HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0164.017 2024-2026March 13, 2025
AGENDA ITEM: Support for Resolution #95 for Purchase Kawainui Makai
Aloha County Council,
This testimony is in support of the resolution to begin negotiations to purchase the
`dina of Kawainui Makai (TMK 2-7-11:01 & 2-7-10:27) in perpetuity by the
County through the PONC process.
The windward coast of Hawai'i Island is characterized by vertical cliffs that end
onto a narrow boulder beach paralleling the coastline. There are about 86 streams
from Hilo to Waipio Valley, that mostly discharge onto a narrow boulder beach or
directly into the ocean. But where there are larger streams, like Honoli'i,
Kolekole, and Hakalau, the stream discharges into a semi -enclosed bay which
connects to the ocean. This semi -enclosed area is the estuary (muliwai) which
serves as a nursery habitat for over 50% of our coastal gamefish species.
Fishing along Hamakua is mostly for subsistence and rarely recreational. There
are very few allowable and safe accesses to this coastline and consequently, fishing
pressure is quite low. Land -based pollution, such as cliff slides, sediment runoffs,
and cesspools, pose a significant threat to the ocean. Free divers have reported that
much of the boulder bottom along the coast is blanketed by a light coating of
sediment. Efforts to mitigate the impact of land -based threats is challenging due to
minimal enforcement (like run-offs) as well as being long-term and expensive
(such as cesspool conversion). These identified threats are further compounded by
the challenges of global climate change and sea -level rise. One immediate solution
to these threats is to assure ecosystem resilience, such as protecting our estuaries
which are a critical coastal fish nursery habitat.
I urge the County Council to approve this resolution to enter negotiations to
purchase these two adjoining parcels in lower Kawainui, which sandwiches a
critical estuary that serves as nursery habitats for over half of our coastal fish
species. The estuary is an added value to this land purchase. This PONC purchase
would be an (rare) opportunity for the local community, government, and scientists
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to collectively manage both the land and sea as a connected ecosystem (mauka to
makai). An amalgamation of both indigenous (traditional ecological knowledge)
and western science can be applied to holistically manage our coastal marine
resources.
To date there have been NO PONC purchases of 'dina in the whole moku of Hilo
and I would like to see that trend changed. Please help preserve Kawainui for the
generations to come as a piko (a center) for our community and our coastal marine
resources. Protecting estuaries in perpetuity is like a generational book. It's a gift
that keeps on giving. Our mo'opuna will thank us.
Mahalo
Robert T. Nishimoto, Retired
Ninole, Hawai'i 96773
Role:
1. Member County of Hawai'i Hamakua Development Plan Action Committee
2. Member East Hawai'i Fishermen Working Group (advisory group to
Hawai'i Division of Aquatic Resources, DLNR)
3. Member State Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, Marine and
Coastal Zone Advocacy Committee
4. Member Hawai'i Fishermen's Alliance for Conservation and Tradition, Inc.