Holomua on Maui
Holomua on Maui
We are committed to supporting the recovery and healing process, recognizing that it will be a long road ahead. Updates on the Maui pilot process will be shared as they are available in the future.
Where we are in the process…
The Holomua Marine Initiative launched the planning process on Maui first as a pilot, and then will continue island by island to ensure that enough resources and effort can be dedicated to the initiative as each island is unique and there is no one-size-fits-all approach. This initial pilot on Maui will help the Holomua team identify any strengths or opportunities in the planning process and approach, and allow the process to be adapted and revised as needed.
We are currently in Step 2 of the process, which involves the Maui Navigation Team- a group of community members who represent Maui ocean users and fishers, working closely with DAR and the Holomua team to identify management priorities for the island and draft management plans. The Navigation Team will utilize available science, Maui based data, and community input to set management goals and priorities for Maui’s nearshore reefs. Examples of management can include educational efforts, new or updated signage, enhanced outreach, restoration projects, additional monitoring, or the creation of new marine management areas.
What’s happened so far?
Scroll through the page or click below to read more about the process so far!
Maui talk story sessions at a glance
The first step of the Holomua community planning process kicked-off with Talk Story sessions on Maui in October 2022. This process will be rolled out to each island over the next few years.
In late October 2022, DAR hosted three in-person talk story sessions/meetings in Wailuku, Lāhainā, and Hāna, where local residents shared their ideas on how we can work together to ensure that our ocean resources that sustain us can thrive today and for generations to come.
195 residents attended the talk story events where the community became familiar with the Holomua initiative, shared Maui stories of current management efforts, and offered an opportunity for DAR to gather the larger community’s input on the future of marine resource management for their island’s nearshore waters.
Posters and handouts from the in-person events
Photos from the events
Lahaina
Wailuku
Feedback and input from Maui fishers and community members at these TalkStory events
The following forms were provided by community members willing to participate in the community talk story session. The forms are being shared without revision (minus the personal phone numbers) in their own handwriting, and each template represents mana‘o from 2-6 Maui community members per form collaborating to provide their thoughts and ideas for a way forward for Maui.
Community Talk Story Event Feedback from Wailuku
Oct. 28, 2022
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Total pages: 5
Community Talk Story Event Feedback from Lahaina
Oct. 29, 2022
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Total pages: 4
Community Talk Story Event Feedback from Hāna
Oct. 30, 2022
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Total pages: 3
Community members from Maui shared their stories of current management efforts and inspiration for the future
The following notes were hand drawn live during the three unique Maui community story-sharing sessions.
Building the Navigation Team
Over 80 nominations for the Maui Island Navigation Team were submitted by residents and community members of Maui. All nominees were be contacted by DAR and asked if they were willing and interested in being part of the Navigation Team. More than 30 community members accepted their nominations and expressed interest by filling out a short questionnaire which gathered more information about who they are, how they fit the qualifications needed, and why they were excited to join the process. This information helped ensure that the Maui Navigation team is diverse and representative of various resource users and Maui moku.
An independent three-person selection committee that included Tamara Paltin, Jimmy Gomes, and Archie Kalepa made the difficult and final decision on the current 20-member Island Navigation Team. All of the information and submitted responses were carefully reviewed by the selection committee to ensure that the composition of the Maui Navigation Team matched the recommendations by the Maui community during the October Talk Story events, which included ensuring that each moku, various ocean users, and different types of fishers were represented as part of the team.
Meet the Selection Committee
Archie Kalepa is an accomplished waterman and lifeguard from Lāhainā, Maui who has spent much of his life in the water surfing, paddling, sailing, and keeping others safe.
Jimmy Gomes lives in Kula, Maui and served on the Board of Land and Natural Resources for 8 years which included engaging DAR with the goal of helping to find a balance for all our people in the State of Hawaiʻi.
Tamara Paltin was born and raised in Hawaiʻi nei, spending two decades as an Ocean Safety Officer on Maui and loves to spend time with family at the beach whether surfing, paddling canoe or free diving with her ʻohana.
Navigation Team Meetings
As the Maui process serves as a pilot for the initiative, DAR is committed to creating a space that will provide the best support and tools needed for the Maui Navigation Team to succeed in collaboration with DAR.
Maui Navigation Team Meeting #1
The first Maui Navigation Team meeting took place on February 25, 2023, and served as an introductory meeting for the team to get to know each other and get situated in their role of drafting management goals, solutions and actions for Maui’s nearshore waters. The team represents a strong group of Maui residents that come from a wide range of experiences and expertise represented in the group, from those involved in community-based management to those who bring in years of knowledge as a fisher/ocean users.
Navigation team members were asked to review species and places of concern across Maui’s nearshore waters based on the community input and expertise provided at the Maui Talk Story sessions that took place in October 2022. If there was one thing the group had a strong consensus on, it was that they all agreed collaboration is vital in the success of effective marine management. To the left is a word cloud created from the responses submitted by the team members on why they are committed to the process.
Maui Navigation Team Meeting #2
The team reconvened on April 29, 2023 for their second meeting. This session served to provide updates to the Holomua process based on suggestions provided by the members. The members were also given an overview of the types of management tools under DARʻs authority.
There was time provided for the Navigation Team to ask questions and request more information and data on the status of Maui’s nearshore marine resources. The session concluded with a presentation from DAR on potential options and tools available to the Navigation team, including both regulatory and non-regulatory options such as bag limits vs. monitoring & outreach.
Maui Navigation Team Meeting #3
The third team meeting took place on July 7-8, 2023 at the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary in Kīhei, Maui. This was the first time the Maui Navigation team convened in-person.
15 of the 20 Navigation team members attended the workshop where they utilized suggestions, concerns, and issues brought up during the public TalkStory sessions back in October to begin their discussion on brainstorming solutions.
This included solutions related to land-based sources of pollution, water quality monitoring, enforcement, as well as species-specific concerns. There were opposing perspectives on issues such as commercial fishing, night diving, and scuba spearing, but all members agreed these were topics that needed to be discussed further with residents of Maui.
Our partners with Hawai‘i Monitoring & Reporting Collaborative (HIMARC) and NatureAnalytics were able to share some data on resource fish biomass on Maui, as well as tools that can be used to identify tradeoffs when selecting bag and size limits for certain fish, which the members appreciated and utilized in the brainstorming session. DAR was also present as a supporting role, answering any questions from the team regarding existing regulations and feasibility of certain solutions under DAR authority, among others.
The set of solutions identified by the Maui Navigation Team will be sent to our Advisory Network, a non-decision-making entity that includes a range of experts from fisheries to socio-cultural management, to provide feedback on the first list of proposed solutions. The next meeting will focus on going over the Advisory Network’s feedback and refine the proposed solutions to prepare for community input. Nothing from this two-day meeting is finalized and once a proposal is drafted and further revised, the residents of Maui will have an opportunity to review and provide comments and suggestions on the proposal. To stay informed throughout this process, click below to sign up for our newsletter for quarterly updates.
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