Waves gently roll over a reef in Hā‘ena as Kanoe Alapa‘i-Hashimoto and his father, Keli‘i Alapa‘i, search for limu in the ankle-deep water with fishing nets wrapped around their waists and shoulders. The seaweed is food for manini, a small light-greenish yellow fish with black stripes.Alapa‘i-Hashimoto looks to his left where the water ripples, a sign of the fish grazing on the reef’s edge. He spends the next 15 minutes treading lightly, mindful that his shadow and footsteps won’t scare the fish, before throwing his net, which spirals out and sinks.When he pulls it up, it reveals that he caught a dozen manini – enough to feed his family.Alapa‘i-Hashimoto and Alapa‘i are lawai‘a, or subsistence fishermen, who practice as their kūpuna taught them. That means taking only what they need, using traditional techniques such as throwing net, and being mindful of how their activities impact the nearshore ecosystem. The ocean has been their family’s icebox for generations.
“You take care of the ocean like you will take care of your little child,” Alapa‘i said.Eleven years ago, they and other community members got Hā’ena’s waters from the shoreline to 1 mile offshore designated as a Community-Based Subsistence Fishing Area to protect the resource for future generations and return to traditional resource management.“I’ve seen quite a bit of fish that’s come back — you know, moi, mullet, we get palani, kala, akule — those are really the main fish that we grew up on,” Alapa‘i said. “But as far as population wise, since the CBSFA took effect, it’s amazing.”
