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Prepared Statement of Kelson K. Poepoe, KuALAPifu, Molokai 



Good morning Senator Inouye. I am pleased to appear before you this morning 

 in support of the proposed amendments to the Magnuson Act that will benefit indig- 

 enous fishing rights and Native Hawaiian communities. 



As a native Hawaiian fisherman, I would like to have our Hawaiian fishing rights 

 recognized in all Federal fisheries management plans and actions. I am involved in 

 subsistence fisheries projects and would like to see amendments which would au- 

 thorize the establishment of native Hawaiian and other indigenous community- 

 based fishery demonstration projects. 



There is a need for federal funding and assistance for Native Hawaiian/Pacific 

 fisheries projects. It is critical to our survival as a people to be able to practice tradi- 

 tional methods in fisheries resource management. 



Historically, traditional Hawaiian spiritual beliefs and practices centered around 

 a very complex and detailed management program in which a natural balance was 

 maintained so that there was never a scarcity of ocean products to provide food for 

 the populations. This was because care was given to the management of each spe- 

 cies. Growth and breeding cycles were carefully studied and strict rules adhered to 

 in order to allow species to proliferate, by tradition these rules were passed on to 

 generations of family members and weaved into the spiritual fiber of the Hawaiian 

 peoples's daily existence. A natural balance was maintained through the belief that 

 man's role was as caretaker of the natural bounty provided to him by the benevo- 

 lence of the Akua — or gods. 



Behind every action was an underlying reason based on conservation and natural 

 balance. Observations were made of seasons, moon cycles, weather, coastal and 

 deep-water characteristics, gathering practices and even eating habits, to insure a 

 continuity in the tapping of the ocean as a food source and to prevent the depletion 

 of any fishing grounds. 



Every Hawaiian family had access to a large variety of food from the sea, whether 

 they were fishing families or involved in other occupations that served the commu- 

 nity. The Hawaiian community was an interdependent one — they relied on each 

 other to insure provision for all. There was no land ownership system. A drastic 

 shift in the Hawaiian way of life came about as a result of the Western influence 

 of economic gain and capitalism. Concern for the individual became more important 

 than that for the community. Land ownership and acquiring wealth were the goals 

 that individuals sought. The resulting shift created many changes, among them two 

 unfortunate ones in terms of Hawaiian fishing practices. One was the eventual dis- 

 continuance of a conservation and management fishingprogram that would insure 

 a supply that would meet the demands of the people. The other was the Hawaiian 

 fisherman's disadvantage of neither having understood the new economic system 

 nor having had the savvy to compete successfully in the market. Hawaiian fisher- 

 men continue to be at a disadvantage as simple gathering becomes more and more 

 influenced by competition against the larger fishing fleets and dwindling fish popu- 

 lations. There has become a need to move into deeper waters, farther off places and 

 more difficult and treacherous locations in order to gather food. 



Traditionally, the situation of land and coastal features provided a framework in 

 which management was based on a social hierarchy that included the ali'i or chief 

 and his main adviser, the konohih. Main land divisions ran from mountain top 

 shore regions because of the integral relationship that the land ecosystems had with 

 the ocean ecosystems. In short, what happened on the land affected what happened 

 in the ocean. This land division was called an 'ahupua'a. The 'ahupua'a contained 

 everything the people needed in order to survive. 



The Moomomi area is located within a large 'ahupua'a on the northwest side of 

 the island of Moloka'i. This is a traditional Hawaiian fishing area which the commu- 

 nity has selected as an ideal site for a conservation program using traditional Ha- 

 waiian practices to maintain the economic well-being of our coastal community and 

 the island as a whole. 



With relation to traditional 'ahupua'a land/sea management practices, a viable 

 conservation program could be initiated and maintained, with the Hui Mai am a o 

 Mo'omomi, our fishery management program, set up to promote the economic health 

 of our community. Traditional Hawaiian conservation practices, management, and 

 enforcement are at the heart of our project. The intent is to preserve and enhance 

 our coastal resources and at the same time use the resources to feed our families, 

 in the same fashion as did our ancestors. 



Traditional regulations of species harvest will be according to size, sex and sea- 

 son. Quotas will be based on family size, using the principle of, "take only what you 

 need to feed your family and leave the rest for another day and another family. "En- 



