Hawaiʻi Sea Grant funds research on Indigenous aquaculture system restoration

PhD Student Annie Innes-Gold and PI Elizabeth Madin worked with Drs. Lisa McManus, Shimi Rii, and Kawika Winter on a proposal titled “Effects of loko iʻa (fishpond) restoration on climate-dependent ecosystem dynamics in Kāneʻohe Bay, O‘ahu, Hawai‘i” which was successfully funded by Hawai’i Sea Grant! This project will entail working with nonprofit Paepae o Heʻeia directors Hiʻilei Kawelo and Keliʻi Kotubutey to study Indigenous aquaculture systems in Hawaiʻi, and an create ecosystem model to simulate how restoration of these systems may benefit fish populations and ecosystem dynamics. The proposed work also places an emphasis on how the functioning of loko iʻa may be affected by changing climatic conditions. As part of this project, the team will continue the lab’s effort to bridge their scientific research with art. We are grateful to Hawaiʻi Sea Grant for the opportunity to conduct this work!