PRESERVATION & CONSERVATIONBUILDING A FISHPOND
Huilua was a kuapä type of fishpond. The 500foot long rock wall is attached to the shoreline andencircles the ocean waters of Kahana Bay. The wallis built of rocks carried to the shoreline from thestreambeds and valley slopes of Kahana. No mortar
was used, but with the careful locking of the stones,
the rock wall could withstand the daily wave action.
The loose cobble and sand fill of the wall allowed
the movement of water through the wall and intothe pond. The width at the base of wall and thesloping sides provided stability. The walls were 34 feet wide and about 4 feet above the high tide.

HUILUAFISHPOND

OTHER FISH-RELATED SITESSchools of fish can be spotted in Kahana Bay
from kilo (lookout) on the ridges along the bay.
From these kilo, the kilo iça (fish watcher) would look
for sun reflecting off the fish like a mirror.
Fishermen also made offerings at a nearby koça orshrine to ensure bountiful harvests. To learn moreabout this fishing technique, take the 1.2-mile hikealong the Kapaçeleçele Koça and Keaniani Kilo Trailalong the western side of Kahana Bay.

AISTATEPA

The two mäkähä were built through the wall andsand bar to connect with the stream mouth. A thirdmäkähä was built in the 1950s along the wall facing
the ocean, but it never worked properly.

State of Hawaiçi
Department of Land & Natural Resources
DIVISION OF STATE PARKS
Ahupuaça çO Kahana State Parkhttps://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dsp/IAH

KSHuilua Fishpondprobably began as a sandbar formed by the crosscurrents from the oceanand stream mouth. Thissand bar was stabilizedwith the construction of arock wall along theexterior face. Over time,
the rock wall was built up
on both sides.

Fishponds are a unique Hawaiian development
for raising fish and maintaining a sustainable foodsupply for a growing population .
Huilua Fishpond was declared a National
Historic Landmark in 1962. Recognized as animportant historic site, the fishpond also illustrates
the management practices of the Hawaiians priorto Western contact. While the fishpond functioned
for hundreds of years, it has suffered from several
tsunami in the 20th Century and remainssusceptible to the impacts of high surf.
A restoration of the fishpond wall was initiatedby State Parks with archaeological research in 1993
and construction of a model section of wall. TheFriends of Kahana, an organization of Kahana
residents, has taken the lead with the restoration
project in recent years.
Please show respect when visiting the fishpond.
Walking on the fishpond wall is not recommended.
There is no fishing allowed in the pond.

RAHUPUA‘A ‘O KAHANA
STATE PARKKahana, O‘ahu

The ahupuaça (traditional land division) ofKahana runs mauka from the crest of the Koçolau
mountains to makai at the waters of Kahana Bay.
Central to the ahupuaça is Kahana Stream that flows
the length of the ahupuaça to the ocean. Along thelower reaches of the stream were 3 fishponds - 2
were inland ponds (puçone) and Huilua is stillpresent at the mouth of Kahana Stream.

aHuilua FishpondA kiaçi loko (pondkeeper) lived next to the pond
and oversaw the repair and cleaning of the pond,
as well as, the stocking and harvesting of the fish.
The residents of the Kahana ahupuaça would assist
the pondkeeper with the care of the pond and inreturn, the pondkeeper shared the fish. From 1924
until 1946, Sam Pua Haçaheo was the pondkeeper,
the kilo who watched for akule fish in the bay, andthe fishing konohiki (headman) who organizedhukilau (fishing by many people using a seine net ).
Other features associated with the fishpondinclude a pöhaku kuçula (fish god stone) and koça
where offerings were left to insure an abundanceof fish. There was also a moço or large, lizard-likecreature that protected the fishpond. The moço of
Huilua Fishpond lived at the northwest corner ofthe pond and dried leaves floating on top of thewater in this corner of the pond were seen whenthe moço was present.

WORKINGS OF A FISHPOND
Huilua can be translated as twice joined.
Perhaps this name refers to the two mäkähä thatlinked the pond to Kahana Stream. The water ofthe fishpond was a mix of fresh water from thestream and springs (pünäwai) with the salt water ofthe bay. The fish chosen for the fishpond were ones
that migrate between fresh and salt water.
Mäkähä were gates made of lashed poles thatallowed the circulation of water and the harvestingof fish. The spaces between the poles were wide
enough to let little fish and water into the pond.
Once inside, the fish would grow and fatten to apoint where they could not leave the pond. Whenwater enters the pond, the fish gather at the mäkähä
where they can be easily caught with nets or byhand.

HUILUA FISHPOND
Fishponds represent a transition from catchingfish to growing fish. At Kahana, the wall of Huilua
Fishpond encircles 7 acres of ocean water adjacentto the estuary. Because of its location, the water inthe fishpond is a mix of fresh water from the stream
and salt water from the bay. Fishpond technology
represents the Hawaiians extensive knowledge offish and their habitat.
It is uncertain when Huilua Fishpond was built,
although many of the fishponds in Hawaiçi werebuilt between A.D. 1400 to 1600. Some credit themenehune with its construction which would makethe fishpond very old. Numerous fishponds lined
the coast of Oçahu in the past. These fishponds wereespecially abundant in Käneçohe Bay and Puçuloa
(Pearl Harbor).
Huilua Fishpond, circa late 1920s.

Huilua Fishpond in 1980 with wall damage.

The location of Huilua Fishpond in Kahana Bay
has helped protect it from large waves. But there
have been several times when severe flooding andtsunami damaged the wall and filled the pond withsand and silt.
In the last 80 years, there were 4 tsunami thatcaused major damage to the fishpond. The worst
occurred in 1946 when waves broke the wall, filled
the pond with sand, and took several lives. Thepond was repaired after the tsunami of 1923, 1946,
and 1957 with the use of concrete at the mäkähä, butthere was little use of the fishpond after the 1960
tsunami. Sand has continued to fill the pond while“islands” of mangrove, hau, and bulrushes havebecome established.

Construction
and workingof the mäkähä
sluice gate.

The çamaçama (mullet) was the favorite fish in
the pond. Fingerlings (puaçama) were raised in theseparate pua pond before being released into thelarger pond. çAmaçama can live in salt, brackish, or
fresh water but need to be in the ocean to reproduce.