Captain Cook arrived in west Hawaii over 200 years ago (1778). Since then Hawaii has gone through massive changes in its culture, government, and beliefs. At one point it was estimated that there were over 300,000 Hawaiian people living in the Hawaiian Islands. One hundred years later it was estimated that only 30,000 Hawaiians remained. We were a nation, with a monarchy that lasted less than 100 years. Annexed to the United States we found ourselves backed into a corner. Laws were being created by individuals from foreign territories. One of which, was the ban on speaking our native tongue “Hawaiian” a form of cultural genocide. Lines of communication between the generations lost. Many questions went unanswered. In this new era Hawaiians had to find a means to survive, to pay the bills, and to maintain their way of life. Some went to work on the on plantations, some as cowboys, some as fishermen, and some as farmers. Individuals that living close to the sea continued to fish, and as time passed the barter system turned into selling of fish for money in efforts to survive in this changing world. Today many of us find ourselves fighting for our right to gather from the ocean as ancestor enjoyed. In particular, fishermen in West Hawaii are plagued with new laws and are harassed by extremist that infringe on these basic rights to survive. Techniques have changed, but the overall concept remains the same: gathering from the ocean to provide for our families in a sustainable manner.
Fishermen live and depend on the ocean and in return they monitor and manage the resources from the ocean. They carefully manage fish population by selecting schools of fish that are ready for harvest, very similar to picking mangos, once a year. They constantly change fishing location in efforts to allow fish stocks to grow back-it takes 6 months to a 1 year. This method of collecting fish has been working for over 40 years, by means of commercial tank diving with spears and nets, and the stocks of fish have always been plentiful. The knowledge these individuals’ posses are valuable to the community and scientist alike. These individuals, these Native Hawaiian fishermen, know more than most when it comes to monitoring and management, and it is unfortunate that these non-divers and non-fishermen are creating laws and imposing management directives without consulting the proper authority in the matter (fishermen). We have been braving the sea for 40 plus years and have a wealth of knowledge that must be taken into consideration.
My name is Makani Christensen, and I am a graduate of Kamehameha Schools and the United States Naval Academy where I received a Bachelors of Science in Oceanography. I am also a commercial fisherman and diver. My family comes from a long line of fishermen from Puako, Lalamilo. The knowledge I have gained over the years from is priceless. It saddens me when I hear of individuals attacking the rights of us commercial fishermen and aquarium fishermen without the proper facts. If we listen to those with the knowledge, we will be better at managing the unknown-the Ocean.
I recently had the opportunity to meet many of the fishermen of West Hawaii on Hawaii Island. Each fisherman explained their story and how their way of life is being threatened. New laws are being created by individuals who “do not have a clue what is going on in the ocean.” We have physically been harassed by vandals, the Department of Aquatic Affairs, special interest groups and dive charters. We have been chased out of our dive areas by the Department of Aquatic Affairs and Dive Charter Operators knowing we are catching fish which resulting in hundreds of dollars in revenue being lost --potentially our mortgage payment or car payment. We are “putting in an honest day’s work, to make an honest day’s living,” says Puna a Native Hawaiian and an aquarium fishermen from West Hawaii. A boat of one of the fishermen was attacked with spray paint and maple-syrup poured in the engines, which resulted in the engines dying and thousands of dollars in damage. Seems like “whale wars” in west Hawaii. The majority of these individuals imposing these laws on fishermen are individuals not from the islands; similar to what happened during the early part of our Monarchy.
In order to understand the commercial divers and aquarium fishermen you must first understand their limitations-limitation created by the natural environment. The amount of days or times of fishing is dependent upon the depth of the water, weather, waves, and tides. If the depth of the water is deeper than 33 feet we run the risk of getting “bent.” Getting the “bent” is when nitrogen enters the body and the nitrogen bubbles expand as you surface. These bubbles that are created can be life threatening. Divers have lost their lives, have become paralyzed and suffered severe discomfort in joints. The depth of water in West Hawaii is greater than 33 feet only a few yards from shore, which limits the areas divers are allowed. The weather is also a limiting factor. When the winds are blowing greater than 20 miles per hour we can’t go. We run the risk of losing our boats, equipment, and worst of all our lives. The tides are huge factors to fishing because the tides cause strong moving currents. If the tides are strong, we aren’t able to jump in the water and fish. The tides are most extreme at the on new moons and full moons. Waves are another limiting factor to catching fish. Waves will create havoc on the seas. We run the risk of our anchor coming out, bouncing against the reef, dirty water, and surges that might slam us into the cliffs. You will not see commercial divers out when these limiting factors are in effect.
We have limitations imposed on us every day. We do not need anymore man made restrictions to keep natural resources protected because we already have natural restrictions that enforce such protection as just explained. Majority of the individuals making these imposing these laws are not Native Hawaiian and Not Fishermen and have limited knowledge on the ocean. Some support or propose bills because they don’t want to see people fishing in the front of there million dollar properties. Laws in the State of Hawaii allow public access to the beach, banning fishing will decrease the number of beach goers and is another means to make these properties more private. Individuals from Puako, Maunalani, Ku’kio, and Four Seasons in West Hawaii are in support of banning fishing areas along the coast. Some join these causes ignorantly because a friend told them that the fish populations are being depleted massively due to overfishing. Yet none of these individuals have reasonable cause for their belief that fish populations are being depleted, and none of these individuals know how much fish are out there. Most haven’t even jumped in the water with someone who knows what they were doing.
Have you ever considered that the reason fish do not come around in certain areas is because they are continuously harassed by dive charters. Dive charters take people to the same spot 3 times a day including the night when fish come to certain areas to sleep. In West Hawaii there are roughly 40 dive charters. There are 120 dives in the same spots daily that effectively interrupts fish habitat. If you were a fish, would you want to continuously be bothered by divers, and at night have lights sinned into your eyes? These dive charters blame us for the problem, not ever realizing that the reason they see no fish is because of their invasive dive operation.
In 1955 the Taape, Toau, and Roi Sea Bass were introduced from Micronesia by the state to increase the number of game fish in the Hawaiian Islands. Little did they know that these fish would demolish the native fish food sources as well as the lobster population. Like locust, the Taape swarm areas eating every small fish in its path. These three fish alone have caused more damage to native fish population than any other reason.
Another problem is development. The more development that occurs without proper environmental considerations causes run-off that blankets the reef with sedimentation and chemicals that effectively kills the reef (fish habitat). We had a meeting with Mayor Muffi Hannaman two years ago in Honolulu. One of the fishermen presented aerial pictures of the Koolina development. The dredging they did to create the lagoons and the harbor killed majority of the reef in that area when they failed to stop the sedimentation from blanketing the reef. Yet none of the developers were held accountable. The fishermen where aware the problem and repeatedly expressed their concern, and politicians simply shrugged their shoulders. In fact the politicians were the ones that approved the project! I went to the Naval Academy to learn about these environmental dangers, yet these fishermen knew it was a problem from sensitive observation and natural respect for Hawaii. Golf courses especially have dumped massive amounts of pesticides that find its way into the ocean, creating diseases to fish such as ciguataria, yet grass-root groups turned a blind eye. The highest concentration of ciguataria, according to fishermen, is in the front of these golf courses. West Hawaii is more susceptible to this because there isn’t enough top soil to filter these strong pesticides before these chemical enter the lava tubes and ground water which flows into the sea.
Fishermen love the ocean and work hard to take care of it. We have been attacked and blamed for the declination of fish. We monitor fish populations and catch only what we need. We only catch schools of fish from fishing holes once a year in order to allow fish populations to bounce back. Fishermen are limited by weather, depth, tides, waves and other natural occurrences. We are not the problem; we are expert managers of the sea. We know what is out there and will do what is necessary to protect it. Yet laws are being created by individuals who have limited knowledge of the ocean, and limited knowledge of fish populations. There are more effective ways to tackle this problem instead of taking our native fishing rights away.
We are now in the cross hairs of groups imposing new laws that threaten our native gathering rights. It is time for fishermen and Native Hawaiian fishermen to stand together to protect these rights because once it is gone getting it back becomes next to impossible. If we are not allowed to fish, we will not be able to teach our children and children’s, children, and those questions that our children have about fishing will go unanswered. We will have effectively lose a culture of Hawaii that we should strive to protect. Why are other from foreign territories , with limited knowledge on the ocean allowed to impose laws on fishermen and Native Hawaiian Fishermen? When individuals assume something will work, we sometimes cause more damage than good. Look what the Taape, Toau, and Roy Sea bass. Putting a ban on any kind of fishing will be a form aquarium fishermen and commercial near shore fishermen do not get rich fishing, as stated by Puna, “we put in an honest day’s work, to make an honest day’s living!”
I ask each and every one of you to join us to be a part of all meetings involving fishing rights. Talk to the fishermen; understand what is going on in the ocean before you make a decision. Work with us to solve problems rather than against.
