui Makai Network (mauinui.net), Kīpahulu 'Ohana, along with other network members, is actively supporting other rural communities in Maui Hikina (East Maui), from Ke'anae to Kaupō, to develop their own makai management plans and programs. By working together, communities across East Maui are moving towards development of a regional makai management strategy. ■ For more information about the Kīpahulu Moku CBSFA, including the full rules proposal and management plan, go to kipahulu.org/cbsfa.

Scott Crawford has served as executive director with Kīpahulu 'Ohanafor the last 20 years, supporting traditional Hawaiian agriculture, shoreline andforest management. He works with East Maui grassroots Hawaiian organizations to protect and manage precious lands and shorelines in East Maui for traditional subsistence lifestyles,frotn mauka to makai.

. - i Uncle John Lind, a co-founder of KTpahulu 'Ohana, goes throw net fishing at sunrise. - Photos: Courtesy