by Olan Leimomi Fisher
On June 6, 2024, one of KUA’s treasured network members, Herb Lee, spoke at the annual Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW) in Washington, D.C. on a panel entitled “Leaders at the Helm of Climate-Ready Fisheries.” Lee serves as the President and CEO of the Pacific American Foundation, a nonprofit focused on culture-based education programs for Native Hawaiian and local Hawaiʻi keiki (children). He is also a founder of the Waikalua Loko Fishpond Preservation Society.
This year’s CHOW, led by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, convened international, national, and local community leaders like Lee to explore collaborative solutions for protecting and sustaining our oceans by tackling issues such as a changing climate, systemic inequities, and biodiversity loss. This marked the 24th year of CHOW, aimed to “lift up and connect leaders everywhere to drive change, break down barriers, embrace responsibility and service, and build and support diverse alliances and communities.” Besides connecting Lee with CHOW organizers, KUA’s Executive Director Kevin Chang and Kuaʻāina Advocate Olan Leimomi Fisher were grateful and proud to serve on the CHOW 2024 Advisory Committee.
Along with Lee, panelists on the “Leaders at the Helm of Climate Ready Fisheries,” discussion considered resilient fisheries management and fishing communities adapting to our increasing climate disasters and changes through equitable, inclusive approaches. Lee highlighted the importance and efficiency of Hawaiian fishpond systems, sustaining Hawaiʻi for hundreds of years before the current state of our food systems being grossly dependent on importation. Lee has worked to restore the Waikalua Loko Iʻa (fishpond) for the past 30 years, which grows ever more challenging with issues such as mauka (upland) stream pollution, overfishing, and other mismanagement problems affecting our nearshore fisheries. Among other issues like the 2016 first “king tide” event, and a “mini-extinction event” of invasive gorilla ogo limu (seaweed), water quality remains the greatest challenge to fully restoring the fishpond to once again feed people. Lee emphasized the importance of educating our keiki on these issues and potential solutions, recognizing that “many of these challenges will not be addressed fully in only one generation.”
KUA’s mission is to continue to uplift Lee and other communities across Hawaiʻi who are caring for and improving our biocultural resources, building back ʻāina momona (abundance) once again for our precious pae ʻāina o Hawaiʻi (island home).
To view the full panel discussion, please see this recording. Mahalo nui loa to Lee for all your wonderful contributions to Hawaiʻi and future generations, and to all the planners and participants at CHOW 2024!
All photos by Shmulik Almany/National Marine Sanctuary Foundation