Food Sustainability

The harvesting of fish for food is and always has been an integral part of the Hawaiian lifestyle. In ancient times, fishing activity was closely regulated by ali‘i (chiefs) and konohiki (natural resources managers). Traditional fishing practices were guided by cultural values and knowledge of natural cycles: they protected fish during peak spawning periods and allowed fish to reproduce before they were harvested. After Western contact, there was a paradigm shift to a “freedom of the seas” mentality, with little or no regulation of what could be taken.

Overfishing has been cited as one of the main threats to coral reefs, disrupting the ecological balance between fish and reefs. With global reef health and fish stocks on the decline, many locales that depend on marine resources are adopting management strategies aimed at reducing the impacts of fishing. While other U.S. states currently employ numerous regulations and strict resource enforcement to ensure sustainable fishing practices, Hawai‘i has been reluctant to adopt contemporary strategies for government-initiated management, and has too few officers to enforce the regulations currently in place.

As a result, fishermen in Hawai‘i are largely self-regulated, depending on their own personal values to dictate what and how much they harvest. Lack of education and reluctance to try new management strategies are key factors in the overfishing of reef and pelagic species in Hawai‘i.