Kīpahulu Community-Based Subsistence Fishing Area signed into law by the Governor
Kīpahulu Community-Based Subsistence Fishing Area signed into law by the Governor
On March 15, 2024, Governor Josh Green, M.D., signed the Kīpahulu Community-Based Subsistence Fishing Area (CBSFA) rules into law. Kīpahulu is the third designated CBSFA in the State, following Miloli‘i on Hawai‘i Island and Hā‘ena on Kaua‘i. CBSFAs are unique, co-managed marine areas between the Division of Aquatic Resources and the local community, designed specifically to perpetuate and protect Native Hawaiian culture, religion, and traditional and customary practices.
Many families and community members in Kīpahulu, located in East Maui, rely on the natural marine resources for subsistence, and continue to use customary and traditional harvesting practices to maintain their lifestyle. Increased traffic and visitors, unsustainable harvesting, and other factors have contributed to a decline in the abundance of their resources, prompting the creation of the Kīpahulu CBSFA.
In collaboration with several partners and agencies working together, the Kīpahulu ‘Ohana have been working towards this for more than a decade by conducting outreach, collecting community input, and drafting and revising their management plan. By establishing the Kīpahulu CBSFA and accompanying management plan, community members and DAR hope to restore the abundance of their marine resources and preserve and perpetuate traditional Hawaiian management practices of this area.
Read more in the Department of Land and Natural Resources news release HERE.
What’s New
photo: Jeff Milisen
photo: Bert Weeks
