Many of us know David Chai, but if you don’t, you should get to know him. He was brought on as a consultant to provide advice on all the wetlands, natural habitats, etc., which led to him becoming the person currently on staff having the longest history with Hualalai, even before construction of the resort began. He’s been with Hualalai ever since, heading up the Natural Resources Department.
One of David’s greatest achievements is just about to be implemented. In 1995 the Ka’upulehu Marine Life Advisory Committee was formed. This Committee which includes Historic families of Ka’upulehu, Kamehameha Schools, Hualalai, Kukio, and various State and community agency representatives, began planning what is proposed to take place in the very near future: The creation of a four mile long Marine Preserve. The four miles stretch from the southern point at Kukio up to the beginning of Kiholo Bay. The goal of this Preserve is to establish a sustainable long-term fishery. We hope to be the first Marine Preserve in the State with an approach based on a traditional Hawaiian concept of fishery management or “Kapu”system. The no-take zone will be in effect for 10 years. Within this 10 year time-frame, Hualalai’s Natural Resources staff with help of others will be developing a calendar of spawning and abundance cycles of each of the fish species targeted by fishermen. This data will form the foundation on which Adaptive Management of the area is based. Many are looking toward this pilot approach to serve as a model for other areas in Hawaii. The establishment of this marine preserve is being made with the assistance and support from The Nature Conservancy and several State and Federal agencies. No longer will fisherman be able to commercially net hundreds of fish at a time. Thank you, David, for your unending work to make this very important project feasible. Those of us, who wish, should make sure David knows we are supporting this project.
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