Building Resilience in Kailua’s Nearshore Fishery

Manu ʻIwa O Ka Malanai (MIOKM), a community organization in Kailua, is proposing a Marine Managed Area for Kailua Bay and A‘alapapa Reef off of Kaʻōhao (Lanikai) to restore reef health, revitalize local fisheries, and protect Native Hawaiian fishing traditions. This project provides the scientific foundation for that effort by modeling how different management strategies (i.e., gear restrictions and bag limits) affect fish populations, harvest, and fisheries spillover into adjacent areas under current and future climate conditions. In collaboration with MIOKM and the Division of Aquatic Resources, researchers will integrate newly collected fish abundance and coral health data with community knowledge to identify management approaches that ensure reef recovery and sustainable harvest while advancing climate-resilient, community-based fisheries to further the Holomua Marine Initiative.