Hurry up and wait: Opponents of Kaupulehu Marine Reserve take initiative

KAILUA-KONA — Native Hawaiians, fishermen and divers who opposed the recent creation of a marine reserve at Kaupulehu, which includes a no-take period for the next 10 years, aren’t interested in waiting a decade before getting back to fishing the reef.

Instead, the group is undertaking an initiative to accelerate the replenishment of marine life along a 3.6-mile stretch of coral reef off the West Hawaii coast.

Led by Palikapu Dedman — the president of the Pele Defense Fund, which advocates for Native Hawaiian rights — the group plans to gather up fish, urchins and other species the reserve is intended to protect, transport them to the marine reserve at Kaupulehu and release them there.

“All the fishermen that have been accused of wiping the fish out are the very ones bringing them back to that area,” Dedman said. “It takes a native practice approach to get this to happen.”

The action group met at West Hawaii Civic Center Sunday to bang out the details of the project. Dedman said they spoke with a representative of the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Aquatic Resources to bring the department up to speed on the project’s intentions and particulars.

“We wanted them to know what was going on with the project,” Dedman said.

Participants plan to set up a tent on the public access beach between the Kukio Golf and Beach Club and the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai. Their activities will remain below the high-water mark, and Dedman said that by exercising traditional rights, those activities should be covered as long as they take place off private property.

He added there will be no other restrictions and that, by his understanding, no other permission is required from the state or the county to carry out the project.

A representative from the DLNR wasn’t able to respond to questions by press time to comment on the legality of the matter.

Dedman and others will erect a tent on the beach and monitor the types and numbers of fish brought to the area from fishing spots further down the coast.

They also plan to take underwater photographs during different tide and moon phases to try and capture the overall health of marine life on the reef and the effectiveness of the program.

“That is part of our culture anyway,” Dedman said. “It is not just take. We also replenish. This will be open to the public, so if kids or schools want to be a part of the project of replenishing, they should come down and learn from the uncles the old style of how we use the reef and how we use the fish.”

Marine scientists from the University of Hawaii at Manoa were unavailable for comment by press time Monday, but will be consulted as to the efficacy and viability of the group’s efforts, as well as potential unintended consequences, in follow-up stories.

Dedman also said that just because his group is taking a proactive approach to aid replenishment efforts, that doesn’t mean their protest of the marine reserve will stop.

He said he and others fully intend to pursue further legal action to have the decision reversed — a decision Dedman contends is a violation of the constitutional rights of Native Hawaiians.

Other Native Hawaiians have long supported the creation of the marine reserve.

The Kaupulehu Marine Life Advisory Committee (KMLAC), which has several members of Native Hawaiian descent, was the driving force behind the near two-decade process to create the reserve.

Representatives from KMLAC told West Hawaii Today that they will meet next week to discuss the efforts of Dedman and his group to replenish the reef on an accelerated timetable. They chose not to comment on the matter until after that meeting.

“We just hope that everybody works together,” Dedman said. “We should be talking to each other about allowing us to fulfill our project and give us a chance to prove ourselves. We are not waiting 10 years when we (believe we) can fix the problem in a few months.”