Long before the big hotels and restaurants, Maui was a sustainable island utilizing fishponds as a way to unite community and feed villages.
Ko'ie'ie fish pond, the best preserved royal fishpond on Maui, dates back to 1400-1500AD. Throughout Polynesia, fishponds were commonly used as an early type of aquaculture. Hawaiians studied the tides, moon, and sun and realized that they could harvest fish within a confined area.
Loko Kuapa were the most common type of fishpond in ancient Hawaii. Approximately 127 of these ponds were built throughout the islands. This ancient fishpond consists of a wall and a sluice gate built in shallow waters. The loko kuapa (walled pond) are formed by a rock wall that encloses a portion of the ocean. The wall was made of boulders and stones of all sizes. They were constructed of coral and permeable rock such as basalt (volcanic rock) to allow the wall to absorb the pounding action of the water. These materials also allowed water to flow into the pond to reduce stagnation. The walls were designed to curve so prevailing currents pushed sand and debris around the wall rather than collecting it at one side. Stones on the outer wall angled downwards so wave action worked to pull them tighter. A sluice gate or makaha was placed at precise locations where currents occurred. The building of these fishponds took into account many factors, social, environmental, cultural and geological criteria in order to create a fully functioning fishpond where entire villages were built around their existence.
Today, off Maui's south shore you will find this ancient fishpond (almost 3 acres large) is being revitalized in order to teach future generations about how fishponds used to work, provide an area for teaching of biology, history, geology and most importantly culture to residents and visitors alike.
Located on the south shore of Maui in Kihei next to Menehune Shores and Kaleolepo Park is the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary office overlooking the ancient Ko'ie'ie fish pond, the best preserved royal fishpond on Maui.
Visitors can get free information about Maui's Humpback Whales here and read about the area's historic past on the signs at the park. Free parking.
For more information on ways you can "kakou" (help), please visit www.mauifishpond.com.
