The Fish Ponds of Hawaii
Once, nearly 500 fishponds provided local Hawaiian communities with aquacultured seafood. Fishponds served as a unique part of an integrated agricultural and ecosystem management regime today known as the ahupua’a system. A societal move toward more centralized governance and economics, the overthrow and annexation of the Hawaiian government, time, natural disasters, development, and cultural-economic changes led to only four working fishponds by the dawn of the 21st century. These fishponds offer the opportunity to provide physical and cultural sustenance. An effort is underway to restore the pond structures and reconnect communities to their aquaculture past. In a culture that honors sustainability, fishponds symbolized the connection between communities, the `aina (land), and moʻomeheu (culture).
