Lawaiʻa Pono: Community-Based Fisheries Management & Preserving Hawaiian Subsistence Practices

Lawaiʻa pono means to fish righteously, in ways that honor the time-tested values and sustainable practices of our kūpuna (ancestors).  Mālama ʻāina (to care for that which feeds; biocultural resources) is a challenge... [ view full abstract ]

Lawaiʻa pono means to fish righteously, in ways that honor the time-tested values and sustainable practices of our kūpuna (ancestors).  Mālama ʻāina (to care for that which feeds; biocultural resources) is a challenge shared by island nations and indigenous and local communities worldwide. Traditional natural resource management practices in Hawaii drew upon the place-based knowledge, observation, and experience of community members and local experts known as “konohiki.” Hawaiians once used these konohiki systems and traditions to ensure an abundance of resources from the mountains to the sea. 

Today, local communities across Hawaiʻi draw upon the lessons of the past and come together to revive place-based practices that once supported sustainable livelihoods of communities throughout the Hawaiian archipelago.  This vibrant grassroots movement of rural fishers, farmers, practitioners and community leaders are part of a multi-generational effort to mālama (care for) the biocultural resources that fed their communities and families for generations.

Through a short film presentation and discussions, this session will touch on some of the experiences of communities from around Hawaiʻi who work with state and federal government, conservation partners, researchers and landowners, to implement community-based management solutions for their places.  Presenters will share about the role of Community-Based biocultural management in Hawaiʻi in the nearshore environment and the place-based fishing practices and stewardship efforts they have implemented to pass on traditional fishing knowledge and values to perpetuate the practice of “lawaiʻa pono.”  Representatives will share how the collective efforts of grassroots communities empowers community conservation, enhances community health and well-being, and ensures a future of healthy abundant resources for generations to come. 

FILMS: 

THE HOAʻĀINA OF HĀʻENA, 2017 (RUNTIME:16 min 47 sec) – In 2015, a group of lineal families on the north coast of Kauaʻi successfully worked with the State of Hawaiʻi to establish Hawaiʻi’s first Community-based Subsistence Fishing Area (CBSFA). This short film tells the inspirational story of a rural Hawaiian community's journey to perpetuate the traditional and customary practices of their ancestors and the collective effort it took to make it happen.

HANAI KO'A: CULTURE KEEPERS (RUNTIME: 2 min 58 sec)- A short produce by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs on the ʻōpelu fishing families of Hoʻokena, Hawaiʻi.

DRAFT AGENDA

Intro & Opening oli (chant)

Short Film Presentation

Panel Discussion and Q&A

Talking Circle & Closing mele (song)