Supporting the development of a community-led fisheries management plan
For centuries, the coastal reefs of Kaʻūpūlehu on West Hawaiʻi Island have provided a sustainable source of food and cultural connections for the people of the land. However, increased accessibility due to resort development and road construction in the 1990s led to noticeable declines in reef fish populations. Concerned about the long-term health of their fishery, the Kaʻūpūlehu Marine Life Advisory Committee (KMLAC) launched the “Try-Wait” initiative, a 10-year moratorium on fishing to allow marine life to recover. During this period, this group of community members focused on developing a long-term plan for sustainable harvest.
After FishPath was introduced in 2018, the KMLAC enlisted The Nature Conservancy to facilitate development of the fisheries management plan using the toolkit. The group used the FishKit Size Limit Builder and Bag Limit Builder tools to explore the tradeoffs between potential management strategies. These interactive visualizations allowed the group to evaluate the projected outcomes of different approaches and narrow down a set of potential management strategies such as size limits, bag limits, and gear restrictions.
Combining these insights with local and traditional knowledge, the KMLAC developed a comprehensive management plan covering more than 40 species that supports their goal of long-term sustainable harvest. The process demonstrated how FishKit can complement and strengthen community-led stewardship. The KMLAC continues to conduct outreach to strengthen and build public support for the plan in preparation for the government rulemaking process.
