Maui family can
fish in reserve

In a historic experiment, the
state allows subsistence fishing
in one of its reserves

By Pat Omandam
Star-Bulletin

The state Board of Land and Natural Resources has granted a Maui family permission to fish within a state reserve in hopes of better managing the natural resource.

The board yesterday approved a recommendation by the Natural Area Reserves Commission to give the Rudolph and Robert Lu'uwai family of Makena a one-year temporary permit to fish the Ahihi-Kinau Natural Area Reserve, the first such permit ever granted by the state.

The area has been the family's traditional fishing grounds for more than five generations.

Board chairman Tim Johns said the limited permit tries to strike a balance between the needs of natural resource protection and appropriate use. To that end, he's willing to give this kind of special use a try and reassess what he has learned at the end.

"One way or another, we will have better information about the reserve than we have now, and we will have more experience at balancing cultural use with resource preservation," he said.

The 2,045-acre site was established in 1973 and is part of a lava flow that took place in the 1790s. Banned there are the taking of plants, animals and minerals and the use of motorized boats.

Limits on size, number of fish

Under the limited entry permit, the Lu'uwai family can fish within the reserve boundaries up to four times.

The permit allows up to four people to fish per day and their catch is limited to 10 specific species of fish, crabs, octopus, urchins, limpets and seaweed.

The permit limits the size and number of animals that can be taken in one day, and limits the type of fishing gear used. The family must also abide by all seasonal limits that apply statewide.

In exchange, family members will alert the department before they enter the reserve, and will report detailed information on the species caught and gathered, the volume and location of the harvest, the fishing methods used and the traditional cultural use of the species.

Working together

Natural Area Reserve Program Manager Randy Kennedy said the plan allows resource managers and native Hawaiians to work together to better manage natural resources, while at the same time integrating some historical Hawaiian management values and tradition.

The commission discussed subsistence fishing in the reserve for more than a year before it made its recommendation.

Key to the plan were specific criteria that limit permits to families that can show they have continuously exercised traditional fishing practices in the area since November 1892.