`Opelu fishing … it’s very spiritual style of fishing. That enters me a lot… From upbringing and from handed-down, the parents and the families and the people there, they have a traditional way of training the type of fish, you know, where people highly respect it. And they have kinda kept up that management related to the tradition and way, so they can prolong the cycling of the fish, be there all the time… Tuna comes certain time. But `opelu fishing, it has to be more family oriented, related to that type of fish where people got to understand the ground, learn the currents.
– Uncle Wilfred Kaupiko
Miloli`i fisherman, before the Land Use Commission
During the olden days … around that time when we are aware the `opelus are coming in, we would go out, maybe about three times a week, and chum, continue chumming during the evening hours … and we just feed, even if there’s thousands of them there, and we wouldn’t catch it.
And we would repeat that for about a month, month and a half…and after the process, after feeding…determine a certain time when to harvest this fish.
Prior to that, they would have a ceremony… Just a little black pig, you kalua the black pig, poi and pig, and have a ceremony, then you go out and you be the first one to harvest the fish.
– Uncle Walter Paulo
Miloli`i fisherman, before the Land Use Commission
Today the fisherfolk of Miloli`i take to sea in search of the little `opelu (Decapterus pinnulatus, or mackeral scad) much as their ancestors have done from time immemorial. To draw the `opelu — and to avoid drawing larger predatory species — they use vegetable chum (taro that has been boiled and shredded, pumpkin, sweet potato, avocado). They feed the fish for weeks, summoning them to the canoes by the tap of a paddle against the hull. Their patient labors are rewarded when, finally, they set the nets and pull up the fattened fish.
Their work is eased by the motors that now power their outrigger canoes. That aside, the ancient customs of `opelu gathering are alive and well in Miloli`i.
But plans to build nearby an enormous resort with a marina capable of berthing 400 recreational boats have stirred fears in the community that their fishing traditions may be imperiled. The resort, to be called the Hawaiian Riviera, would place added pressure on diminishing fish stocks, some residents believe. Thus, a group of Miloli`i residents calling themselves Pa`a Pono Miloli`i (a phrase that may be loosely translated as “hold fast to the righteousness of Miloli`i”) presented these concerns to the state Land Use Commission and was granted the right to intervene in the Commission’s formal deliberations on the developer’s petition to have land on which the resort is proposed reclassified, from the agricultural and conservation districts to the urban district.
The resort would be about 15 miles distant from Miloli`i. Much of the testimony attempted to assess the effects of the resort on the community. The developer’s witnesses sought to deflect concerns, minimizing the extent to which boats harbored in the proposed marina would compete with Miloli`i boats. Expert witnesses for the state and for Miloli`i, on the other hand, tried to show that the resort would place such an extreme pressure, socially, culturally and economically, on the little village, that its very survival would be in doubt.
In the end, the Commission approved the Riviera proposal, subject to a condition that it intended to address the concerns of Miloli`i residents. Before the developer applies for any other county, state or federal permit, it shall develop, and submit to the Commission for its approval, a specific plan, “including appropriate mitigative actions, to address environmental concerns regarding the development of the proposed marina or water feature, and the concerns of the residents and fishermen of Miloli`i as to the impacts of the marina or water feature on their lifestyle and economic well-being.”
Keeping Traditions Alive
On one point, at least, all the parties to the Commission’s deliberations agreed: Miloli`i is unique in the world. At no other place have Hawaiian fishing techniques been practiced without interruption since before the arrival of Captain Cook. (According to Place Names of Hawai`i by Mary Kawena Pukui, Samuel H. Elbert and Esther T. Mo`okini, Miloli`i’s very name has its origins in fishing. The name, literally translated, means “fine twist,” and is thought to refer to the finely twisted sennit cord for which the village in olden times was famed.)
Moreover, Miloli`i is not a dying community. Most of its adult residents are still young, in their thirties or forties. As the commission was told by John Matsuoka, a professor of social work at the University of Hawai`i who studied the residents of Miloli`i, “this is a rather unique situation where you have young people that have remained in the community and have a strong desire to maintain the traditions of that community.”
About half of the residents claim to be at least 50 percent Hawaiian, with many boasting of full Hawaiian ancestry.
More than a third (37 percent) of the residents consider themselves full- or part-time fishermen, Matsuoka found. Almost every house has a boat parked in front or to the side. To the stranger looking for a particular house, the boats serve much as street address numbers. (“You want see Shirley? She’s the house up the hill with the little Ali`i Kai in front.”)
Added Pressures
The traditions of Miloli`i have been recognized in law; in 1921 the territorial Legislature enacted a statute forbidding the use of meat chum in the waters near Miloli`i.
The law has not proved effective, according to Lawrence Terlep, chief of the state’s Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement Big Island branch. (DOCARE, an arm of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, is the agency responsible for ensuring compliance with fishing and hunting laws, among other things.) Terlep told the Land Use Commission that from the time of passage up to the present, there have been no citations issued for violations. “That tells me and tells my staff when we review such laws that quite possibly it’s not working as it was intended… It’s very, very difficult to prove the use of fish for meat chum.” Complaints are difficult to act upon in a timely fashion; unless an enforcement officer witnesses first-hand the use of fish bait, chances of making a citation stick are virtually nil.
Besides the use of meat chum, other factors are pressing in on the Miloli`i fisheries. Residents report harassment from charter fishing boats that come down from Kailua-Kona. Sometimes noise from the boats disturbs the feeding `opelu, causing them to scatter. At other times, according to Miloli`i residents, crews on the charter boats seem to delight in practices that threaten the health and welfare of Miloli`i people themselves. They expressed to the Commission their worries that a new marina, with between 200 and 400 slips for recreational boats, would only multiply their problems.
Compounding the anticipated impact of the marina is the fact that the ocean just offshore of the proposed Riviera resort site is regularly quite rough. Boats leaving the marina might reasonably be expected to head up the coast toward Miloli`i in search of calmer waters. As marine biologist Richard Brock told the Commission, “if you had some real hell-bent for glory fishermen that had cast-iron stomachs — and some guys do, you’ll find guys that will go south. But I’m willing to bet most people will avoid it given the opportunity.”
Mitigating Circumstances
In an effort to address the concerns of fishermen, the developer of the Hawaiian Riviera Resort hired Herb Lee, a self-described “communications specialist,” to put together a so-called Marine Advisory Committee. Lee and another gentleman, Lee Sichter, an employee of Belt Collins & Associates, the Honolulu firm that prepared the developer’s Environmental Impact Statement, invited the participation of about a dozen fishermen from an area that extended from Ka Lae (South Point) all the way to Miloli`i. They met with some regularity to discuss their worries and to propose ways the developer might address them.
Sichter told the Land Use Commission that the Marine Advisory Committee members were satisfied that the recreational vessels berthed at the marina would not have much of an impact on fishing. When asked whether the charter boats that would be operating out of the marina were commercial or recreational, Sichter answered: “We have discussed that at the committee, and charter boats are not considered to be commercial.”
“The cumulative impact of a small number of charter boats in [Miloli`i] waters will not be significant enough to impact the resources,” Sichter said. “We believe the impact will be negligible.”
The marina would have benefits as well as drawbacks, the developer’s agents reported. With no other marinas nearby, it would serve as a safe haven for boats caught in storms that frequently buffet the coast. Also, and especially important, the developer was promising to set up an “authentic” Hawaiian fish market and auction in the resort itself. Fishermen in the area who now must truck their catch to Kona or Hilo, to the fish auctions there, could sell it locally.
Poi Eaters?
The fish market proposal seems to be regarded by the developer as more than just a convenience to the fishermen. It was also intended to impart a bit of local color to the resort setting. Nonetheless, the idea came under some criticism during the Commission hearings.
At one point, a market analyst hired by the developer admitted he “had no idea” whether the fishing community really wanted to be incorporated into the resort.
At another point, Renton Nip, chairman of the Land Use Commission, seemed skeptical that the resort’s residents and restaurants would have any interest at all in the haul of Miloli`i fishermen.
“I’ve heard earlier testimony that would suggest to me that `opelu comprises a large percent of their catch… Do you know whether or not it’s the kind of fish that a resort would absorb, meaning purchase for its fine restaurants?” Nip asked Sichter.
Sichter: “I believe that `opelu could be a fish served, but I’m not familiar with most restaurants serving `opelu as a special on their evening menu.”
Nip commented that `opelu usually accompanied poi, adding that he had never seen it served at a “fine restaurant.”
Sichter replied that the resort’s residents might have “an interest” in fish other than those served by restaurants.
Nip: “Well, … based on the resort communities that are typical of West Hawai`i and West Maui, I don’t think those are `opelu eating kind of people.”
Sichter: “Your point is well taken.”
In any case, it is not likely the people of Miloli`i would sell their `opelu. Most of the `opelu is consumed by the friends and families of the fishermen. While other types of fish are sold (usually at the fish auction in Kona), the likelihood is not great that a resort, with its relatively small pool of potential customers, could give fishermen prices that would be competitive with what they could obtain for their catch elsewhere.
Raking the Sea
Opposition to the resort was not unanimous. Several Miloli`i residents voiced their support for it during the Land Use Commission hearings. However, a survey of Miloli`i residents done by John Matsuoka, the UH professor of social work, found that all the residents he was able to poll (a majority of the population) opposed the project. Questioned about that, he described the findings “as pretty stark… I think it’s certainly pretty obvious how people feel.”
“The culture is developed around fishing,” he added. “You take away … that anchor, that means by which to anchor the culture, then the culture is left floating somewhere… The culture is inherently tied to the economy. When you change the economy in a drastic way, the culture becomes vulnerable.”
In the past, he noted, developers had undertaken what they called mitigative measures to offset the cultural losses. They were ineffective, he said. If one looks “at the magnitude of the change that has occurred throughout various resort communities, it’s … tokenism. You have this token cultural activity occurring in the hotels that’s somewhat … artificial.” In the face of this desire to preserve the culture through hotel entertainment, he said, “the authenticity of the culture has been lost.”
The people of Miloli`i, as represented in the testimony of the residents who testified on behalf of Pa`a Pono Miloli`i, made the same point. Wilfred Kaupiko may have captured the feeling most eloquently:
“I think the upbringing we had there, living that type of lifestyle, and I hope the next generation, we can continue to upkeep that tradition not to rake the ocean, take for what you need… I totally opposed to that [marina], my main reason is that where is this all going to end one day? How much? We are raking the land, we are raking the ocean… We got to see that the rest of these islands is already getting totally destroyed. If we find areas like Miloli`i or Honaunau or Ho`okena, the people there are related to that kind of culture, I think we should take a high degree and respect those people that are living in that kind of culture. It’s very important for everybody.”
Volume 1, Number 12 June 1991
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