Abstract
Indigenous and place-based communities worldwide have self-organized to develop effective local-level institutions to conserve biocultural diversity. How communities maintain and adapt these institutions over time offers lessons for fostering more balanced human–environment relationships—an increasingly critical need as centralized governance systems struggle to manage declining fisheries. In this study, we focus on one long-enduring case of local level fisheries management, in Kahana, on the most populated Hawaiian island of O‘ahu. We used a mixed-methods approach including in-depth interviews, archival research, and participation in community gatherings to understand how relationships with place and local governance have endured despite changes in land and sea tenure, and what lessons this case offers for other communities engaged in restoring local-level governance. We detail the changing role of konohiki (head fishermen) in modern times (1850–1965) when they were managing local fisheries, not just for local subsistence but for larger commercial harvests. We also highlight ways in which families are reclaiming their role as caretakers following decades of state mismanagement. Considerations for fisheries co-management emerging from this research include the importance of (1) understanding historical contexts for enhancing institutional fit, (2) enduring community leadership, (3) balancing rights and responsibilities, and (4) fostering community ability to manage coastal resources through both formal and informal processes.
Highlights
Societies settled in a particular place for an extended period of time tend to co-evolve with their environment, adjusting resource use to ecological variability and social changes [1,2,3]
Using a mixed-methods approach, we explore how relationships with place and local governance endure despite changes in land and sea tenure, and what lessons this case offers for other communities engaged in restoring local level fisheries governance
Kahana formally maintained local level konohiki fishing rights through the mid-1960s, over half a century longer than most communities in Hawai‘i, the modern konohiki system detailed in this case study operated within a very different context than during pre-contact times (Table 2)
Summary
Societies settled in a particular place for an extended period of time tend to co-evolve with their environment, adjusting resource use to ecological variability and social changes [1,2,3]. Through co-management, community groups can exercise greater autonomy and decision-making power, support short-staffed and underfunded government agencies, apply traditional and place-based knowledge, and tailor management to local social–ecological contexts [16,17,18,19]. Co-management is an ongoing process that evolves through practice and social learning [19] This joint learning-by-doing process offers a promising institutional framework through which communities can exercise greater influence while enhancing the adaptive capacity of coastal social–ecological systems [19,20]. Through consultation with local elders and expert fishermen, konohiki determined when it was appropriate to place restrictions on certain species or areas to protect their replenishment [26] Adherence to these restrictions was motivated by strict enforcement as well as shared cultural, social, and spiritual values [26,27].
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