Photo courtesy of Lindsey Kramer/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Recently I heard Suzanne Case of the Department of Land and Natural Resources speak about overfishing here in Hawai‘i, and what she said really rang a bell with me.
When I was growing up, my family lived on the ocean at Maku‘u. I can remember my Uncle Sonny being very concerned about not overfishing. I can really identify with concern about ocean resources.
When I was in Vietnam, I saw a school once of maybe 30 or 40 uhu, huge ones, ten-pounders. But in Hawai‘i, I only ever saw one or two at a time and I had no idea they swam in schools like that. So when I saw that big school in Vietnam I thought it must be a different species.
But Suzanne had a photo of a school of uhu just like that and she said that was their normal condition. I almost fell over. The consequences of overfishing became very clear to me.
It was fascinating to learn that some of our local communities are saying enough is enough and that they have to do something. Leslie Lang talked to Suzanne and found out more:
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Our ocean fisheries have declined 75 percent over the last hundred years, says Suzanne Case, chair of the Department of Land and Natural Resources.
In the past, Hawai‘i’s natural resources were controlled by kapu when we had the ahupua‘a system, but that sort of protection is long gone.
Today, some community groups are stepping forward to restrict fishing in their local waters in order to rebuild dwindling marine populations.
A community group in Ha‘ena, Kaua‘i was the first group to pass a set of community-based subsistence fishing rules. That was last summer, after they worked on developing the rules for 16 years.
The result is a co-management process with the state. “The state has to enforce the rules,” says Case. “The local community cannot go out and be vigilantes.”
She explained that they are switching to traditional fishing practices. “So that means no monofilament nets, one pole and line fishing, and you can’t fish during spawning aggregation. All of this means you fish more carefully, as opposed to you just go out and wipe out a whole school of uhu or weke because you can.”
Now Ka‘upulehu, in west Hawai‘i, is working on a similar process. “They’re talking about a closure – no fishing out to 20 fathoms for ten years,” says Case. “And the community, as far as I know, has committed not only to not fishing there, but to not displace their fishing efforts by going elsewhere. They’re serious about it.”
There was a formal public rulemaking hearing about this last Thursday.
The Ka‘upulehu Marine Life Advisory Council, formed in 1995, consists primarily of lineal descendants of people who go way back in the community. “There’s a lot of inherited local knowledge,” says Case.
The Council has also created a program called Makai Watch, which determined what to look for, who to call for enforcement if needed, and how to provide outreach to people who are users of the area in the first place, so they know the area’s rules.
These sorts of community-based action are happening elsewhere, too. Case says a Kipahulu, Maui group has imposed a voluntary three-year ‘opihi rest area. “They’re trying to get one of their key ‘opihi grounds that has been overfished to recover. They’re trying to let the remaining ‘opihi get big and have lots of babies. They’re not even waiting for state legislation – they put a voluntary ban in place. It’s not legally enforceable, but you want to respect it.”
In the old days, of course, natural resources were protected by the ahupua‘a system. “The ahupua‘a boundaries extended out beyond the reef,” she says, “so that included the estuaries and the fishponds and the near shore environment, and the reef and the outer reef, and then out into the deep, as well as the mauka to makai part. We had a pretty large population, with fish being a major source of protein.”
The ahupua‘a system worked. “It sustained the population,” she says. “Back in 1839, Kamehameha the Third codified the local control into law, and the konohiki had the right to put kapu on fish, or make some off-limits during the season, or the like. In the Mahele, those were actually identified as property rights.”
But then the system changed.
“In the overthrow, when Hawai‘i became a territory, the Organic Act of Hawai‘i in 1900 implemented full open access to fisheries, and there were a series of laws to codify the private ownership and konohiki rights and responsibilities for managing fisheries,” she says.
“The Organic Act provided that if you had a private property fishing right, you could register it but then the Territory could condemn it. So it was a very intentional act to total open-access to fisheries.”
Fast forward to the 21st century, when we are much more efficient – and less sustainable – at fishing. We can get into deeper water, stay down longer, and GPS allows us to find big schools of fish.
“With the loss of local knowledge, too,” she says, “you may lose some very important elements, such as when certain fish spawn so you don’t fish during the spawning seasons. And how big fish are when they finally reach reproductive size.”
She points out that older, bigger fish are far more fertile than those just barely of reproductive size. “Unfortunately, we like to fish the big fish, which are by far the most productive. For instance, six-inch weke only spawn once a year and produce 90,000 eggs,” she says. Compare that to a twelve-inch weke that spawns four or five times a year, producing 45 million eggs each time. That’s 180 million eggs per year, instead of 90 thousand.
“So what we need to do to improve our fisheries is find ways to let the fish get bigger,” she says. “So that could be with the right kind of legislation, for a minimum catch size but also a maximum catch size so they can grow big in protected areas and spill over into the adjacent areas and help those areas restore their fisheries.”
But legislation takes time, and also depends on cooperation from the community. This is what’s happening in communities around Hawai‘i, as well as throughout the Pacific.
“The goal is to have fisheries rebound so there’s more fish for people to fish,” she says. “That’s the shared long-term goal and it requires a long-term commitment, not just short-term gain.”
I’m not buying it. I’m a fisherman and do not agree with Case. I could go on for hours about fishing in Hawaii. I’ll leave you with this…the Nature Conservancy has not been a friend to Fishermen nor Hunters. People are not a priority to this group. Hawaii is not overfished. If that were the case people would not be fishing. The 75 % decline in fish stocks is bull! She took the Cob Report which accounted for Palagics and Reef Fish…then they only accounted for reef fish. She has no concept of what goes on in the ocean. But is very interested in shutting down areas to fishing and hunting alike. Why are they shutting down fishing and gathering in front of the most expensive property in town? That’s just my comment and we strongly oppose any community based management proposals.
Thanks for telling me.
Hi Richard,
You might want to go to more data sources about this “overfishing” claim. Talk to the scientists involved with fishing and ask for their evidence.
As for the community based management issue, there is some concerns there and I’ve heard it myself. There is a likelihood of vigilanteism that’s concerning to the fishing community.
Thanks Joni. I do not know the other side of this issue.
Thanks Joni. I had no idea this was such a contentious issue.
Please get some background about the real fishing issues with fishermen. We do not support DLNR’s agenda and never have. Let’s get you informed.
Thanks Shyla.
In my “job” as a fishing show producer I’ve been fortunate to have met a lot of people who know a lot of stuff. Some of it actually stuck in my head.
I have seen schools of uhu, often of varying sizes, but could never get close to them. They’d always remain out of speargun range. I saw one outside of Wailupe in 15 feet of water. Not a big school, tho.
And I saw a larger school, mixed with some palani and other fish, in 65 feet of water outside of Pupukea. That one stayed well outside of my speargun’s range, too.
One reason why some may not see a school of fish is because they tend to swim away when humans come around. This is due to decades of fishing pressure.
I caught this on video when a group of us were doing surveys of marine life in Kona. A mixed school of maiko, pualu and other fish milled around on the bottom, then suddenly began swimming off-screen when divers approached. The fish stayed at least 30 feet away from the divers. Only smaller reef fish, such as yellow tang, would remain in place, although they’d duck for cover in the coral.
A commercial fisherman who spends a lot of time diving for fish said he’s seen all kinds of schools of large, prized food fish including kumu and more. But they’re in deeper water. As more divers pursue fish, they’ve been heading into deeper water where they’re less likely to be speared. Scuba spearfishermen can go deeper, but due to nitrogen absorbtion limits, can stay only a very short time. 15 minutes or less. And each air fill costs $5 (33 cents a minute).
Less fish being caught… Times are changing and the islands have become more populated.
A marine biologist pointed that out to me. A fishing spot can become less productive over time, he said. Back in the day, someone might pull out five good-sized fish from a spot.
Now, with a half-dozen more people fishing that same spot, you might get one. Maybe nothing. The other fish were caught by the other fishermen. So the spot is just as productive, but the fish are now being divided among a larger number of people. And, again, fishing pressure changes fish behavior. I thought that was particularly intriguing. Even tilapia wise up fast to a baited hook.
Regarding opihi… Chris Bird, a researcher from Texas A&M, has been studying opihi in Hawaii for quite sometime. He noted that there’s enough habitat around Oahu to satisfy commercial demand, but only if it were properly managed. One of the problems, he said, is the current minimum size of 1.25″
That’s too small for opihi to reproduce. He’s still working it out, but it looks like some species of opihi (he says there are at least three) will spawn at around 2″. And there are all kinds of complications that he’s still trying to learn about.
Letting an area rest is certainly a good idea. But managing it afterward is just as important. It’s hoped that what Chris learns can be applied succesfully (along with enforcement) and we’ll see opihi in the market again.
Minimum size for fish… It’s true that bigger fish means bigger spawns. But bigger can also mean older. And some fish live longer than others. Just as humans get too old to have kids, fish can get to be too old to be effective breeders.
According to Dave Itano, a researcher who tracked ahi with acoustic tags, said the average lifespan of ahi seems to be about 8 years. So if you bag a 200# yellowfin, you may as well keep it.
What you might want to release is the 35-pound shibi that’s less than a meter long. Half of a typical ahi population tends to spawn when they’re around 3 feet long. That’s what’s known as the “L50” size. Letting them get bigger than that gives the population a better chance of reproducing. But try to convince a fisherman that the fat shibi he just reeled in is better off being released overboard instead of into his cooler.
The Pacific Islands Fisheries Group (PIFG) has just started a satellite tagging program that will track yellowfin tuna over a wide part of the Pacific. Certain billfish will also be tagged and tracked. It’s being conducted by Dr. Molly Lutcavage. She did a similar study of bluefin tuna in the Atlantic that provided a much clearer picture of that species. The data is playing a critical role in how that fishery’s management strategies are being changed.
Tako live about 2 years in the wild. Same with akule, it’s believed. Doesn’t take much to keep them around as long-term catch records seem to show.
Snappers such as onaga and opakapaka, on the other hand, can live more than 30 years. Letting the big ones get bigger might be a better strategy since their longevity gives these old-timers the opportunity to continue spawning.
And long-term catch records, which span 70 years, also show that the bottomfish fishery is healthy and stable.
The only way we would know how to adjust fishery management policies is by getting better science. Finding out more about life histories, migration patterns, feeding behaviors, habitat qualities, and more contributes a great deal toward making effective decisions on how and when to fish.
This is the kind of knowledge we have to insist upon so that we can have enough fish for tomorrow and beyond.
Thanks Dean. Lots to consider.
Yes, Richard. That’s what I discovered for myself, too.
Back in the 1980s I thought we were running out of fish.
Since then I’ve been shown otherwise. I have seen areas literally carpeted with fish. And I now have a better understanding of why fish aren’t evenly distributed in Hawaiian waters.
Same with GM crops. I was anti-GMO until Joni and others provided me with a lot of substantiated information to the contrary.
Mr. Ha, much respect to you and, although you don’t know me, I’ve seen your thoughts shared by your fellow farmers and farming advocates. I wanted to add a couple of things to Dean’s very good snapshot of what is going on and why the prevailing information being put out is one sided and full of foregone assumptions.
Tako actually live 12-14 months. If you talk to the average person in the water, they will not see a tako if they tried looking for one for a lifetime. Their assumption will be that they are all gone – i.e. – “If I don’t see or catch it, it’s not there”. But, if you have someone that can find them, it’s a different story.
Division of Aquatics did a survey several years ago to gauge the amount of tako being caught in Kaneohe Bay on Oahu. The researcher was quite surprised that there were literally tons being caught every year. If you know the fishermen, they will tell you that the rate has not changed, indicting that the stock is being maintained and it is sustainable.
Recently, one of my friends retired from fishing for tako in the Bay but he was very good at it so he alone was responsible for a good chunk of that catch. Couple of the problems with the data being used to claim that fish have declined 75% is that it shows only what was caught or landed and it did not take into account other social, economic, environmental and cultural changes over those many years of data that impacted what fishermen caught and brought to market. If disease wiped out your bananas and you did not pick your crop and bring it to market, could it be said that there were no bananas or it’s because you overharvested?
One other example of this is mullet. That fish used to be an everyday fish for people to eat here on Oahu, raised in fishponds and caught wild as late as the 1970s. Many remember the huge migration of the mullet school around the island of Oahu. But you have not seen that in a long time, even with regulations that have been in place at least since the 1940s . Fishing did not change it but what did was the loss of the estuary habitat that mullet needed. Today there are no fishponds because they are in disrepair or have subdivisions with expensive houses built on them. Houses that the fishermen who observe and know these things don’t live in but oftentimes those who blame them do.
I wanted to show just a few of the many other factors that are involved in fisheries, like there is in farming, when others claim “something is wrong and it’s their fault”.
Thank you Brian Funai for the detailed reply to Mr. Ha’s article. There is studies that show that the fish stock assessments in certain areas could be inaccurate. Fish are counted by humans usually and fish are timid and will hide. There was recent studies done with an independent group that used robotic surveying in Maunalua Bay on Oahu. The results were different from what the nonprofit activists there did. This is just an example.
Mr. Ha, with all due respect my intentions are not to alienate you, but to grasp your attention and bring together our two worlds: agriculture and fishing.
I come from Kauai, where the first community-based subsistence fishing area was created years ago and passed as a Department of Land and Natural Resources rule in 2015. My own observations was that these families have good intentions, but the outside influences that assist do not share the same intentions. Many concerned Kauai residents, some who live in the Haena area, are worrisome about the Hui Maka’ainana o Makana nonprofit group’s intentions, but are cautious about backlash and abandonment from their families. Physical violence has been a concern for some.
I attended the one and only public hearing held on October 3, 2014 at the Hanalei Elementary Cafeteria, but I was too intimidated by the crowd to speak up. We did have individuals who spoke up for us who share the same concerns. The process was introduced and pushed through quickly, where many residents didn’t know (and still don’t know!) what exactly is going on. The location is a very long travel for those of us from the rest of the island. Considering this was a DLNR DAR hearing I was expecting more of a professional manner when it came to hearing locations. It is what it is and here we are fighting another battle on the Big Island West Hawaii on a ten-year fishing ban.
If you no speak up for yourself, others will speak for you. These are words I try to live by when addressing issues we deal with. Thank you for letting us express our thoughts on your blog.
With Aloha,
Shyla Moon