Holomua Marine Initiative

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The Navigation Team is continuing to gather feedback on the draft management proposal for Maui and working to revise the proposal to reflect priorities and needs of the Maui community. Maui Draft Proposal

Aloha!

The ocean is our culture — our life — in Hawai‘i. We fish, surf, and swim in it, and gather with our ‘ohana along its shores. We need your kōkua now to ensure healthy reefs and abundant resources for current and future generations. Lend your voice to the new community-based approach to manage our marine resources: the Holomua Marine Initiative.

Let’s holomua (move forward) together.

photo: Bertram Weeks III

Today, we see that the fish, coral, and other resources that are central to our livelihoods, culture, health, and island lifestyle are not as healthy and abundant as they once were.

The loss of traditional and customary practices, a growing population, development, unsustainable harvest, climate change, and other threats are putting pressure on our nearshore environment. A recent scientific analysis showed population declines of some of our favorite reef fish by as much as 75%, and the mass bleaching event in 2015 resulted in up to 50% coral mortality on some of our world-famous coral reefs.

Our marine environment is resilient, but needs our kōkua (help) to thrive again with abundance.

I ola nā kai o Hawai‘i
i ka nui i‘a

So the waters of Hawai‘i thrive
with abundance

What is the Holomua Marine Initiative all about?

The Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) launched Holomua Marine Initiative as a way to work with communities to effectively manage our nearshore marine resources around each main Hawaiian island so that our local resources are available and plentiful, today and for future generations. This is a new community-based planning approach to ensure local knowledge is guiding marine resource management planning at every step in the process. Click below to check out the guide that describes DAR’s multi-faceted approach for resource management that focuses on convening all stakeholders and expanding outreach, enforcement, monitoring, and restoration efforts.

Click the icon on the left to view DAR’s Holomua Marine Initiative guide!

The planning process was launched on Maui first as a pilot in October 2022. We will continue our commitment to co-management collaborations with communities statewide in areas where there is expressed interest. Below is a general overview of the Holomua process as we move to each island one by one.

STEP 1 Talk Story Sessions: Local communities engage in collaborative conversations to exchange knowledge, ideas, and offer guidance

STEP 2 Navigation Team Planning: Each island’s community-nominated Navigation Team drafts management goals, solutions, and actions for their nearshore marine resources

STEP 3 Information Exchanges: Navigation Team shares their proposal to the broader community on their island for feedback and revision.

STEP 4 Scoping and Rule-Making: Navigation Team revises proposal based on community feedback, then DAR plans public scopings and hearings to move forward

STEP 5 Implementation: Collaborative implementation of island-wide management plan

Management actions proposed in the island management plan will be based on concerns identified by each island’s community members and resource users. They may include fishing regulations, enhanced enforcement, education and outreach efforts, improved signage, coral restoration, and additional monitoring, among others.

Holomua on Maui

After more than year and a half of careful planning, difficult conversations and thoughtful considerations, the community nominated Maui Navigation Team shared the draft management recommendations with the Maui community through a series of Information Exchanges hosted in September 2024. The Navigation Team is grateful to everyone who attended these sessions and took time to share their perspectives and feedback. Next, based on the comments received during the Information Exchanges, the Navigation Team will further revise the proposal to reflect the priorities and needs of the Maui community.

After Maui communities have had the opportunity to review the management recommendations and provide their input, the revised proposal and a Maui management plan will be shared through a statewide scoping session.

Feedback for Maui Navigation Team’s Management Proposal

The proposal was first shared to the Maui community in late September 2024 during in-person Information Exchange Sessions, and the Maui Navigation Team provided an additional opportunity for feedback online through a Google form. The team is now reviewing all of the feedback received and considering revisions to the proposal. The revised proposal and a Maui management plan will be shared for additional feedback once the drafts are updated.

If you have additional feedback to share or questions on the draft proposal, you may also directly contact the Maui Navigation Team members below: