There is growing interest in developing social and cultural indicators for marine management, yet ecosystems are typically articulated using mainly ecological concepts. Further, the resilience of coastal communities to climate change impacts and related social-ecological uncertainties depends on social and cultural considerations that are underrepresented in management by agencies such as NOAA Fisheries. While NOAA Fisheries has initiated some efforts to identify social and cultural priorities for lawaiʻa (fishing), loko iʻa (Hawaiian fish ponds) have not been a focus of integrated agency management. Yet, they were traditionally part of an interconnected seafood system that local communities are working to restore. Therefore, this project is developing collaborations with coastal communities – particularly those centered around loko iʻa and with linkages to conventional aquaculture – to identify their priority concerns given uncertain futures due to climate change and other anthropogenic factors that affect cultural connections with coral reefs. Through this collaboration, this project will develop biocultural indicators and thresholds that can be used to monitor impacts and evaluate effectiveness of NOAA management, thereby improving NOAA’s contributions to the resilience of coastal communities and their well-being. It also contributes to the work of the USDA multistate committee focused on Marketing, Trade, and Management of Aquaculture and Fishery Resources. In this presentation, we outline a community-centered process that identified this area of research, potential partners, and products that will benefit communities as well as management agencies. Leading with community rather than agency needs is paramount for designing authentic engagement processes that benefit rather than overburden the people they are designed to serve.