34 



The many faces that come to mind, many of whom already make, take me back 

 to those days when I worked and learned from the best: Herman Reed from the boat 

 Kilohana and Kula kai; Captain Kinney from the Lehua; Kendall Fuji of the Orion; 

 and George Kuni of the iron-hulled vessel Anela who spent the time to teach me 

 the skills of the trade. Sadly, the old-style of pole fishing for aku has disappeared, 

 a victim of larger purse seining vessels and their capacities for finding and catching 

 more fish. Along with this loss are the opportunities to help the maka'ainana pre- 

 serve their cultural and spiritual identity as Native Hawaiians and to curb the 

 growing trend that sees increasing numbers of Moloka'i youth leaving the island for 

 O'ahu or the mainland. For this and other reasons, I am deeply concerned about 

 the aku fishing industry in the islands. I want to help keep the industry alive and 

 use it as a means to create jobs for the younger generation. There is only a small 

 handful of knowledgeable ola-time fishermen left who know how to catch aku com- 

 mercially. I would like to see opportunities created that would preserve the art of 

 aku fishing by passing on the knowledge of the lawai'a to the younger generations. 



The art of catching aku the old-style with poles is actually a conservation method 

 of keeping the fish population healthy. For much the same reason that the kanaka 

 maoli protected the resources of the land and sea, bringing back the oldstyle aku 

 boat fishing would help ensure that the next generation would always be able to 

 catch fish. It is my belief that fish stocks in Hawai'i are smaller than before because 

 of the large number of outside vessels operating in local waters, which also means 

 that it is becoming more difficult for small boats and Native Hawaiians to scratch 

 out a subsistence living. I would like to see more Hawaiian-owned and operated 

 fishing vessels in the aku fishing industry in Hawai'i. 



Today, you have the opportunity to consider changes to the federal law that would 

 allow Native Hawaiians and other indigenous people in the Pacific to help them- 

 selves by giving them the tools to create and manage a healthy fishery. 



These tools would include: (1) recognition in the federal law that Native Hawai- 

 ians and other indigenous Pacific islanders and their traditional fisheries deserved 

 special recognition and protection; (2) fishermen training and education programs 

 that would channel the knowledge of one generation to the next; and (3) community- 

 based decision making in the management of fish koa (habitat) and fish stocks. I 

 support both of the amendments that call attention to the unique needs and help 

 to *uevel the playing field" when it comes to access to capital and opportunity for 

 the Hawaiian community. 



Before closing, let me share my dream that one day we will be able to see more 



Bole-fish aku boats in local waters and in the harbor at Ma'alaea, see more Native 

 [awaiians catching fish for home and sale, and see the return to old-time values 

 where hard work was honored and its rewards, spiritual as much as they were mon- 

 etary. 



Mahalo ke kua [Thank the Lord]. Malama ka 'aina [Thank the Land]. Malama 

 ka po'e (Thank the People). Malama ka kai [Thank the Ocean]. Malama ka i'a 

 [Thank the Fish]. Aloha kakou. 



Prepared Statement of High Chief Ufagafa Ray Tulafono, Member, Western 

 Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council; Director, American Samoa 

 Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources 



Good morning Senator Inouye, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to tes- 

 tify before this committee today. I am High Chief Ufagafa Ray Tulafono from the 

 village of Alofau, Saole County in American Samoa. I nave long been involved in 

 developing our educational system and managing our natural resources. I also a 

 member of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council. I would like 

 to use my experience to offer a few comments about resource co-management sys- 

 tems and how they relate to the proposed Magnuson Act amendment. 



The distinction between co-management and cooperative management is not clear 

 to everyone. In the field of resource management, cooperative management is the 

 situation that exists when two or more groups or units work together to actively 

 protect, conserve, enhance, or restore natural resources. Co-management is similar, 

 except that the cooperating groups or units each have legally established manage- 

 ment responsibility. 



The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [EWS], an agency within the Department of 

 the Interior, has a draft policy regarding its relationships and co-management re- 

 sponsibilities with federally recognized tribal governments. The Native American 

 Policy is the guiding principle behind the FWS' government-to-government relation- 

 ships with Native American governments for the conservation of fish and wildlife 

 resources. The FWS wants to cooperate with Native Americans in protecting, con- 



