A REPORT ON THE SPECIES COMPOSITION OF A RESTORED HAWAIIAN FISHPOND

"Oh we're going to a hukilau

A huki huki huki huki hukilau

Everybody loves the hukilau

Where the laulau is the kaukau at the luau

We throw our nets out into the sea

And all the amaama come a swimming to me

Oh, we're going to a hukilau

A huki huki huki hukilau..."

This song was written about the hukilau experience of song writer/performer Jack Owens. It was popularized by many singers in the 1940's-1950's , introducing  a romanticized Hawaii to the world. The hukilau was not a tourist experience. It was and continues to be an important traditional tool that involves the community in harvesting and sharing the productivity of Hawaii's nearshore fisheries. We describe the results of a hukilau sampling to assess the fish population in a traditional Hawaiian fishpond.    

Waikalua Loko Ia is a 400 year old historic fishpond located in Kane ohe ahupuaa on the windward coast. Physical restoration of the pond has been taking place since 1995. With restoration nearly complete the community came together on June 22, 2019  for paepae hukilau to gather and assess the existing fish population in order to plan future efforts to restore fish populations. A fine meshed net was used to encircle a portion of the pond.  All introduced species as well as major predators were weighed and removed from the pond. The native species were weighed, measured and released back into the pond.