13 



was overwhelmed by all the regulation and until his dying day 

 couldn't understand why he had to do this. 



What is the essence of being an Hawaiian? The essence of being 

 an Hawaiian is access to the ocean and all its resources. Instead 

 of signs that say "keep out," "private property," "no trespassing," 

 and no access," the essence of being Hawaiian is going down to the 

 ocean and catching your meal for the day and rejoicing in this sim- 

 ple act. The Hawaiian always took care of his land and his ocean. 

 He took care of this because that was all he had. 



The Hawaiian today is a stranger in his own land. The host cul- 

 ture is the immigrant, the disenfranchised, the disillusioned, sup- 

 pressed and unrecognized. Pain and anger have replaced Hawaiian 

 generosity and aloha. Hawaiians are not extinct, they are no longer 

 invisible; they are alive and the renaissance has begun. 



What obligation does the Federal Government nave to Hawai- 

 ians? If you ask me, you should give them back all that was theirs 

 to begin with. The Government has an obligation to level the play- 

 ing field. 



In the fishing industry today, it is very competitive. Aside from 

 all the normal business risks, it is a very lucrative business, but 

 the kind of capital needed and the level of skill and knowledge is 

 enormous and sometimes insurmountable. What kind of oppor- 

 tunity does the Hawaiian have in this setting? None. He's out of 

 the loop; he's been crossed out. He wasn't even considered. In the 

 very arena that he should be most comfortable, there is a "keep 

 out sign. 



One handful of working, longline vessels in Hawaii are owned by 

 part-Hawaiian, one handful. Less than 5 percent of all the fishing 

 licenses are for Hawaiians. In the future, sadly, I see a Hawaiian 

 eating fish caught in the Nicaragua. Can you imagine what my 

 grandmother would say to that? 



If we continue on this present course, we will be eating fish 

 caught somewhere else by someone else. We will no longer see our 

 boats come home; we will have no legacy. Without this committee's 

 help, all traces of our cultural link to the ocean will vanish and 

 that destiny is in your hands. 



Thank you. 



[Prepared statement of Ms. Romero appears in appendix.] 



Senator Inouye. I thank you very much, Ms. Romero. 



May I now call upon Mr. Mawae. 



STATEMENT OF JAMES KELIIPIO KAHEA MAWAE, HOOLEHUA, 



MOLOKAI, HI 



Mr. Mawae. Aloha Kakahiaka and good morning, Senators 

 Inouye and Akaka. 



On behalf of Molokai, I want to talk about the management fish- 

 ing. We have to learn more about operating ships so our young gen- 

 erations can learn about that. Our young generations had to learn 

 about this from the old fishermen from way back in the 1940's. 



I was concerned about the longline fishing in Hawaii. We've got 

 to do something about that, take it 200 miles out or something like 

 that. Otherwise, we're not going to have the hohonu kai and the 

 'aina in Hawaii. So as the native Hawaiian community, we have to 

 stick to our ground and fight for what we believe. 



