How do mākāhā work? The mākāhā is a gate situated within the rock wall enclosure. It has thin openings so smaller fish can come in to eat. As the fish eat and grow they become too big to exit through the same mākāhā, keeping them in the loko for us to catch and eat. Kalaniua Ritte, our ED and master fishpond practitioner, has spent decades refiguring mākāhā at Keawanui to better control fish populations in the pond. Keawanui loko iʻa is large, totalling at 55 acres. Maintaining and caring for this precious resource comes with a very specific skill set and lots of hard work dedication. It also requires keen observation of the environment around us. As the fish evolve, we must also evolve and be prepared for anything!

Enjoy this video from a powerful evening from the Cultures & Coastlines speaker series, featuring Native Hawaiian activist and cultural leader Walter Ritte. Held at Maui Ocean Center, this series brings together voices from across the islands to share stories that honor our cultural roots and protect our coastal environments. In this inspiring talk, Walter Ritte reflects on a lifetime of aloha ʻāina — from the movement to protect Kahoʻolawe to his ongoing work in community empowerment and environmental justice. He speaks to the deep connections between land, ocean, and culture, and the responsibility we all share in caring for Hawaiʻi. Presented in collaboration with local organizations dedicated to cultural preservation and ocean stewardship, this event kicks off a series of conversations that celebrate resilience, education, and place-based knowledge. Watch now and experience the wisdom, passion, and power of aloha ʻāina in action.

Fishponds have sustained life for Native Hawaiians for centuries. Ua explains to us how they function, and ʻĀina Momona's work to promote ancient practices and restore ahupuaʻa across Molokaʻi.

BYU biologists and engineers partner with ‘Āina Momona to help save Molokai’s fringing reef On the Hawaiian island of Molokai, a fragile reef is at risk, buried by sediment that is washing down from the land, smothering corals and killing fish. For generations, the reef has fed and protected residents of Molokai, who understand and revere the connections between the land (mauka) and ocean (makai). Faced with sediment-covered beaches, invasive species and bleached and dying coral reefs, they reached out to Brigham Young University biologists to gather data and propose solutions. Working in partnership with the native Hawaiian organization ‘Āina Momona, BYU biologists and engineers are developing new technologies to create 3D maps of Molokai’s fragile reef, and to provide baseline data for conservation efforts. In addition to completing land-based surveys of problem areas on the island, BYU engineers developed an autonomous rover to image portions of the reef and to collect GPS coordinates and water quality data. Oahu native and BYU biology graduate student Kalai Ellis, the lead student researcher on the reef imaging project, has family ties on the island of Molokai, where his great grandmother Mary Lee was a community activist and wise kupuna (elder). He also shares a special connection with Walter Ritte, a noted Molokai activist and founder of ‘Āina Momona. As a young man, Uncle Walter was taught by Ellis’s great grandmother who, during a formative time in his life, gave him critical advice about how to preserve Molokai’s indigenous lands and culture. Read more at magazine.byu.edu/article/mauka-to-makai/ See kaainamomona.org to learn about ‘Āina Momona and its conservation work on the island of Molokai

“Tides of Impact: Culture, Science & Solutions to Plastic Pollution” brings Dr. Jenn Lynch to the stage to share groundbreaking research, cultural perspectives, and community-driven solutions to one of the planet’s most pressing environmental challenges.

Kaʻikuliumaikalani Kaholoaʻa, or Kaiku, is a Native Hawaiian from Molokaʻi and a Ph.D. student at Stanford's Biology & Ocean Departments. His research focuses on coral genetics and identifying heat-tolerant corals for climate change resilience. Collaborating with local communities, he helps protect these “super reefs” as Marine Protected Areas and mentors high school students in marine conservation. Kaiku is dedicated to increasing Pacific Islander representation in STEM and conducting research that honors Indigenous knowledge and protocols.

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