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Raising Fish
Lopaka Kenoi

Abstract

This paper is the procedure and data that two students collected to complete their project of raising fish in a fishpond. The fish(mullet) were grown and tested in a 2 month time period. The data proved that the fish grew fast and healthy in free flowing salt water and when they are fed limu. The data was taken in measurements of centimeters. The fish were measured for their length.

This paper is filled with interviews and critiques that was the base for this project. The critique are articles that introduce other projects that are similar to this project. The interviews are information that was gathered for the benefit to better our knowledge of raising fish in a fish pond.

Background Information

Hale o Lono(The House of Lono) that is one of seven original native Hawaiian fishpond in Keaukaha. The Edith Kanaka‘ole Foundation is reviving these ponds. This pond has been in this area of Keaukaha for many of years. But when the big tsunami hit it took out the whole beach area. And as the time pasted on, the fishpond was very old and was falling apart. Since that time there has been only one try to revive this fishpond, but it was a failure and was given up. So now the Edith Kanaka‘ole Foundation and the Ke Ana La‘ahana program is working together to revive the fishpond.

Two students Lopaka Kenoi and Ka‘iana Trask are working on a project that will begin the growth process of the fish(mullet which was the chosen fish) in the Hale o Lono Fishpond. Mullet was chosen because it is suppose to be one of the faster growing fish. Mullet can either live on Limu(algae), Fish pellets or bread. we have decided to feed them just limu because that is what they will need to eat when they are let out into the open sea. Mullet grow a lot faster in free flowing water because of its healthy circulation.

At the end of this project I would like to see a renewed Fishpond that will be in use for the native Hawaiians. And I would like to see the pond filled with fish. And I would like to see more people respect the native Hawaiian culture and the fishponds.

Mo‘olelo/ Mele

Kū‘ula: God of Fishermen

Kū‘ula lived with Hina his wife and ‘Ai‘ai their son in Hana on the island of Maui. Kū‘ula was a fisherman of great wisdom and power. He built a fishpond on the edge of the sea and stocked it with all sorts of fish. Near by his fishpond he built a shrine where he made his offerings.

Because of his great wisdom of fishing and his respect for the gods Kū‘ula could always catch the fish that he wanted. He new the best way to catch every different kind of fish.

When ever Kū‘ula would pray fish would come at once to his hook, net or basket. When ever his neighbors had trouble catching fish he would always share the fish that he caught for the day with them.

Kū‘ula's neighbors would always talk about the wisdom that Kū‘ula possessed and of how kind he was to others. When the high chief heard of such good news about this man, the chief wanted to meet him. When the chief met Kū‘ula he fell in love with him and made Kū‘ula his head fisherman. Kū‘ula served the chief faithfully and earned the trust of the chief.

At the time ‘Ai‘ai his son was becoming a man. Trouble began in the fishpond. Fish began disappearing from the pond. It was no longer easy to supply the chief with fish when ever he wanted. Kū‘ula was troubled and kept watching over the pond to find out what was making all of the fish disappear.

One night just as the morning star arose, Kū‘ula opened his pond gate. Then as the tide was coming in he prayed that the fish might come in with the tide. At day break he stood on a rocky point above the pond watching the fish come in.

There a neighbor joined him. Look! said the neighbor, here comes what was eating the fish in your pond. They saw a great eel enter the pond and disappear. “That must be the great eel of Moloka‘i” whispered the neighbor. “I have heard of such an eel said Kū‘ula. He lives in a cave on the windward side of that island, and is worshiped by the people of Moloka‘i.

Kū‘ula was angry and said “Let him fish on his own island.” If he stays here I will have to kill him. The neighbor said “If you kill the great eel, the people of Moloka‘i would be very upset.

Kū‘ula went and spoke things over with his wife Hina. And when their meeting was over Kū‘ula told his son “you are now a grown man, here is your enemy, a great eel. Day after day the eel would come and eat the fish that feed in the pond. Let this be your work said Kū‘ula you must kill our enemy.

‘Ai‘ai was very proud because his father asked him for help. The young man called all of the neighbors that were close to him, and asked them to gather hau and to make ropes out of it. When the ropes were ready many canoes were put out to sea. ‘Ai‘ai took with him in his canoe was two heavy stones and his fathers sacred hook.

The young man prayed constantly and kept his eye on the eel. Then he directed the canoes in the direction of the eels cave. when they found landmarks that they followed a long shore, they parked the canoes. With the first stone ‘Ai‘ai went down to the bottom to check if the cave was the eels home. Then he swam back to the canoes and unrolled the Hau ropes. To one end he tied a stick and to the other he tied his fathers hook and some bait with some coconut.

The ropes were passed out to all of the canoes, because once the eel was hooked the strength of many was needed to pull the eel ashore.

While praying Kū‘ula took his second rock and dived to the bottom with the hook and bait. He hooked the sleeping eel and jerked the line as a signal to pull as hard as they could to pull the eel to shallow waters.

The men dug their paddles into the sea trying to hold firm against the mighty thrashing of the giant eel. After fighting the eel for awhile they finally got the eel inshore.

They tried to kill the eel but it kept trashing back and forth, which made it very hard for the people to kill the eel with their spears. Then ‘Ai‘ai seized a big rock and threw it up on the eel. Still the eel was alive, moving and snapping his jaws. The young man threw another rock and then another, and finally the eel lay still, dead at last.

On Moloka‘i the eel's caretaker was very worried because the eel that he and his people worshiped no longer came around for the food and ‘awa offerings. One night the eel came to his caretaker in a dream. “My body has been killed by the men of Hana, Maui.

Angered the caretaker went to Maui. He was shown the laws and the body of the great eel. After he heard the story of how ‘Ai‘ai killed the eel and why he did it; the caretaker decided that ‘Ai‘ai and his family must die.

So the caretaker made his plans. He became a servant of the high chief and served so well that he earned the same trust that the chief had with ‘Ai‘ai and himself. One day the caretaker from Moloka‘i went to Kū‘ula and asked for some fish for the chief. “Fish are still scarce since that great eel robed my pond. The chief will understand.” Kū‘ula told the caretaker “Take this ‘Ulua and tell his servants to cut off its head and cook it in the imu. Let its fish be skinned and salted and dried in the sun.

The caretaker took the ‘ulua and returned to the chief. The caretakers chance had finally come to punish ‘Ai‘ai and his family. The caretaker went to the chief and changed the instructions that Kū‘ula gave and turned the chief against Kū‘ula. The caretaker told the chief that the words of Kū‘ula were to “tell the chief to have his servants cut off the chiefs head, and cook it in the Imu. Let them cut up his flesh and slat it and dry it in the sun.

Hearing these words the chief became very angry. The chief forgot all of the good things that Kū‘ula did for him in the past. The chief told all of his people to gather wood and place it around the house of Kū‘ula for he and his family would be killed.

Kū‘ula being a man of great wisdom new exactly what was going on. He said to his son “there is still time for us to escape. Men will bind the three of use together and blind fold us and start the fire. When the smoke from the fire blows seaward my spirit and that of Hina will go down to the sea, there we shall live as fish. When the smoke blows up to the mountain run with it and find yourself a home in the caves.

When you are in need of fish set up this little image of stones and, make offerings and pray. Your mother and I will hear your prayers and come to you and teach you all you need to know of fishing.

Just before the night fall Kū‘ula and his family were seized. Just before the fire was started their cords that tied them together had fallen off. As the fire cracked and the house went up in flames the smoke blew seawards, and the spirits of Kū‘ula and Hina went with it. The roof blazed and the smoke blew up mountain side. ‘Ai‘ai escaped. Then as the fire was burning and the caretaker was watching the flames from the fire leaped out at the caretaker and killed him.

Spirit of Honokohau

Our voices around the fire

spoke in soft harmony,

bound by the spirit of Honokohau

to out kupuna

who settled in sacredness

of the living honua.

We walked the trails again

without words;

Mauka-makai across our history

built upon the a'a

past the stone planters

where our culture grew

Our thoughts filled the ponds

at high tide.

Through the mākāhā, they flowed

into our heritage

Boar between land and sea

Secured by the Kuapa

We found strength from the heiau,

in every pour of each stone.

buried beneath the grave mounds

was the life we worshipped

To the spirit of Honokohau

we offered our selves

As burning embers lit the night,

we made our beds of sand

the oil was sung and danced

below the shooting stars;

Kanakaleonui would wake us;

guide our boats to sea.

Interview (1)

Interviewer: Lopaka Kenoi
Interviewed: Bob Nishimoto

Department of Land and Natural Resources (Aquatics)

What type of fish do you think is good to raise in a fishpond? Why?

Mullet is my preferred fish because mullet can grow up to an estimated of 1 ½ pounds within a year and a half. It is also one of the fish that are at the bottom of the food chain, which make it easier to raise. If you were to raise a fish like the barracuda that is not at the bottom of the food chain it would most likely eat all of the other fish. The mullet are also a lot cheaper to raise.

What kinds of problems did you run in to raising mullet?

There was a lot of problems with disease. It was also a big problem when the pond got real muddy and the water wasn't clean so the fish would not be getting good circulation.

What is considered a good condition to raise mullet in?

It is always good to make sure that the pond is clean. Also make sure that were ever the pond is you have good tide circulation and that the water is moving in and out smoothly and continuously.

Interview (2)

Interviewer: Lopaka Kenoi
Interviewed: Collen (Sea Side Fishpond)

Where do you get your fish? (harvest)

We let the fish come in from the mākāhā that is in the front and then we trap them.

How long does it take for your fish to grow to the right potential?

It takes about to grow to the size that they can use for selling. It takes a lot longer because the fish are grown in fresh water. When the fish are grown in salt water that has a lot of free flow then they grow a lot faster.

When did this fishpond begin it process of growing fish?

The fishpond began its work in 1964 and the first site was down at the fishpond Hale o Lono.

When do you feed the fish?

The fish are fed only one time a day but are fed everyday. The fish are fed pellets when they are young, and when they are let out into the open pond then they are on their own.

Critiques

Cage Culture in Hawaiian Fishponds

How can one raise fish in an ancient Hawaiian fishpond that has parts of its rock wall missing? Some students at Ka papa Honua o Keawenui School on the island of Moloka‘i have learned and alternative way for filling in the missing rocks in the wall, this is what they call cage culture.

A seven month cooperative aquaculture project between the school and the university of Hawaiian Sea Grant Extension began in the summer of 1984 at the 54-acre Keawe nui fishpond in Moloka‘i. The project goals were to assist in the development and implementation of a hands-on aquaculture components from the schools marine science and math classes. Cage culture offered a lot of benefits for the pond, like control of feed that they use, simple crop inventory, higher stocking densities, control of predators and competitors and easy harvesting. Provided with a design plan, students built cages from 1/2-inc galvanized wire or plastic mesh and PVC piping. Ignoring the labor coast, the construction costs were$105 and $94 per unit for the wire and plastic mesh cages, respectfully.

Fingerling mullet for capturing were caught from a stream near the fishpond using a 50-foot-long seine. They chose to use two species that they wanted to catch. The striped mullet and the white mullet. Because of their relatively scarcity juvenile striped mullet were stocked in only three cages, and white mullet were stocked in the other four. Commercial prawn pellets were what they used to feed the fish, they applied daily at the rate of 10% of the total estimate of weight of each mullet in each cage. Every 2 weeks, 10 fish from each cage are weighed to assess growth rates out of the 200 days of the grow period.

One of the things that I didn't like about the article was when it said that the teachers were not able to teach the students about the traditional way of raising fish in a pond, because they were going to use cages.

I believe that this is a real article because it proved that here are other ways that you can raise fish in a fishpond other then spending all of the money to rebuild a brand new pond. And that the whole process that took place worked out for the best with them.

Procedure:

The first thing that we did to start off our project, was to locate a good site to work on. The site that we chose was Hale o Lono fishpond down in Keaukaha. We chose two small ponds that are located in the center of Hale o Lono.

There were a lot of things that needed to be done before growing the fish. The first thing that was done was the cleaning out of the inside of the ponds because they were filled with lots of muddy-water. Then we fixed and rebuilt the side walls of the fishpond. And we also rebuilt the wall that was in the middle of the two ponds that kept them separated, and then we installed two mākāhā.

The type of fish that we decided to grow was the mullet. We caught a lot of pua and stocked the ponds. The pua was checked on a weekly basis. Often the pua would disappear from the ponds. We found that the fish were escaping from the tiny holes that we had in the middle of the walls. There was also evidence of the ‘auku'u stalking and eating fishes in the pond.

We build ourselves a cage made up of four 6ft pieces of wood for the length and eight pieces of 4ft wood for the width of the cage, and 1/4inch galvanized wire mesh was stapled to the pieces of wood. We decided that it would take a lot longer for our project to continue if we would try to repair all of the holes in the wall, so we built the cage to temporally hold the fish until they are too big to go through the wall, and so that we can do our testing/data collection.

We then caught our fish again and put them into the cage, and in two months time we took three data collections of how much the fishes grew. After the second measurement, the cage was moved to another spot where their was more food and better water flow. The fishes were fed a brown algae(diatom), commonly called mullet limu. Then at the end of our project we took the fish out of the cage can put them into the pond to grow.

Data Collection

What the Data Means

The data gives you the measurements for the growth process of the mullet that are being raised in the cage. It first gives you the spreadsheet that shows the measurement of all of the 14 mullet that we measured, from the first measurements to the second and then the third. Then you are given a line graph that gives you a visual of how much our mullet have grown between the measuring times.

Within this period of time from measurement 1 and measurement 2 the mullets have actually grown about 3-4 cm each. And then from the time period of measurement 2 and measurement 3 the mullet grew another 1-2 cm. The mullet were fed 2 times a week. The hole process of raising and feeding the mullet was about two and a half months and was very successful.

What effect does this project have on other projects like it, being done?

In the common fishpond industry a lot of study is being done on the technique on raising fish using fishponds. The belief is that if a more efficient way to grow fish naturally with better results can be accomplished, then that would make this work more interesting for people who are only interested in making money.

We will be able to compare our personal information with the information of the other fishponds in Keaukaha, so that we can see what way is more efficient and to raise the fish and to keep them healthy. We can even work together to get better results and help out with any problems.

This information that has been collected can be used as a foundation for someone who is conducting a similar research project. They will be able to use these procedures and data.

The continuation factor, extensions

I would like to continue this project because I would like to see the end product that I started. I still have a lot to learn about growing fish in the fishponds, and it is very interesting. It will also be useful in case I continue this type of work later on in my life. This type of work gave me a new way to look at fish and how they grow. It also gives me a feeling of my ancestors and how they use to grow fish themselves.

I have thought about being in aquatics in the future. Aquaculture is a very fascinating subject. Aquaculture is very old and goes back to the time of our ancestors. I believe that aquaculture will make a lot of progress in the near future and we need more people to do this type of work so that it continues to progress.

Conclusion

Native Hawaiian fishponds have been a big asset to the old Hawaiians and to the Hawaiians of today. And just to revive the fishponds and to have that passion and respect for what they are is a big role in the restoration. The data collection will help with the beginning of growth in the ponds and the procedures will be used to further other projects, and the outcome will be good.