Waiakauhi Pond
http://www.hawaiianstylemagazine.com/article/articles/163/1/Waiakauhi-Pond/Page1.html
By Site Editor
Published on 12/27/2007
Living a luxurious life is a privilege, not a right, and with that privilege should come responsibility. The owners of the Four Seasons Resort Hualälai, under the guidance of Natural Resources Director David Chai, happily acknowledge their obligations. The resort has faithfully restored the historic Waiakauhi pond, once an integral part of ancient Hawaiian life.
Living a luxurious life is a privilege, not a right, and with that privilege should come responsibility. The owners of the Four Seasons Resort Hualälai, under the guidance of Natural Resources Director David Chai, happily acknowledge their obligations. The resort has faithfully restored the historic Waiakauhi pond, once an integral part of ancient Hawaiian life.
"This pond is named Waiakauhi, or waters of Kauhi who was an Ali'i (chief) of this region before European contact," notes Chai. "The fish that were raised in this pond were reserved only for the Ali'i. Having a fishpond was a great source of pride to people who lived there and they dedicated a lot of effort in maintaining it."
The pond at one time had no connection to the ocean and was considered an anchialine pool. During the time of Kauhi, two channels were dug between the pool and the ocean, opening it up to the abundant sea life. With the new life brimming in the pond, it was most likely considered a part of the luxury living for the Ali'i, having their own private fresh fish reserve to draw from while staying at their oceanside home.
"Early Hawaiians had a simple and ingenious way to stock and harvest the pond," says Chai. "A makaha (sluice gate) was placed in the channel with slats just wide enough to allow juvenile fish to slide through into the pond but prevent adult fish from escaping. On a receding ti
de as plankton-rich water, a food source for juvenile fish, would flow out to the sea from the pond, these small fish would follow the trail of pond water through the channel and through the makaha into the pond, where they would grow quickly with the abundant food supply. On an incoming tide, mature adult fish wanting to return to the sea to spawn would follow the trail of seawater coming through the makaha but would be trapped against the gate, where the pond keeper could easily harvest the fish in the narrow channel."
As the population declined due to many Hawaiians moving from the shore inland, the pond went into disuse and eventually returned to an anchialine state. From the 1940s to 1990, invasive non-native vegetation filled the pond. Eventually the only exposed surface water was found in a corner of the pond consisting of a 20 sq.ft. area.
The restoration was not without its challenges. Chai explains, "In restoring a pond, the main physical clean-out work is completed
rather quickly. But the smaller details of bringing the system into balance may take a long time, perhaps many years if mistakes are made. Most people expect to see an aesthetic, pristine, climax community overnight, but nature doesn't work that way, so our challenge is to make that happen as soon as possible."
A constant constraint on Chai's restoration efforts was the fact that disturbing or changing one or more aspects of an ecosystem can cause unpredictable results that may or may not be beneficial to the ecology. A long process of careful and systematic changes ultimately lead to the successful outcome of restoring this precious ecosystem. Chai, and the Four Seasons, have fulfilled their responsibility to respect the land that gives us such luxurious accommodations and the Hawaiian lifestyle.
Site Editor
Living a luxurious life is a privilege, not a right, and with that privilege should come responsibility. The owners of the Four Seasons Resort Hualälai, under the guidance of Natural Resources Director David Chai, happily acknowledge their obligations. The resort has faithfully restored the historic Waiakauhi pond, once an integral part of ancient Hawaiian life. Waiakauhi Pond
Living a luxurious life is a privilege, not a right, and with that privilege should come responsibility. The owners of the Four Seasons Resort Hualälai, under the guidance of Natural Resources Director David Chai, happily acknowledge their obligations. The resort has faithfully restored the historic Waiakauhi pond, once an integral part of ancient Hawaiian life.
"This pond is named Waiakauhi, or waters of Kauhi who was an Ali'i (chief) of this region before European contact," notes Chai. "The fish that were raised in this pond were reserved only for the Ali'i. Having a fishpond was a great source of pride to people who lived there and they dedicated a lot of effort in maintaining it." The pond at one time had no connection to the ocean and was considered an anchialine pool. During the time of Kauhi, two channels were dug between the pool and the ocean, opening it up to the abundant sea life. With the new life brimming in the pond, it was most likely considered a part of the luxury living for the Ali'i, having their own private fresh fish reserve to draw from while staying at their oceanside home.
"Early Hawaiians had a simple and ingenious way to stock and harvest the pond," says Chai. "A makaha (sluice gate) was placed in the channel with slats just wide enough to allow juvenile fish to slide through into the pond but prevent adult fish from escaping. On a receding ti
de as plankton-rich water, a food source for juvenile fish, would flow out to the sea from the pond, these small fish would follow the trail of pond water through the channel and through the makaha into the pond, where they would grow quickly with the abundant food supply. On an incoming tide, mature adult fish wanting to return to the sea to spawn would follow the trail of seawater coming through the makaha but would be trapped against the gate, where the pond keeper could easily harvest the fish in the narrow channel."As the population declined due to many Hawaiians moving from the shore inland, the pond went into disuse and eventually returned to an anchialine state. From the 1940s to 1990, invasive non-native vegetation filled the pond. Eventually the only exposed surface water was found in a corner of the pond consisting of a 20 sq.ft. area.The restoration was not without its challenges. Chai explains, "In restoring a pond, the main physical clean-out work is completed
rather quickly. But the smaller details of bringing the system into balance may take a long time, perhaps many years if mistakes are made. Most people expect to see an aesthetic, pristine, climax community overnight, but nature doesn't work that way, so our challenge is to make that happen as soon as possible."A constant constraint on Chai's restoration efforts was the fact that disturbing or changing one or more aspects of an ecosystem can cause unpredictable results that may or may not be beneficial to the ecology. A long process of careful and systematic changes ultimately lead to the successful outcome of restoring this precious ecosystem. Chai, and the Four Seasons, have fulfilled their responsibility to respect the land that gives us such luxurious accommodations and the Hawaiian lifestyle.