{"id":195716,"date":"2024-04-18T09:24:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-18T19:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=195716"},"modified":"2024-04-18T09:29:07","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T19:29:07","slug":"fishpond-food-sustainability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/04\/18\/fishpond-food-sustainability\/","title":{"rendered":"Could fishponds help with Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s food sustainability?"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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An aerial view of Heʻeia<\/span> fishpond. (Photo credit: Keliʻi<\/span> Kotubetey, Paepae o Heʻeia)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Indigenous aquaculture systems in Â鶹´«Ã½,<\/span> known as loko iʻa<\/span> or fishponds, can increase the amount of fish and fisheries harvested both inside and outside of the pond. This is the focus of a study published<\/a> by a team of researchers at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Institute of Marine Biology<\/a> (HIMB<\/abbr>). Today, aquaculture supplies less than 1% of Â鶹´«Ã½\u2019s<\/span> 70 million pounds of locally available seafood, but revitalization of loko iʻa<\/span> has the potential to significantly increase locally available seafood.<\/p>\n

According to historical accounts, loko iʻa<\/span> can create surplus fish inside the pond, but their role as a nursery ground seeding surrounding fish populations has received less attention.<\/p>\n

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A hale at Heʻeia<\/span> fishpond. (Photo credit: Anne Innes-Gold)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“We have demonstrated the ability of Indigenous aquaculture systems to produce a surplus of fish as well as supplement fisheries in the surrounding estuary,” said lead author and marine biology PhD<\/abbr> candidate Anne Innes-Gold. “We have heard people voice the idea that historically, loko iʻa<\/span> provided nursery grounds that may have supplemented fish populations in the estuary. Our study is the first that we are aware of to demonstrate this idea in academic literature.”<\/p>\n

Â鶹´«Ã½\u2019s<\/span> unique aquaculture system<\/h2>\n

The Indigenous aquaculture systems found in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> boast a design found nowhere else in the world, and are among the most productive and diverse of their kind. Loko iʻa<\/span> historically yielded nearly 2 million pounds of fish annually, and hoaʻāina<\/span> (land tenants) and kiaʻi<\/span> (caretakers) initially managed them with a “take what you need” mentality to ensure the resource persisted. Most loko iʻa<\/span> were destroyed in the 20th century, and by 1994 only six of 500 historical loko iʻa<\/span> were still operating.<\/p>\n

“As aquaculture continues to provide a growing proportion of our seafood globally, revival of Indigenous aquaculture systems will be beneficial to sustainably maintain and increase our seafood supply,” said Innes-Gold.<\/p>\n

Restoration success story<\/h2>\n

One success story of loko iʻa<\/span> restoration is the Heʻeia<\/span> Fishpond, located in Windward Oʻahu<\/span> and stewarded by Native Hawaiian nonprofit, Paepae o Heʻeia.<\/span> Their mission is to link Indigenous knowledge with contemporary management to promote cultural sustainability and restore and maintain a loko iʻa<\/span> for the local community. The benefits of restoring loko iʻa<\/span> and related systems can help boost local food production, and provide community members with a space to nourish their bodies and minds, connect with ʻāina<\/span>, practice reciprocity and promote cultural education.<\/p>\n

This work was funded by Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Sea Grant, the Heʻeia<\/span> National Estuarine Research Reserve, and the National Marine Fisheries Service-Sea Grant Fellowship in Population and Ecosystem Dynamics. With their foundational work complete, Innes-Gold and her team plan to simulate potential climate change impacts in a loko iʻa<\/span> system.<\/p>\n

–By Maria Frostic<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Revitalization of loko iʻa<\/span> has the potential to significantly increase locally available seafood. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[53,1465,1363,1314,158,92,9],"class_list":["post-195716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-hawaii-institute-of-marine-biology","tag-manoa-native-hawaiian-place-of-learning","tag-manoa-research","tag-manoa-sustainability","tag-publication","tag-school-of-ocean-and-earth-science-and-technology","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t