Loko Iʻa: A Practical Guide to Restoring and Managing Traditional Hawaiian Fishponds

Description

Graydon ‘Buddy’ Keala with James R. Hollyer and Luisa Castro

Softcover, 74 pp.

Hawai‘i is the only known place in Oceania where the people practiced a “pure” form of fishpond aquaculture. In contrast to the rest of the Pacific, Hawaiian fishponds evolved into a unique and sophisticated aquacultural practice. Nowhere else is found either the variety of fishpond types or the quantity of fishpond remains that are found in Hawai‘i.

Over the past three decades, Hawai‘i has experienced a cultural renaissance and a strong resurgence in all aspects of native Hawaiian culture. Since 1994 a small but steady effort spawned traditional fishpond restoration and fishpond culture projects on Moloka‘i. The desire to put these historic and cultural treasures back to productive use again, and the availability of federal and state funding for agriculture and economic diversification, created a regeneration of fishpond interest and development on the island.

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