Traditional Sustainability – Hawaiian Fishponds

Throughout Hawaiian history, fishponds or loko i‘a have served an important purpose. It was (is) theoretical aquaculture in practice, “ocean ranching” if you will, providing an enclosed in-shore eco-system to raise fish. For ancient Hawaiians, sustainability was simply a rule of existence, a life connection to and with the natural forces of their environment. Hawaiian cultural protocol dictates mālama o ke kai, mālama ka ‘āina, – care for the sea and the land, and they will in turn care for you.