Resilient Hawaiian Infrastructure Enhancement

The Mission of Hui Aloha Kīholo is to protect, perpetuate, and enhance the cultural and natural landscape of the Kīholo Bay Area through collaborative management and active community stewardship. Native Hawaiian fish farming methods provide multiple infrastructure benefits to people and nature. Intact and well maintained fishponds help buffer homes and natural coastal habitats for severe weather damage by dissipating wave energy, reducing inundation and coastal erosion. These cultivated estuarine systems also protect sensitive nearshore habitats such as coral reefs from sediment and pollutant damage by slowing and retaining debris from flood events. Further, they increase community resilience by enhancing a food resource that can be utilized when the ocean is inaccessible for any reason.