HANALEI — The Hanalei Heritage River Program has held two “Fish Talk Story” events at the Community Center in Hanalei. These were held in the evenings, under a tent and included pot luck dinners and lots of memories. Hanalei River
HANALEI — The
Hanalei Heritage River Program has held two “Fish Talk Story” events at the
Community Center in Hanalei.
These were held in the evenings, under a tent
and included pot luck dinners and lots of memories.
Hanalei River Hui
members wanted an informal way to listen to community kapuna tell stories about
the old days of Hanalei.
Tales about the days when the o’opu and ‘opae
were plentiful and people fished for just what they needed.
One such story
was told by Ricardo Garma, who shared his memory of catching an o’opu that swam
up the auwai in his taro patch.
“In those days,” Ricardo said, “Filipinos
weren’t allowed to fish o’opu, we were considered aliens. Only people who were
U.S. citizens could catch. We had to go at night or fish only in our own
ditches. This big o’opu swims up my ditch, I catch him, put him in a pot and
start to cook him, right there in the taro patch. The Sheriff smelled the
cooking fish and took me, the pot and the o’opu to jail. Later he released me,
returned my pot, but I never saw the fish again.”
Those days are clearly
gone. The Hanalei River Hui is discussing ways the o’opu can be protected so
they can be plentiful again. Short and long term solutions are being considered
that include educational and enforcement programs.
Every member of the
community should know that selling or buying o’opu is illegal and enforcement
of this law should be the responsibility of every community member. This is the
place to start to protect Hawai’i’s native fishes.
The Hanalei River Hui
is planning a community o’opu presentation in the near future.
