Understanding what resources remain in the bay, what condition they are in, and the ways and extents to which they are being harvested are important steps toward identifying management solutions.As a community, we can’t fix what we don’t understand, which is why the participation of Maunalua Bay fishermen is so vital. Who best to provide mana‘o than the people who know the bay and fisheries best?
In late 2007, with the technical assistance of The Nature Conservancy and NOAA, Mālama Maunalua launched a “Pakini Survey” to understand the status of our resources and our effects on them.In the long run, it will also be a means by which to measure the improvement of the fisheries based on what we are doing to address pollution and invasive species.
Named for the pakini, or tub, used in fishing Hawai‘i for generations, the survey consists of brief interviews with fishermen between Kūpikipiki‘ō (Black Point), and Kawaihoa (Portlock Point) during randomly selected days/nights over a twelve month period.The interviewers are all local Maunalua fishermen and interviews will take less than five minutes.Basic questions covered in the Pakini survey include length of time fishing, what fishers have been fishing for, what they may have caught, and what they feel should be done to mālama Maunalua Bay.The Pakini surveyors are not regulators and do not detract from outings.To date, fishers have been very cooperative with Pakini surveyors and results, once compiled, should be enlightening.
