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#THREAD - Native Hawaiians have been fish farming for 2,000 years, but many of their traditional fish ponds have fallen into disrepair. https://thecounter.org/native-hawaiians-ancient-fishponds-revival-food-sovereignty-pandemic/
These fishponds—loko iʻa in the Hawaiian language—are a highly sustainable method of raising fish. Naturally growing algae provides unlimited fish food, and the ponds require little active maintenance or management.
Loko i’a were strategically built in locations designed to enhance the abundance of an existing area. In the 1700s, there were at least 360 fishponds in Hawaii, producing almost 2 million pounds of seafood annually.
But starting with the arrival of British Captain James Cook in 1778, sugar, pineapple, papaya, rice, and pineapple cultivation became big business in Hawaii. As a result, there were fewer hands available to tend to fishponds, and they fell into disuse.
Flash forward to the present. Hawaii imports nearly 90 percent of its food from the mainland, which often leads to high markups for local residents. Especially during a pandemic, this model is not sustainable.
Community advocates are now working to get 60 fishponds fully operational, restoring and improving them with modern technology, in a bid to increase food sovereignty for Hawaii’s residents.
Though the state of Hawaii has not contributed financially to rebuilding the ponds since 2007, a combination of significant grants and private donations have kicked off the arduous and costly restoration process (it costs $250,000 to dredge one pond.)
That said, replacing just 10% of the state’s food imports could add almost $188 million in sales, generate earnings upwards of $47 million, $6 million in taxes, and more than 2,300 jobs, according to a report from Hawaii’s Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism.
Practical challenges aside, the fishponds are proving to be quite valuable in connecting Native Hawaiians with ancient means of cultivation and self-sufficiency.
In the words of @Kahealani1, revisiting the ponds provides “a reconnection to land, understanding sustainable cultural practices from Hawaiian Indigenous ancestors that developed over generations, and learning how to feed ourselves again.” Read more: https://thecounter.org/native-hawaiians-ancient-fishponds-revival-food-sovereignty-pandemic/
