Hawaiʻi Bottomfish Heritage Project: 

Traditions and Fishery Development

Sarah Calhoun, Kirsten Leong, and Justin Hospital

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Marine Fisheries Service

Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-PIFSC-97

https://doi.org/10.25923/1s8m-z563

April 2020
ii

Hawaiʻi Bottomfish Heritage Project: 

Traditions and Fishery Development

Sarah Calhoun1

Kirsten Leong2

Justin Hospital2

1 Independent Consultant, The Baldwin Group, Inc. 

Santa Cruz, CA 95062

2 Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

National Marine Fisheries Service

1845 Wasp Boulevard

Honolulu, HI 96818

NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-PIFSC-97

April 2020

U.S. Department of Commerce

Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., Secretary

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Neil A. Jacobs, Ph.D., Acting NOAA Administrator

National Marine Fisheries Service

Chris Oliver, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries 
Recommended citation

Calhoun S, Leong K, Hospital J. 2020. Hawaiʻi bottomfish heritage project: traditions and 

fishery development. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA Technical Memorandum NOAA-TMNMFS-PIFSC-97, 54 p. doi:10.25923/1s8m-z563. 

Copies of this report are available from

Science Operations Division 

Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

National Marine Fisheries Service

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

1845 Wasp Boulevard, Building #176 

Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96818 

Or online at

https://repository.library.noaa.gov/

Cover: Photos courtesy of (Left to Right) Salvador Santos, Salvador Santos, Adam Ayers.

iii
iv

Table of Contents

List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. vi

List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... vii

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................... viii

INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1

METHODS ..................................................................................................................................... 3

Participant Recruitment and Data Collection ............................................................................. 3

Data Analysis.............................................................................................................................. 5

LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................... 6

A Brief History of the Hawaiian Bottomfish Fishery................................................................. 6

Human Dimensions of the Hawaiian Bottomfish Fishery .......................................................... 7

RESULTS ....................................................................................................................................... 8

Cultural Identity.......................................................................................................................... 8

Reason for Bottomfishing ....................................................................................................... 8

Giving Away Fish ................................................................................................................. 10

Public Perception of Fishermen ............................................................................................ 11

Evolution of Bottomfishing ...................................................................................................... 11

Changes in Technology and Fishing Techniques ................................................................. 12

Changes in Boats and Fleet Characteristics .......................................................................... 14

Regulatory Changes .............................................................................................................. 15

No Change ............................................................................................................................ 16

Community Resilience .............................................................................................................. 17

Community Connections: Social Networks and Generational Knowledge .......................... 17

External Pressures: Environmental ....................................................................................... 19

External Pressures: Market Influences.................................................................................. 21

Shared Ocean Spaces ............................................................................................................ 22

Self-regulation....................................................................................................................... 23

Future of Bottomfishing ........................................................................................................ 24

DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................................... 26

CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 28

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................ 29

LITERATURE CITED ................................................................................................................. 30

Appendix A: Interview Template for Deductive Coding .......................................................... 33

Appendix B: Social Network Analysis Sociograms ................................................................. 34

Appendix C: Initial Coding Guide ............................................................................................ 39
v 

Appendix D: Species in the Hawaiian bottomfish management unit species complex. ........... 40

Appendix E: Hawaiʻi Bottomfish Heritage Project Coding Rubric ......................................... 41
vi

List of Tables

Table 1. Communities and number of participants interviewed. .................................................... 3

Table 2. Participant demographics .................................................................................................. 4
vii

List of Figures

Figure 1. Project infographic describing interviewee statistics. ..................................................... 3

Figure 2. Maui sociogram ............................................................................................................. 34

Figure 3. Kauaʻi sociogram ........................................................................................................... 35

Figure 4. Oʻahu sociogram ........................................................................................................... 36

Figure 5. Hilo sociogram .............................................................................................................. 37

Figure 6. Kona sociogram ............................................................................................................. 38

Figure 7. Conceptual model of concepts used initially to guide coding ....................................... 39
viii

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report synthesizes the qualitative analysis of oral histories collected for the Hawaiʻi

Bottomfish Heritage Project. The Hawaiʻi Bottomfish Heritage Project is a collaborative effort 

between the Hawaiʻi bottomfish community, the Western Pacific Regional Fisheries 

Management Council, the Pacific Islands Fisheries Group (PIFG), and Pacific Islands Fisheries 

Science Center (PIFSC). The purpose of this study was to document local fisheries knowledge 

and cultural heritage for the bottomfish community, resource users, and fisheries managers. 

Findings contribute to the broader understanding of changing conditions over time and can be 

used to inform the sustainable management of the fishery. 

In early 2017, PIFG conducted 46 individual and group oral history interviews with 57 

bottomfish fishermen using a semi-structured interview format. Use of an interview guide 

allowed for collection of qualitative data that could be compared across multiple interviewees 

while allowing participants to speak to their personal experiences. Video ethnography was used 

to visually capture interviews, and select “Fisher Highlight” videos will be made publicly 

available and uploaded to the NOAA Voices from the Fisheries Database.1 Interviews were 

transcribed verbatim to allow for qualitative analysis and ensure participant’s stories were fully 

captured. Copies of interviews and transcripts were also provided to project participants. 

Thematic coding of interview transcripts was conducted using NVivo 12 Mac. Final analysis

resulted in 13 major themes with 38 supporting subthemes to illustrate the full breadth of 

findings within the analysis. A complete list of thematic findings and coding rationale has been 

provided in a coding rubric at the end of this report. Academic literature and previous socioeconomic assessments of the bottomfish fishery have been reviewed and used to frame and 

triangulate findings where applicable throughout the report. Findings aim to summarize the 

knowledge, culture, and traditions of local fishing communities on the islands of Maui, Hawaiʻi, 

Kauaʻi, and Oʻahu from the participants’ perspectives. In an effort to effectively describe the 

collective experiences of the bottomfishing community, results have been organized under three 

larger categories: Cultural Identity, Evolution of Bottomfishing, and Community Resilience. 

The first section of the results, Cultural Identity, highlights factors leading to cultural identity 

including motivations for bottomfishing, the practice of giving away fish, and concerns about the 

public perception of fishermen. Giving away fish was referenced by most participants as a 

predominant fishing motivation, often superseding the practice of selling fish, which 

demonstrates the dominant role of fish in maintaining the cultural identity of the bottomfish 

community. Other fishing motivations (e.g., income, food, fishing for fun, relaxing hobby) 

varied depending on the participant’s self-reported status as a full-time, part-time, or recreational 

fisherman and the personal timeframe for which a motivation is referenced (e.g., early career, 

post-retirement). 

The second section of the results, Evolution of Bottomfishing, sought to describe broader 

community changes (e.g., advancements in technology, changes in fleet dynamics, regulatory 

changes due to depleting fish stocks) and how the bottomfish community has adapted to such 

 

1 This collection is available at https://voices.nmfs.noaa.gov/collection/hawaii-bottomfish-heritage-project.
ix

changes while maintaining its cultural identity. “Changes in technology” was a prominent theme 

found within the data, described most frequently as the advent of navigation technologies (i.e., 

Loran-C and GPS). Participants had varying perspectives, both positive and negative, of what 

this means for bottomfishing and the future of the fishery. Many believed that advancements in 

technology may be to blame for a shift in knowledge sharing practices due to reduced 

dependence on community members for information exchange when new people enter the 

fishery. 

The third section of the results, Community Resilience, highlights the resilience of the bottomfish 

community to external changes and stressors. Community resilience is strengthened by social 

networks and the passing of local fishery knowledge, which have been referenced as ‘community 

connections’ within the results. Community connections are defined as the ways individuals 

connect with other fishermen and the wider community. Community ties among project 

participants appear to be island-specific, with few instances of sharing knowledge between 

Hawaiian Islands. Participants alluded to a delicate balance between sharing and protecting local 

fishery knowledge within their own communities, primarily due to the increased use of 

navigation and plotting technologies (mentioned above) and the ease by which fishing location 

information can be gleaned while on the water through technology such as GPS. 

Participants frequently spoke of external pressures such as weather, markets, and regulatory 

changes as drivers in dictating when, where, and how often to go fishing. When discussing 

regulatory changes, participants were most vocal regarding fishery closures (i.e., Bottomfish 

Restricted Fishing Areas (BRFAs) and closure of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI))

and how closures have impacted the fishery due to increased fishing pressure on fewer fishing 

areas. These observations support previous work that has shown negative socio-economic 

impacts associated with the loss of fishing grounds can result in loss of confidence with fishery 

managers and lower levels of regulatory compliance or cooperative behavior. 

This summary of findings illustrates the dynamic nature of the fishery and variations in how 

social phenomena are experienced. Findings presented in this report attempt to recognize 

variations in experience between individuals and island communities to avoid overgeneralization 

of the larger Hawaiian bottomfish community. 

Oral histories serve as a resource for the Hawaiʻi bottomfish community as a form of cultural 

preservation and knowledge transfer for future generations. When properly analyzed, they can 

also serve to document the collective experiences of an entire community for consideration in 

future fishery management plans, as required under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 

and Management Act. The Hawaiʻi Bottomfish Heritage Project could serve as a model for 

future research if there is interest from managers or the fishing community to better understand 

historical perspectives and thoughts on the future for regional fisheries. 
1 

INTRODUCTION

The Hawaiʻi bottomfish fishery is a unique small-scale fishery with rich traditions and strong 

social, cultural, and economic importance to the people of Hawaiʻi (Hospital and Beavers 2012; 

Severance 2010). Marine resource use, knowledge, and management in Hawaiʻi date back to precontact Hawaiian societies, which was documented by Native Hawaiian scholars in the late 

1800s and later by nonindigenous scholars spanning from 1908 to 2006 (Friedlander et al. 2013). 

More recent efforts to describe the history of the bottomfish fishery (Moffitt et al. 2008; Morioka 

and Yamada 2014; Williams 2014) have provided comprehensive reviews of regulatory changes 

and impacts, fishing effort, and biophysical characteristics. Although these studies include a 

historical perspective reflecting human dimensions of the fishery and evolution of fishing 

practices, a more thorough documentation of how modern-day traditions and cultural practices 

are influenced by changing social, economic, and environmental conditions is needed. 

In 2016, the Pacific Islands Fisheries Group (PIFG), Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center 

(PIFSC), Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, and members of the Hawaiʻi

bottomfish community launched a cooperative research proposal in an effort to address this 

knowledge gap. The Hawaiʻi Bottomfish Heritage Project was born out of this collaborative 

effort to document the modern-day traditions, culture, and evolution of the Hawaiʻi bottomfish 

fishery using local fishermen as a source of first-hand knowledge. 

Key objectives of the Hawaiʻi Bottomfish Heritage Project: 

• Develop a bottomfish fishing “family tree” to visualize knowledge transfer over time; 

• Document local knowledge and changes in fishing techniques, including rotation of 

fishing spots and introduction of new technologies; 

• Understand adaptations to weather, climate, and regulatory regimes; 

• Detail individual-level gear innovation; and 

• Record aspects of culture, practices, and traditions specific to modern-day bottomfish 

fishing, including social and cultural sharing of catch. 

Using the above research objectives as a guide, the purpose of the Hawaiʻi Bottomfish Heritage 

Project was to document this knowledge by collecting oral histories from expert fishermen to 

improve understanding of changes in the fishery over time. These could allow for consideration 

of traditional values and local knowledge in fishery management programs, improve our 

interpretation of historical commercial catch data, and support sustainable management for the 

future. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, documenting oral histories supports the 

preservation of traditional and local knowledge that is often lost as elders in the fishery or 

community pass away. Preserving historical knowledge can reinforce the cultural connection to 

the bottomfish fishery and marine environment, which can serve to sustain cultural pride and 

marine resource stewardship by future generations (Friedlander et al. 2013). 

Native Hawaiian fishing practices and traditions have been well documented (Jokiel et al. 2011) 

and there is evidence of these techniques in the modern-day bottomfish fishery (Spalding 2006). 

The term ‘traditional’ used in the context of this report is meant to describe the evolution of 

fishing techniques and gear as illustrated by interviewees over the span of their lifetimes. To 

describe the passing of knowledge and techniques among fishing community members, the term 
2 

“local fisheries knowledge” is used to describe historical knowledge tied to the Hawaiian Islands, 

acquired over a single lifetime and/or passed down through generations.2

 

The results of this study aim to document and describe the evolution of the modern-day 

bottomfish fishery using a comprehensive qualitative data analysis of the transcribed oral history 

interviews collected for this project.

 

2 https://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/lfkproject/02_c.definitions.htm
3 

METHODS

In 2017, the Pacific Islands Fisheries Group (PIFG) conducted a total of 46 semi-structured 

individual and group oral history interviews with 57 Hawaiʻi bottomfish fishermen on the islands 

of Maui, Hawaiʻi, Kauaʻi, and Oʻahu (Table 1). Interviews conducted on Hawaiʻi Island have 

been further categorized by community (i.e., Hilo and Kona). 

Table 1. Communities and number of participants interviewed. 

Kauaʻi n = 7

Oʻahu n = 20

Maui n = 14

Kona (Hawaiʻi) n = 9

Hilo (Hawaiʻi) n = 7

Total Participants n = 57

Figure 1. Project infographic describing interviewee statistics. 

Participant Recruitment and Data Collection

Participants were recruited by the Pacific Islands Fisheries Group. In an effort to document local 

fisheries knowledge before it is lost, purposive sampling of older fishermen was used to target an 

older demographic; however, younger fishermen were not excluded which resulted in a subset of 

interviews with individuals under the age of 50 (Table 2). Convenience sampling of Oʻahu
4 

fishermen occurred due to limitations of project resources, location of principal investigators, 

and higher population of bottomfish fishermen on Oʻahu, resulting in 20 of 57 participants 

representing communities around Oʻahu. In addition to individual interviews, two group 

interviews were conducted in Maui to document the history of the Maui Cooperative Fishing 

Association. Of the 46 interviews, 45 were transcribed verbatim resulting in 2,246 pages of 

qualitative data. The omitted interview was not transcribed due to communication issues as first 

language assistance was not available at the time of the interview. 

Table 2. Participant demographics

Age category Number of Participants Percent of Participants

<50 years 10 17%

50–70 years 26 46%

>70 years 21 37%

Total 57 100%

Oral history methodology was used to conduct interviews that allowed participants to talk freely 

through their history and lived experiences. Oral histories preserve traditional knowledge and 

document changes over time. Further, this type of social science methodology can support 

fisheries social impact assessments to help guide management and policy decisions (Calhoun et 

al. 2016; Colburn and Clay 2012). 

“Separately, each history provides an in-depth view into the professional and personal 

lives of individual participants. Together, they have the power to illuminate common 

themes, issues and concerns across diverse fishing communities over time. The Voices 

from the Fisheries Database is a powerful resource available to the public to inform, 

educate, and provide primary information for researchers interested in our local, human 

experience with the surrounding marine environment.”3

To better understand and document changes in the bottomfish fishery over time, a semistructured interview template (Appendix A) was used to guide interviews. Interview themes were 

developed collaboratively by PIFSC principal investigators, project partners, and bottomfish 

fishermen. Initial interview themes included: (a) deriving a Hawaiʻi bottomfish family tree, (b) 

changes in gear, technology, fishing methods and their relationship to catch rates, (c) timing of 

potential shifts in fishery knowledge with the loss of fishery elders/highliners, (d) perceived 

changes in weather, targeting, size-selectivity, species composition, and perceptions of 

abundance. 

In an effort to create a Hawaiʻi bottomfish family tree, additional forms were completed by 

participants to provide names of individuals that taught them to fish, who they fished with, and 

who they have or are currently teaching to fish. A social network analysis was completed using 

these participant forms, interview transcripts, and initial coding of themes related to community 

 

3 NOAA Oral history database. Retrieved March 9, 2020, from https://catalog.data.gov/dataset/oral-historydatabase. 
5 

connections and passing of knowledge. Sociograms were created to visualize the transfer of 

knowledge between interview participants and island communities (Appendix B).

Data Analysis

NVivo 12 Mac (QSR International) was used to organize, manage, and analyze the interview

data. A deductive approach to coding was initially used to group relevant text suggested by the 

interview questions and research objectives (Appendix C). Using Glaser and Strauss’ (Glaser and 

Strauss 1967) method of grounded-theory coding, an inductive approach was also used to 

generate repeating ideas and themes directly from the data. A second round of groupings was 

completed to refine the preliminary codes according to grounded theory discovery (Miles et al.

2014) and produce the narrative described within the results below. Project metadata is available 

through the NMFS InPort enterprise management system (PIFSC 2019). 
6 

LITERATURE REVIEW

A Brief History of the Hawaiian Bottomfish Fishery

The Hawaiʻi bottomfish fishery is a hook-and-line fishery with rich traditions and strong social, 

cultural, and economic importance to the people of Hawaiʻi (Friedlander et al. 2013; Glazier et 

al. 2013; Hospital and Beavers 2014; Severance 2010). The Hawaiʻi Bottomfish Management 

Unit Species complex consists of 14 species. Seven species (the Deep 7) are the most

economically and culturally important; therefore, the fishery is managed by this Deep 7 complex 

(see Appendix D). Fishery techniques can be traced to Native Hawaiian populations 

demonstrating harvesting patterns of the same deep-water species (Spalding 2006). However, 

changing economies, regulatory patterns, social structures, and environmental conditions have 

resulted in a constantly evolving industry. Today’s bottomfish fishery represents a mix of 

commercial, recreational, and subsistence fishermen often claiming more than one motivation for 

fishing (Hospital and Beavers 2011). 

In the 1940s and 50s, the bottomfish fishery was characterized by full-time fishermen, with 

vessel sizes ranging from small day-trip canoes to larger sampans4 that allowed fishermen to fish 

multi-day trips in harsher seas (Moffitt et al. 2008). With the advent of newer materials and 

technologies in the 1960s and 70s, boats transitioned from the more traditional large wooden 

sampan boats to more efficient fiberglass boats that could be easily trailered. Bottomfishing 

became less of a full-time career and the fleet saw an increase in part-time fishermen (Moffitt et 

al. 2008; Morioka and Yamada 2014). Evolution of boats and the resulting ability to fish 

unfavorable weather conditions also led to an increase in the amount of time that could be spent 

bottomfishing—deep ocean fishing became less dictated by the weather and more so by the 

markets.

Morioka and Yamada (2014) reference the 1970s as the beginning of the fishery evolution due to 

the introduction of GPS and hydraulic pullers. Though fishing techniques had remained 

relatively the same over the past 70 years, efficiencies in fishing practices were gained with 

advances in technology. Navigation technologies and depth finders allowed fishermen to find 

and return to productive fishing grounds much faster than traditional techniques such as 

‘landmarking’ (described in the Evolution of Bottomfishing section of the Results), although 

landmarking is still used as well. In addition to finding fishing grounds more efficiently, powerassisted line hauling, such as hydraulic pullers or electric reels, have increased the number of 

drops an individual can complete in a given fishing session (Moffitt et al. 2008). These advances 

in technology are not unique to the Hawaiian bottomfish fishery; however, they may play a 

significant role in altering fishing practices and interdependent community connections that are 

unique to the fishery. 

The Hawaiʻi bottomfish fishery has undergone various shifts in management due to overfishing, 

stock depletion, and establishment of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument 

(PMNM) in 2007 (Kikiloi et al. 2017). The bottomfish fishery, once an open access fishery, is 

now subject to bottomfish restricted fishing areas (BRFAs) and an annual catch limit (ACL). 

However, there are concerns from the fishing community that changes in the fishery are not 

 

4 A wooden-hulled fishing craft design introduced by Japanese fishermen in the early 1900s (Pooley 2006). 
7 

accurately reflected in current stock assessment models (Morioka and Yamada 2014), resulting 

in low levels of satisfaction with state and federal management (Hospital and Beavers 2011).

Human Dimensions of the Hawaiian Bottomfish Fishery

Socio-economic and cultural studies have been conducted on the bottomfish fishery dating back 

to the early 1970s (Hau 1984; Titcomb 1972) with earlier studies documenting Native Hawaiian 

fishing practices and social norms back to the late 1800s (Friedlander et al. 2013). A more recent 

literature review was conducted at the request of the Western Pacific Fishery Management 

Council in 2014 (Williams 2014) to document a ten-year span (2004–2014) of research on the 

bottomfish fishery. This particular review found twenty-four publications specific to the 

bottomfish species, habitat, and fishery in Hawaiʻi with only four publications representing the 

human dimensions of the bottomfish fishery. The review conducted by Williams supports the 

need for continued human dimensions research to document and support the socio-economic and 

cultural significance of the bottomfish fishery. 

U.S. fishery regulations require the inclusion of socioeconomic data for consideration within 

fisheries management plans through the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation Management 

Act National Standard 8 (16 U.S.C. § 1851 (a)(8)). The majority of socioeconomic studies 

conducted on the Hawaiʻi bottomfish fishery have been completed by the Pacific Islands 

Fisheries Science Center (Hospital and Beavers 2011, 2012; Hospital and Beavers 2014; Pan and 

Griesemer 2006). These studies focused on the realized and potential impacts of regulatory 

changes on local communities to support the “sustained participation of such communities” (16 

U.S.C. §1851(2)(8)) and highlight the varied motivations (beyond income) for participating in 

the fishery. A special issue of Pacific Science (vol. 67, no. 3) on the Human Dimensions of 

Small-Scale and Traditional Fisheries in the Asia-Pacific Region (Kittinger 2013) further 

explores the cultural aspects of social organization (e.g., sharing of seafood, fisher classification, 

and cultural perpetuation via social networks) within the bottomfish fishery to help inform 

fishery managers of community-based resource allocation practices (Allen 2013; Friedlander et 

al. 2013; Glazier et al. 2013; Vaughan and Vitousek 2013). Combined, these studies emphasized 

the cultural uniqueness and significance behind fisher participation. 

The above cited literature highlights numerous studies aimed at understanding the Hawaiian 

bottomfish fishery—socially, economically, and culturally. Many, if not all, of the authors 

reference the cultural significance of the fishery to Hawaiian communities, and benefits of 

considering cultural customs and local knowledge in fishery management efforts. The findings 

presented in this report are meant to reflect the knowledge, culture, and traditions of local fishing 

communities on the islands of Maui, Hawaiʻi, Kauaʻi, and Oʻahu from the participants’ personal, 

lived experiences. Additional references have been included within the results section to frame 

thematic findings and allow participant’s lived experiences to groundtruth findings within the 

literature.
8 

RESULTS

The following results reflect the complexities and dynamic nature of the Hawaiian bottomfish 

fishery. For example, project participants mentioned various classifications to describe fishing 

practices that ranged from full-time commercial, part-time commercial, recreational, subsistence, 

to sharing of catch. Classification of bottomfish boats ranged in size from 14 feet to 50 feet and 

have evolved over time from traditional wooden sampans to modern fiberglass boats. Some 

participants claimed to only fish bottomfish while others participate in multiple fisheries. 

Reasons for participating in the bottomfish fishery ranged from lifestyle or cultural reasons to 

strictly financial reasons. Fishing techniques varied by individual and community, often driven 

by weather conditions and currents (e.g., conditions conducive to certain species, determining 

whether to use techniques such as drifting vs. anchoring) or as a result of maintaining traditional 

practices. Changes in technology was a prominent theme found within the data, causing a shift in 

the way fishing is performed. Participants had differing views of what this meant for 

bottomfishing and the future of the fishery. This subset of responses exemplifies the diverse and 

dynamic nature of the fishery and variations in how social phenomena are experienced. 

In an effort to effectively describe the collective experiences of the bottomfish community, the 

results have been organized under three larger categories: Cultural Identity, Evolution of 

Bottomfishing, and Community Resilience. Verbatim quotes from interview transcripts have been 

used to accurately represent the voices of the bottomfish community and account for variations 

in experience. To protect interviewee identity, quotes have been attributed by island and a unique 

source ID. 

Thematic coding of interview transcripts resulted in 13 major themes and 38 supporting 

subthemes meant to illustrate the full breadth of findings within the analysis. The coding rubric 

includes a description of each theme and can be found in Appendix E. 

Cultural Identity

No, by far, bottom fishing is what defines who I am, and I'm just trying to carry it on for 

my grandfather and my dad. And you know, that's definitely -- that's what I want to do 

and that's what I love to do. And it's my livelihood. So I guess I don't really have a 

choice. – Maui, MA127 

Reason for Bottomfishing

Themes reflecting reasons for bottomfishing and self-identification represent the overlapping 

motivations for fishing often indicative of small-scale and subsistence fisheries (Allen 2013). 

Most participants had multiple reasons for bottomfishing and often highlighted fishing as “a way 

of life.” There does not appear to be a consistent pattern in the use of terms (i.e., full time, part 

time, subsistence, recreational), though part-time and full-time designations were most common. 

Some referenced part-time and recreational fishers as “weekend warriors.” Other fishing 

motivations were referenced as “fishing for fun,” “giving away fish to eat,” “supporting family,” 

and “paying expenses.” Each of these motivations represents a varying level of fishing acivity 

and may be associated with full-time, part-time, subsistence, and/or recreational fishing.
9 

My number one objective was to get fish to give away. And my number two objective --

well, I guess, number one is to eat. Number two, the extra, give away. And I rarely sold 

my bottomfish because I wasn't going out and catching big numbers. But if I did end up 

with large numbers, then I would sell it, and that was primarily to just make up some 

expenses. – Hilo, HI105 

I enjoy the ocean. I grew up fishing, you know, starting from small kid time with a 

bamboo pole. Then you progress into diving. I was mostly a diver until I got the boat. 

Then I enjoyed the boat. I enjoyed the company of the boat club people. And, you know, I 

enjoyed the sharing. – Oʻahu, OA141 

Well, when we first started out it was subsistence, yeah. As far as financial and food for 

the home, and sharing. So we give away more fish than we're selling. So at that time, I 

don't know if -- well, it was like our culture, tradition, that we give away. – Maui, MA122 

And then I'm not trying as hard as I used to because I don't have the incentive where I'm 

going to make, you know, X amount of money off Y amount of pounds. I know if I'm going 

to go, it's going to be great. I'm going to have a nice time, and stuff. But I don't look at it 

as like that drive to earn, which previously was there when I was a little younger, you 

know. – Kauaʻi, KA111 

Some fished predominantly for financial reasons, as a career choice.

Onaga paid for our house, paid for our car, sent me to college all at the same time. - 

Oʻahu, OA143 

I had a wife and kids, so that was my income, commercial fishing. So we'd keep the fish 

that weren't high value or one that had a shark bite, or something, or a little baby mahi 

mahi that we wouldn't get paid much for, that's what we'd bring home. – Kona, KO116 

I've been bottom fishing for about 30 years full time, and a lot of guys do it as a 

supplement to their income. I did it as my main income. So it's hard to make a living fulltime bottom fishing. The only way I could do it was to take it to the next level and go to 

the northwest. – Maui, MA125

Due to the larger subset of older participants interviewed for this study, there were numerous 

instances of participants only fishing recreationally for fun, for food, or to relax. 

I'm 76 years old. So, you know, I'm stretching my luck, but I want to stay healthy. So 

that's why I want to go, keep on going, do as much as I can, you know, as long as I can. 

– Hilo, HI103 
10

We're not hustling like before, yeah. We just catch our kau kau5 fish and we're happy, 

and after that, lucky, lucky. The main thing is something to eat when you go home. 

– Kona, KO115 

Sharing of catch was another primary motivation for fishing, often combined among other 

reasons like individual subsistence, recreational fishing with friends, and even in cases where 

fishing was economically driven. Giving away fish is a predominant fishing motivation unique to 

the region, often superseding the practice of selling fish within this particular group of fishery 

participants. 

Giving Away Fish

The practice of giving away fish was documented across all communities. Sharing fish was often 

referenced as instilling a sense of cultural pride in doing the right thing and providing for the 

community or elders. Primary reasons for giving away fish varied; some mentioned promoting 

fish to those who are not familiar with it, trading fish for maintenance or another service, 

providing for the family, a friend’s celebration, or giving to those that cannot catch fish 

themselves.

I kind of learned a little bit of that from my dad in the local culture here of just -- you 

know, you always give your neighbors. That's just a really important thing, your 

neighbors and your friends. And I've always done it. So instead of buying everybody 

Christmas presents, I'll go catch fish and, you know, it's easy. It's easy for me and makes 

me feel good and everybody's pumped. – Hilo, HI104 

Well, we've always been giving away. You know, you see how happy people are because 

quite often they can't afford it. And generally, especially they don't buy the red ones. So I 

feel like if I can give away onaga and ehu and people learn about onaga and ehu, they 

might buy one sometime. – Oʻahu, OA143 

Because part of that was I know a lot of fishermen don't talk about it, but for me, I feel 

really proud to be a fisherman like this, that I can catch this fish, I can provide fish for 

people to eat, people who can't go fishing, who can't catch fish. –Oʻahu, OA140 

The extent of giving away fish in the bottomfish fishery has been documented by Hospital et al. 

(2011), which found that “97% of 343 surveyed small-boat fishermen participated in fish sharing 

networks”. This finding extends to commercial fishery highliners where nearly 15% of catch is 

retained for participation in traditional fish-sharing networks and customary exchange (Hospital 

and Beavers 2012). 

And in those days, we never sold a fish. We fished all day and we come back in. It was 

like a party every time. They had the rice. They had the guys making the vegetables, 

everything ready, the fire going. The fish would go right on the fire, and everybody sit 

down and drink and eat. – Maui, MA120 

 

5 Hawaiian word meaning “to eat” or “food.”
11

... when I started in the '80s, generally, I'd say about 75 percent went to the market, keep 

some to give my family and friends, that's mainly 25 percent... Whatever mom wanted to 

eat, that's what didn't go on the market. And we do like at least one trip just before New 

Year’s, and whatever we catch, the whole load, we just give it away. So I think the most 

we gave away, one year was almost like 1,000 pounds we gave away. – Hilo, HI107 

Public Perception of Fishermen

Though not a high-frequency theme within the data, reflections on how the public perceive 

fishermen was mentioned enough times it was worth noting. The consensus among participants 

was that the public viewed fishermen negatively, as unforgiving bandits of the sea. This notion is 

contradictory to the feeling of pride when providing food for the community. Some mentioned a 

need for increased understanding about the practice of bottomfishing to confront misconceptions 

about the role of “fishermen.” 

Well, just people -- maybe some people, they don't like the fishermen, the way we do 

things, or whatever. But they need to be more educated..., to really know what's going on 

out there. We're not on big ships and processing – a boat that we can process, and stuff. 

We're on little boats and we're fishing by ourselves. We're fishing with just a line and a 

hook. –Kauaʻi, KA110 

But we fish because we love it, and that's our passion, and we're not out there just trying 

to kill things. But I think the perception is it seems like they're even teaching in schools 

that how the oceans are overfished, and these guys are catching too many fish. But I think 

it's all – there's like a freight train of people that want to help the world and are just 

jumping on the bandwagon. But they really should be informed about the things that we 

do. – Oʻahu, OA135 

Every single bit of it, even stuff that comes from outside is because of commercial fishing, 

and that's what the general public has to understand. They've got to get to know that. And 

it's not some big cooperation. It's guys like you. It's not some huge company, like Dole, or 

whatever, yeah. It's individual fishermen working really hard at a job that most people 

don't want to do. – Maui, MA124 

Evolution of Bottomfishing

Evolution of modern-day bottomfishing is represented at the individual level and broader 

community level. At the individual level, many interviewees mentioned the progression of their 

fishing career and knowledge from family fishing, diving, buying their first small boat, 

eventually leading to a larger boat or sampan, which sometimes catalyzed the transition of 

recreational fishing practices to part-time or full-time commercial. 

My first one [boat] was a 24 Radon. Then I got a 31 Radon, and I started going offshore 

anywhere from 280 mile, 140 mile out. But the boat kept -- you know, my boats kept 

getting too small for me. I kept plugging them and just coming in with loads. And then I 
12

got a 42, and that was really difficult to fill. But we'd catch 12,000 pounds in five hours.6

– Kona, KO116 

Well, it's changed dramatically. Back in the day, we only fished for the day. It was more 

of a weekend thing, because my father worked and my grandfather was retired. Go out in 

the morning, come back four or five in the afternoon... And as I started going on my own 

as a teenager and in my early 20s, I started to fish at night... And I was targeting only 

ʻōpakapaka. So that's how that started. And then I got a bigger boat and I started 

targeting onaga. Then it turned into where we are today, we're out there for two days and 

one night, and it's mainly because we want our fish to be really nice and fresh when we 

come in for the restaurant. – Maui, MA127

Any fisherman, you got to evolve, right. You've got to figure it out and then figure it out 

some more and figure it out some more. It's never ending. Till today, I'm still figuring it 

out, yeah. – Hilo, HI106 

At the community level, much of the evolutionary patterns occurred as a result of technological 

advancements often resulting in new gear and fishing techniques and changes in fisheries 

management. Findings are consistent with other historical narratives such as those provided by 

Moffitt et al. (2008) and Morioka and Yamada (2014). 

Changes in Technology and Fishing Techniques

Prior to the advent of GPS in the early 1970s, fishermen depended on the practice of “landmark 

fishing,” a method of triangulating your position from shore using landmarks such as mountains, 

buildings, or other non-moving markers. Landmarking was used to mark fishing grounds once a 

productive spot was found. This method of trial and error took patience and perseverance to 

discover new spots. Landmarks were considered prized fishing knowledge and only passed on to 

family members or individuals having earned the required trust to keep spots secret and wellprotected (see Shared Ocean Spaces section).

And back then, too, we didn't have GPS. So we needed to use landmarks, real landmarks. 

The landmarks would change if somebody built a house or tore down a house or tore 

down a tree. You know, so it changed with the technology. – Hilo, HI105 

And triangulating, and I could still never master. He would go to a place in the middle of 

nowhere and you only got two sights that I could really align with. But he would figure it 

out, and tell me, you're still the wrong place, come over here. And you'd steam back, and 

sure enough, he'd say, drop here. And you drop, and you find it – and it's a pinnacle in 

the middle of nowhere. – Oʻahu, OA139 

Navigation technologies like GPS and the Loran-C7

 allowed fishermen to find and return to 

productive fishing grounds much faster than traditional techniques resulting in more fishing time 

 

6 The increased catch of 12,000 pounds in five hours occurred when the interviewee had switched to targeting tuna.

7 Loran-C was a long-range navigation and positioning system developed in World War II and pre-dated GPS 

technology. https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/updates/navigating-waters-before-gps-why-some-mariners-stillrefer-to-loran-c/ Accessed August 30, 2019.
13

and less reliance on the coveted knowledge of productive fishing grounds previously held by 

veteran fishermen.

Well, I remember in the '80s, they came out with the Loran-C, and then a couple years 

later they came out with all these plotters, color recorders and GPS. So you know, it 

made fishing much easier because now you know the exact spot where you caught, you 

know the depth. And these recorders today is unreal. You can see the fish. You know, like 

the old days, it was all by Hawaiian eye, you know, all by landmark. – Maui, MA126 

Then GPS came along, we didn't have to search anywhere. We'd just go (indicating) right 

there. So it saved us a whole bunch of time, which translates to more fishing time. So we 

thought, gee, we've got three, four times more fishing time, we're going to catch three, 

four times more fish. But we found out that wasn't necessarily true because the fish don't 

bite the same all day long. – Oʻahu, OA101 

Tremendous. Absolute night and day. I could be fishing in the right area, but because I 

didn't have the right technology, I wasn't finding the right bottom. And these bottom 

areas could be just the size of the house. So if you're not looking at the bottom correctly, 

you're fishing in the muddy area right on the side and you're not going to catch anything. 

– Hilo, HI105 

While navigation technologies altered the traditional practices of finding (and sharing) fishing 

grounds, it was the emergence of electric reels that led to the transition from more traditional 

handlining techniques. Previously, fishermen sent fishing line anywhere from 250 to 1000 feet 

deep keeping their hand on the line to feel the bite and currents, then haul up the line by hand 

with as many as 20 hooks. Power assisted line hauling reduced the manpower needed to haul in 

fish and increased the efficiency of handlining. However, as efficiencies are gained, traditional 

aspects of handlining may be lost. 

We were hooking uku, and then late at night we were holding the line. We were falling 

asleep because late. I remember he get a bite, this is ulua. The thing just ran through his 

hand. You know, the handline, that's all we used. We never had machine at those time, 

handline. I look at the line running through his hand, I thought, I thought there was 

smoke in his hand. I mean, like burning. There is a mist coming up, and he holds the line 

(indicating). That's fun. – Maui, MA123 

You can get more fish now, I think, yeah. Because it's pretty much hands free, yeah. Once 

you turn the reel on, you can kind of leave it and do other stuff. Your efficiency improves, 

right. You can cut bait, put away the other fish. – Oʻahu, OA139

The electric pinch-pullers, that was great when they came out with that. I think if they get 

rid of electric pinchers, and people have to go back and either pull by hand or go with 

the hydraulic, half of the fleet wouldn't fish. They would go right back to shoreline. 

Because a lot of guys that go in deep water was all handline, you know, shallow water. 

But when the electric pinchers came out, then everybody started going to deeper water. – 

Maui, MA119 
14

So it's not the same. And even though they've got some hydraulics, a lot of them have got 

electric reels, nobody is handlining anymore, but still you find an awful lot of guys going 

more shallow. So they'll fish for the paka first. They don't fish for the onaga, the deeper 

stuff quite so often, and I think it's because of the time they've got on the spot and then the 

retrieval method that they've got. Electric reels are -- they work. They work, but not as 

good for deep fishing with a heavy weight with bigger fish. So the nature of the fishing 

has changed, and that's got import for the future of the fishery that we don't even know. -

Oʻahu, OA131 

Although the majority of interviewees spoke positively about changes in technology, some were 

more hesitant of increased fishing efficiency benefiting the fishery. These concerns were 

sometimes a result of a belief that current generations have it too easy without the need to put in 

the same effort to find productive fishing spots. Others mentioned that misuse of technology 

could lead to a depletion of fishing grounds in a short amount of time. 

Equipment made a big difference in the fishery because now people who don't know how 

to fish can come by you and because you on the ocean, no can tell them to go away. 

They'll come by you and press save. And they might not fish that day, but next time you go 

there, going to get 40 boats that came with their friends over there. So it's changed, not 

like before. – Oʻahu, OA136 

No, the technology today, like the fish don't have any chance. You know, before time, like 

I said, it's like all landmarks. Now with the depth recorder, you can pinpoint. And the 

type of technology today is like looking at that so-called recorder can tell you what kind 

of fish it is on the bottom. So that is, you know, technology is awesome. But a part is like I 

said now, it all depends on the technology of who is using them, because commercial can 

wipe out our grounds within so many months. – Hilo, HI102 

Changes in Boats and Fleet Characteristics

Changes documented by participants were not limited to fishery techniques and technology, but 

included the bottomfishing fleet as a whole. Characteristics of the fleet changed with the 

emergence of smaller, fiberglass boats, a stark shift from the traditional large, wooden sampans 

of the early- to mid-1900s. The newer vessels coupled with technology are able to reach fishing 

grounds faster and take advantage of weather windows but cannot endure larger storms. 

Participants’ perspective of changes in the Hawaiian bottomfishing fleet support changes 

highlighted by Moffitt et al. (2008), related to shorter and more efficient trips. 

Because the fleet now has changed. They have fast smaller boats and faster boats. There 

are very few larger boats, but they all go -- they leave at dawn, and they be home by 

1:00, 2:00 o'clock in the morning. I say, why you guys no stay out at night and then catch 

the 3:00, 4:00 o'clock bite again and then in the early morning come home. But they said 

the traffic down the harbor is part of the problem. – Maui, MA122 

So the fishing has changed a lot. It's fast, hit 'em now, move, move, move, move, fish, 

drift, fish, fish, catch some here, move, fish, and that's how they're doing it. And some of 

them stay overnight. But the majority, maybe if they stay one night, come home next 

morning. They're not fishing like we do anymore. In a way I cannot blame them because 
15

their boats are different. They're fiberglass. They're light. You know, our sampans are 

heavy. – Maui, MA120

Well, like for us, it's totally weather-dependent because we're a small-boat fishery now. 

In the past, the bigger boats, they had range. They could go outside the local weather. Or 

they could weather the storms. But today's fishery is more an overnight type of thing, 

one-day fishery with a lot smaller, faster boats. So we're more weather-dependent. 

– Oʻahu, OA101 

Plus, generally, they would anchor. When you have a bigger boat like that and you 

anchor, you can pretty much stay in all kinds of conditions. In a small boat, you cannot 

take a chance, yeah. – Oʻahu, OA139 

Regulatory Changes

The Hawaiian bottomfish fishery has undergone various regulatory changes since the early 

1980s, which have been highlighted by Morioka and Yamada (2014) using a comprehensive 

regulatory timeline spanning from 1982 to 2014. Participants were most vocal regarding fishery 

closures, or Bottomfish Restricted Fishing Areas (BRFAs), and subsequent impacts to the fishery 

due to increased fishing pressure on fewer fishing zones. 

Because people are the way people are, in an area that would space out maybe 10 guys 

every month for the whole year, now you've got 100 guys for two weeks, and then it goes 

back. So this closed area/open area, you're taking the same number of fishermen, we're 

not going to stop fishing, you exclude us from a certain area, we add more pressure to 

another area. – Oʻahu, OA101 

The establishment of the restricted fishing areas has changed that, and I understand the 

fact that they need to rest areas, but to have it closed for years on end with no opening in 

sight is, in my opinion, counter-productive, because then you have people poaching and 

they're taking the chance that they're not going to get caught. – Hilo, HI105 

Yeah, there's a lot less full-time commercial guys now, especially for the bottomfish 

fishery because of the regulations that we had. When they put in those closed areas, that 

killed off pretty much the rest of our sampan fishermen and our old-time guys. – Oʻahu, 

OA140 

Another critical management change affecting the bottomfish fishery participants in this study 

was the closure of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) fishery in 2010. Although some 

bottomfish fishermen refocused their fishing efforts to the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) zone, 

the closure resulted in a decrease of full-time fishermen within the bottomfish fleet (Friedlander 

et al. 2014; Pooley 2006; WPRFMC 2016). 

So it was pretty hard for me, an older person, the end of my career, to be forced out of 

that work. The government offered us a formula of how to buy us out, which was based 

on previous gross and previous trips, which we didn't make any money on anyway. So, 

obviously, they didn't pay us enough money for giving up that right to be able to fish 

there. So I feel pretty hurt about that. – Kauaʻi, KA111 
16

I would love to be one of the guys to go back up there (NWHI). I would think they should 

give us guys like first chance, you know, being that I used to fish up there, this is what my 

dad taught me. I didn't go to college. This is all I did, was commercial fish, build boats, 

fix all our own boats. – Kauaʻi, KA110 

Few participants had positive things to say about the NWHI closure. They hope to see a rebound 

of bottomfish in the coming years. 

I think since they closed the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, my personal opinion, I think 

we're going to have more fish in about another -- maybe like 10 or 15 years. – Oʻahu, 

OA144 

Given the participants’ excitement to share stories of fishing the NWHI, it is not surprising that 

many are still bitter over what has now been almost a decade of restricted fishing. Many 

participants spoke of the massive size of fish, unique wildlife, and large numbers of fish making 

the long-haul worth it. One fisherman called it “the wild, wild west.” 

No Change

Although the majority of participants described some aspect of evolution in fishing practices, 

changes in fleet characteristics, or impacts of changing regulations, there are a few instances in 

which the fishery was described as remaining the same. This is likely a result of older fishermen 

maintaining their tried and true traditional gear and techniques and passing this knowledge to 

younger generations that choose to continue fishing using these methods. 

The style of fishing and the gear hasn't really changed, just maybe some swivel 

improvements and, you know. But it's generally the same kaka line8 we've been using for 

the last 30 years. The same gear I used in the north, I use here, and it works, you know. 

So it's basically the same rig. I use four hooks. You've got lead, four hooks and a chum 

bag, that's basically -- some guys use more hooks or less, but that fishery hasn't changed 

much in all these years. – Maui, MA124 

If I could show you a picture of my gear that I used in the '90s compared to the gear that 

I use now, you would say there's no difference. – Oʻahu, OA145 

I'm pretty sure the rigs are exact -- almost exactly to what the old-time fishermen taught 

us, it's just the difference is our hustling efforts is a lot more than sitting on one spot and 

paluing [chumming method], that's the biggest difference. – Maui, MA128 

Whether change is perceived or not, the adaptive capacity of small-scale fisheries in the face of 

these evolving practices and external pressures is critical to community well-being. The 

following section speaks to the cultural and community connections held by bottomfish 

fishermen, which can contribute to community resilience.

 

8 Fishing with gear consisting of a mainline less than one nautical mile in length to which are attached multiple 

branch lines with baited hooks. Mainline is set vertically, and fixed on or near the bottom, or in shallow water.
17

Community Resilience

It is clear from the interviews and supporting literature that the cultural and community 

connections between individuals are integral to the social fabric of the bottomfish fishery and 

contribute to cultural continuity.

The major theme of community connections can broadly be defined as the ways in which

individuals connect with other fishermen, the wider community, and engage in cooperative 

settings (e.g., fishing co-ops or clubs, cooperative research, or providing fish to the community). 

Community connections within the bottomfish fishery are further defined by the transfer of 

generational knowledge between individuals and family members. From this subset of 

interviews, community ties appear to be island-specific, with few instances of sharing knowledge 

or connecting with fishermen on other Hawaiian Islands. The lack of inter-island connections 

was also noted in the family-tree forms and social network analysis sociograms, where only one 

or two individuals were referenced as bridging a connection between island communities 

(Appendix B).

Additional themes around adapting to environmental and market changes, shared ocean spaces, 

and self-regulation practices are highlighted to reflect individual and community resilience to 

external pressures.

Community Connections: Social Networks and Generational Knowledge

Passing of knowledge and community connections are two major themes that have significant 

overlap and help to inform the social network analysis, or Hawaiʻi Bottomfish Family Tree 

(Appendix B). Sub-themes specific to “taught to fish” and “teaching to fish” are synonymous 

with the family tree worksheets completed by the interview participants. Additional data were

coded to reflect bottomfishing skills or traditional knowledge handed down by their fishing 

predecessors.

The following quotes highlight the importance of social networks in maintaining the unique 

social fabric deemed important by fishery participants. 

It was a community. When we dry dock, everybody would help each other. Everybody 

would help bring up the boats, you know. And you'd always make a party. After you bring 

up the boat, everybody gets fed. You drink beer, you have pupus [appetizers], and 

everything. Everybody would be for the boat. It's lost today. You don't see that. You don't 

see that anymore. – Maui, MA120 

Because this is -- it's not a real big fishery in Hawaiʻi, but it's very important. It's a small 

group of fishermen and it would be a shame to lose all of this knowledge or the stories, 

and everything, about how this has affected our communities, and everything, because it 

does. – Oʻahu, OA140 

They don't share too openly at the beginning, but once you get to know people, they open 

up. It's a special -- the fishing community is a special community to me, you know. And 

the people who don't fish probably will never understand the interaction of the fishing 

community among ourselves. – Oʻahu, OA137 
18

Knowledge transfer occurs between family members or between community members and 

friends. When participants mentioned learning from their parents or grandparents, it was coded 

under “generational fishing.” Many participants mentioned the importance of sharing knowledge 

due to the constant trial and error and steeper learning curve involved with obtaining necessary 

bottomfishing skills. 

And my nephews and nieces all go with us now, you know, the younger generation. We're 

trying to get them interested in what's going on. So my niece took diving lessons, and 

she's getting into it, which you know, my younger brother, he dives. We kind of like --

because the uncles are kind of like to keep her in the loop, you know, as a fishing family. 

– Oʻahu, OA130 

And when you get together with all your friends, your bottom fishing friends, or 

whatever, and you talk story and that's where it really comes out. It's like, oh, yeah, one 

time I was doing this, or whatever, and then I caught that. And so, oh, every time after 

that I started doing that or I did notice it for other kinds of fishing, or something, you 

know. – Oʻahu, OA140 

A few participants deemed the fishery to be left in careless hands (lack of confidence in next 

generation fishermen) and chose to keep their knowledge to themselves. Building trust and 

respect within a community is referenced as a criterion for whether fishermen will share their 

knowledge. 

No. Kona fishermen, they always keep to themselves. They don't ask you, where is a good 

spot. Maybe they know that nobody is going to tell you where a good spot is. So we don't 

talk about, where is good fishing. – Kona, KO114 

And you won't be giving away any secrets? Oh, no, no, no. Part of my responsibility is to 

take it to the grave with me when I'm done. – Oʻahu, OA134 

If you're a new guy, you didn't get much information. But as you become friendlier and 

friendlier, they'll show you things. Like they'll show you how you tie the flies, the different 

things that enhance the bite, like luminosity, stuff like that. And after a while they'll talk 

to you about bottom fishing, what to look for, where to go, how to read your lines. 

– Oʻahu, OA141 

Individuals from the Maui Cooperative Fishing Association (coop) were interviewed in a subset 

of oral histories collected, which provided another look into community connections within the 

bottomfish fishery. In this case, a fishing cooperative led to community resilience when 

individuals banded together to leverage their position when challenged with prevailing market 

prices. 

It wasn't a coop, it was just all the fishermen at that time selling fish to different markets, 

and we were getting pretty screwed because the markets would apparently dictate price 

to us and we really had no place to go, and that's when we decided to form a coop and 

stick together so we had some power and we had some say in the fish-selling business. 

– Maui, MA124 
19

The coop has changed from what it started to be when it first started and what the coop is 

today. So being the coop now is coming to more of a club environment, hopefully, we can 

get more younger guys in. And I'm pretty sure if we can get the guys, the club will stay 

along. – Maui, MA128 

The coop has been good to me. So I kind of think I need to hang on, thanks to [name 

redacted] for pulling me into something that's a good thing. We're trying to get the 

younger generation to realize that the fishing industry is going to die if they don't 

cooperate and know what the heck is happening outside of their little boxes. – Maui, 

MA125 

The data clearly show that community connections and passing of knowledge have been 

important traditions in the bottomfish fishery, though some participants hint that this social fabric 

is a thing of the past. Others mention the desire to pass knowledge down to the next generation 

so it may experience and help sustain the fishery. Transfer of local knowledge can serve to 

strengthen community connections, increasing resilience of communities adapting to social, 

economic, and cultural change. However, local fisheries knowledge is not restricted to 

community connections; it can also contribute to resilience against external stressors including 

interactions with the local environment and market pressures. 

External Pressures: Environmental

The Hawaiian bottomfish community has long been accustomed to dealing with fluctuating, and 

often unforgiving, environmental conditions. Morioka and Yamada (2014) reference claims of 

bottomfish fishermen asserting that wind and weather are the true managers of the fishery. 

Over here, we’re regulated by the ocean. – Kauaʻi, KA110 

Bottomfish fishermen have acquired a set of skills and techniques specific to addressing 

environmental stressors such as currents, wind, fluctuating fish stocks, and temperature. These 

factors have been referenced by study participants as playing a crucial role in driving the various 

fishing techniques employed (i.e., anchoring versus drift fishing), ability to find productive 

fishing grounds, choosing where to fish, and deciding when weather conditions pose too high a 

risk.

You know, there's current. There's the boat handling and how you set up. Because the 

bottom fishing is so deep -- if the current is doing six knots,9 and you go right on the spot 

and you drop the line, you'll be off the spot by the time the line reaches the bottom. So 

you have to know how to go up current and upwind and hold the boat straight. – Hilo, 

HI104 

Right outside here, was a tremendous fishing ground for ʻōpakapaka and gindai and 

hapuʻupuʻu. But it’s very close, and during rough weather it’s easy to fish. So people 

 

9 A six-knot current would be rare, 2.5–3.5 knots is more typical. The six-knot example was likely used for effect to 

illustrate the importance of understanding the interaction between currents and location.
20

tend to cluster up to the place. Say, from 2008 to 2010, that place was hit so hard it’s 

depleted now. – Hilo, 2015 

If no more wind and no more current, then it’s a lot easier to just drift over the spot 

because you move real slow. But if there’s a little wind or the current pretty strong, then I 

would tend to anchor sooner and just fish that way. – Maui, 2009

So if I know I’m going to fish by myself, bottomfish, if I plan to anchor on that trip, like I 

do look for a lot nicer weather. Anchoring is really dangerous. – Oʻahu, OA135 

A few participants took the opportunity to share environmental changes they have witnessed 

through their own fishing experiences. 

You know, before time, to me, the seasons were like -- you could see the seasons, you 

know. Wintertime would get rough. Summertime would get nice. But the last few years I 

fished up there, it doesn't matter. Like it comes rough all year-round. And before, when it 

gets rough, you would anchor up for a day, two days at the most, and it would pass 

through, right. But lately, I don't know if because of pollution, or what, but everything is 

jammed up, you know. Like we'd sit on anchor for five days because it's blowing like 60 

knots, like that, you know, 30-foot seas. We cannot fish. – Kauaʻi, KA109 

I kind of kept track on the water temperatures and the currents. For the longest time that 

I know, the currents used to run parallel with the islands, and it doesn't anymore. It goes 

straight inshore and straight offshore. It never happened before. Then the water 

temperature, you kind of notice that the warmer water is sometimes lasting a lot longer 

than it should to the winter months, which I would think would keep the fish on the deeper 

side in the colder water. – Oʻahu, OA130 

Many fishermen referenced the ability to read currents and handle a boat in harsh weather as 

necessary skills for successful bottomfishing. There were variations in the level of risk that 

individuals were willing to take when confronted with high winds and strong currents, often 

dictated by vessel capacity. 

If 15, 20 [knots], I still go because I have to make a living. I'll go. I'm very 

uncomfortable, but it's risky because sometimes if the wave breaks in the boat, you don't 

know what is going to happen. So everything depends on the weather for fishermen. – 

Oʻahu, OA136 

To know bottomfish, learn the current, how fast, you know, and know weather. If you get 

a small boat, you cannot fish bottomfish because it gets rough. – Kona, KO117 

Other fishermen chose to fish in harsher weather conditions because market prices would 

increase due to limited access to the fishery. While some individuals made the choice to fish 

harsh ocean conditions, others went due to economic necessity, for example, when they had 

contracts to supply fish regardless of conditions. 

Because we knew that when the wind came to blow for a week or two, prices were going 

to go up because guys weren't going to go out. So we jump on the old [boat name 
21

redacted], you know. And we'd actually go trolling on the [boat name redacted], too, 

because it was a sampan. It was built for 25-knot winds, 10, 15-foot seas, that's what it 

was built for. – Oʻahu, OA131 

But yet, it's a big commitment for us to know that when the demand side comes, and it is 

blowing 30 knots, we have to go fishing. We don't really have a choice. – Maui, MA127 

External Pressures: Market Influences

Market considerations were often interlinked with other themes, for example, fishing in bad 

weather to meet market demands (referenced above), lack of market diversity driving fishing 

pressure on specific stocks, and market influences on targeting specific species and sizes. 

Generally, the higher the demand the higher the price at the auction. If there's a big 

convention or there's like a holiday, New Year's, red fish, onaga, culturally that's a fish 

that everybody wants to eat during the New Year's. So I try to target that fish and be in at 

least three days before New Year's and you get a higher price. – Maui, MA125 

We're not selling our fish as a filet to, say, like a fish market, or anything like that. We're 

selling it to the tourist as a plate, and it's definitely a different outlook on the fish sales, 

for sure. Because at that point, we're targeting different sizes because of the filet fish and 

how it presents itself on a plate. – Maui, MA127 

Multiple participants referenced weather and prices as the primary drivers of fishing. Individuals 

that fished commercially appeared to be more likely impacted by market demands and 

fluctuating prices while recreational or subsistence fishing trips were often driven by weather. 

This is supported by a study previously conducted by Hospital and Beavers (2011) that shows 

agreement among fishery highliners in fishing in “less safe sea conditions,” whereas 

noncommercial fishermen did not find themselves fishing in less safe conditions overall.

Weather first and foremost. Other things that dictate [fishing trips] is prices. If you know 

the fish are biting, then you might push it a little bit and say, you know what, I might be 

able to manage it with the weather and the currents. – Oʻahu, OA135 

You know, once in a while, a couple of markets do call me that I sell to and I'll go and 

catch for them, like Christmas or New Year, even if it's rough. Like this past Christmas 

had gales and, you know, 30-knot winds, and all that. But, you know, we went out. 

– Maui, MA126 

The market demand for red fish, onaga, has a major influence on determining when to fish, 

especially around the holidays as mentioned in the quote above. Onaga is a cultural icon in 

Hawaiʻi, rooted in Japanese culture of decorating whole onaga on a centerpiece for celebrations 

such as weddings and holidays. Red fish is meant to symbolize longevity, abundance, and good 

health. 

I usually start about middle of November because the demand during -- for the tradition 

of having a red fish on the table in December and January, for the New Year and 

Christmas. – Hilo, HI107 
22

Because the bigger the fish, the better marriage you're going to have, that's the way we 

look at it. So we try to target, like I said, mostly red fish. And if it is going to a wedding, 

we target bigger fish, yeah, rather than smaller fish. – Oʻahu, OA136 

Catching for holidays, you know. You give red fish to people on the holidays, wow. Once 

I caught a whole load of ʻōpakapaka right before Christmas, and I pass out some to my 

customers who used to buy akule all the time. So this is something they don't see very 

often. So, you know, it was a real treat for them. – Oʻahu, OA141 

Although the demand for onaga is highest in December, one participant mentioned that the 

winter is not the best season for harvesting it. 

As far as the bottom fishing goes -- New Year's really isn't the season for it. It's just the 

time when the money is the highest. So that's when most guys go and do it. – Hilo, HI104 

In addition to the external processes at play, the Hawaiian bottomfish fishermen are subject to 

sharing fishing grounds and marine fauna with an increasing number of ocean actors. Ocean 

spaces are shared among fellow bottomfish fishermen, other types of fishing activities, tourism 

(e.g., cruise ships, dive boats, whale watching excursions), marine protected areas, military 

presence, oceanic shipping practices, etc. Sharing of ocean spaces is further complicated by the 

traditional practices of hiding and protecting fishing grounds. 

Shared Ocean Spaces

The major theme of shared ocean spaces is primarily composed of two sub-themes: shared 

fishing grounds or “spots” and interactions with other boats. Interactions with non-bottomfish 

fishing vessels out at sea are mentioned less frequently but speak to the complexity of sharing 

ocean spaces and additional safety considerations needed for fishing at night. 

The fishing grounds sub-theme stems from concerns around protecting spots from other 

bottomfish fishermen, a form of competitive advantage and secrecy indicative of fleet dynamics. 

Productive fishing grounds were considered coveted fishing knowledge and only passed on to 

family members or individuals having earned sufficient trust to keep spots secret and wellmanaged. This has become more complicated over time with the advent of GPS (see section on 

Changes in Technology and Fishing Techniques) and has resulted in a lack of trust between 

some older and newer entry fishermen. Use of GPS and recorders is noted as having eliminated 

the hard work of finding productive fishing grounds and the trial and error that comes with it. 

And the modern technology nowadays is ruining everything. So they go over there and 

when they see you fishing, they go right past you and they push their little button. And the 

next time you go there, they're there. – Oʻahu, OA130 

And you're fishing one spot, and if you see one boat coming, you would drift away, and 

they don't know where you're fishing. But when the GPS came out, sometimes a trolling 

boat comes by, and he marks it. So next time you go, there's somebody there already. 

– Kona, KO114 
23

Some participants mentioned the technique of “faking” anchoring in one place while waiting for 

a boat to pass so as not to give away the location of productive fishing grounds. Privileged 

knowledge of fishing spots was referenced as being passed down through families and fishing 

mentors only when trust has been earned. 

I used to go up Hamakua [northeast coast of Hawaiʻi island] a lot, me and my dad, and 

then -- I don't know how many guys tried following us. Even had guys from Maui would 

come over from Maui side and try to find our areas. We just throw the anchor and let it 

drag, and wherever it stuck, we just fished right there. Whether they bite or not, we'd just 

stay there until they left, then we'd start fishing. – Hilo, HI107 

So bottom fishing, a little bit different story. Everybody is trying to hide. Everybody 

doesn't want to be seen. They want to turn out their lights. But that's been traditional in 

Hawaiʻi, that attitude that if you go -- the old days, you would go near a bottomfish spot, 

the guy would pull his anchor and some people have gone as far as cutting their anchor 

ropes so you're not finding out where they are. – Kauaʻi, KA111 

Some of these are spots that I've learned from 30, 40 years, I mean. I want to preserve 

them for like my grandchildren. I mean, if you know and you find out, that's great. But 

certain areas, I wouldn't want to tell anybody. I mean, I don't want to sound selfish, but. 

– Maui, MA126 

Reluctance to share fishing grounds can further be linked to the practice of rotating spots to keep 

fishing grounds from becoming overfished. 

Self-regulation

Interviewees discussed what precautions, if any, they take to ensure the sustainability of the 

bottomfish stocks. Although some individuals mentioned targeting larger size fish and avoiding 

juvenile hot spots, “rotating spots” was mentioned most frequently. Rotating or resting fishing 

grounds is a common technique used by many of the bottomfish fishermen interviewed to ensure 

the fish are not depleted or do not learn to avoid the area. 

One time a year I go there, and that's it, and I don't go there no more. So when I go there 

I always get fish. I was taught that way, you know, no keep on fishing the same place over 

and over. – Maui, MA119 

If we happen to land on a spot that is producing small paka, we move. We're not going to 

sit there and catch little ones. – Oʻahu, OA135 

What I try to teach the young people about bottom fishing is they need to learn how to 

find their own fishing spots, how to run a recorder, how to follow a ledge, how to find 

fish on their own. And to be successful around here, anyway, you have to have at least 10 

or 15 good spots that you can take a little bit from each area so you don't overfish one 

area, you know. – Maui, MA125 

One of the things that he taught me was if it's biting, it's biting all over. So that means 

that they're in a biting mood, it's the current, it's the moon phase, whatever it is. Catch 
24

two or three off of this hole and move. Because he knew if he caught 10 off of that hole, 

they weren't going to be there the next time, you know. So it's almost like we've got to 

kind of regulate ourselves, in a way. – Hilo, HI104 

Future of Bottomfishing

The final set of interview themes sought to gather reflections on the future of bottomfishing 

(Appendix A). Discussions aimed at gathering insight on current fishing practices to ensure 

fishing into the future are reflected in the above theme, “self-regulation.” Participants also 

discussed the degree to which they shared local fishing knowledge with new entrants and the role 

secrecy plays in protecting the fishery, which have been addressed in the above sections 

supporting “generational knowledge” and “shared ocean spaces.” 

This final theme of “future of bottomfishing” highlights both the negative and positive responses 

individuals had when reflecting specifically on the future of the fishery. The subset of 

individuals having a negative perception of the future referenced challenges associated with cost 

to new entrants, lack of interest and patience from the younger generations, lack of conservation 

ethics, and the preference of sending their own kids to college to avoid the tough and 

unpredictable life of bottomfishing. 

You know, it's so hard right now with so many regulations being put on fishermen. I feel 

so sorry for young guys trying to get started in the field. It's so expensive. – Maui, MA120 

They'd just rather play games with electronics now, they had no interest in the outdoor 

things like how we were before. So they really didn't take to it. So it's going to fizzle out 

after me. – Hilo, HI106 

You don't want to show these people too much because the fishermen nowadays have no 

conservation ethic. We worried about the next year coming, so we tried to limit the 

amount of damage you do to the grounds. People nowadays don't have that ethic. – Hilo, 

HI107 

I'd like them [kids] to probably go and probably get a real job, yeah, go to school, get a 

degree. Fishing is a very, very tough life. – Kauaʻi, K110 

On the other hand, positive perceptions referenced the resilience and abundance of bottomfish 

within the Hawaiian Islands, provided you can find them. One participant mentioned the 

innovation of new gear leading to exciting, new fishing techniques. Other positive perceptions 

reflected the passing of knowledge that could reach future generations. 

And our catch averages are getting higher and higher as the years go on. And coming 

from a full-time commercial guy, that's a pretty impressive thing to say because we're 

fishing these spots year-round. And to see our numbers go up tells me that the fishery is 

thriving. – Maui, MA127 

I see a lot of new fishermen, they're trying with all this new type of gear. And it's amazing 

that I didn't experiment much, and I notice there's a lot of experimenting. They're 
25

changing type of line, color of line, type of hooks, even designing jigs, you know. I'm glad 

that they're learning. They're trying something different. – Maui, MA123 

If the students that I teach are successful and they can teach their kids. Their future is 

good. – Oʻahu, OA136 
26

DISCUSSION

The purpose of this study was to document the traditions, culture, and evolution of the Hawaiʻi

bottomfish fishery using local fishermen as a source of first-hand knowledge in an effort to 

improve understanding of changes in the fishery over time. Results of this study illustrate the 

unique characteristics and interdependent community connections that have contributed to the 

bottomfish communities’ identity and resilience to change. Though the bottomfish community 

holds deep cultural ties to their ancestral heritage and traditional fishing practices, it is not 

immune to larger societal changes. Understanding the factors that contribute to social cohesion, 

transfer of knowledge, and community well-being is essential to track impacts of changing 

environmental, economic, and social conditions (Bennett 2019; Berkes and Turner 2006). To 

contribute to this understanding, the results were outlined using three larger thematic categories: 

Cultural Identity, Evolution of Bottomfishing, and Community Resilience. 

The first section of the results, Cultural Identity, highlighted factors leading to cultural identity 

including motivations for bottomfishing, the practice of giving away fish, and concerns about the 

public perception of fishermen. Considering the multiple reasons for fishing mentioned by a 

single individual within a small subset of fishery interviews, it is no wonder fisher classification 

systems remain a challenge for fishery managers (Hospital and Beavers 2012; Kittinger 2013). 

Motivations for bottomfishing do not fit neatly into broad definitions of non-commercial and 

commercial fisheries. However, cultural benefits of acknowledging fishing identity are important 

in policy decision making, as demonstrated by the increasing number of studies that seek to 

understand the depth of these motivations and applicability to future policy frameworks (Allen 

2013; Kleiber and Leong 2018; Vaughan and Vitousek 2013; Young et al. 2016). 

Giving away fish is a predominant fishing motivation unique to the region, often superseding the 

practice of selling fish within this particular group of fishery participants, which demonstrates 

the critical role of fish in maintaining the social fabric of the bottomfish community. The cultural 

significance and benefits of noncommercial distribution or “sharing of catch” has been 

documented by other scholars as resulting in cultural perpetuation, self-reliance, social status, 

social networks, and even reciprocal exchange (Glazier et al. 2013; Severance 2010; Severance 

et al. 2013; Vaughan and Vitousek 2013). 

The second section of the results, Evolution of Bottomfishing, sought to describe broader 

community changes (e.g., advancements in technology and vessels, regulatory changes due to 

depleting fish stocks) and how the bottomfish community has adapted to such changes. Changes 

in technology was a prominent theme found within the data, causing a shift in the way fishing is 

performed, impacting fishing effort and efficiency, and resulting in a reduced level of secrecy 

within the fleet due to increased ease of finding and plotting productive fishing grounds. 

Participants had differing views of what this meant for bottomfishing and the future of the 

fishers. Advancements in technology are not unique to the Hawaiian bottomfish fishery but may 

play the most significant role in altering fishing practices and interdependent community 

connections that are unique to the fishery. Modification of fishing technologies has been a 

pivotal factor in defining the evolution of the modern-day fishery, with both positive and 

negative perceptions held by the community. 
27

The third section of the results, Community Resilience, highlights the adaptive capacity of the 

bottomfish community. Community resilience is strengthened by social networks and the passing 

(and uptake) of local fishery knowledge, which can lead to more responsible fishing practices 

and the ability to cope with external stressors. There is no shortage of studies identifying the 

importance of social networks and transmission of local fishery knowledge to sustaining cultural 

traditions and perpetuating the respect and sustainable use of natural resources (Bennett 2019; 

Berkström et al. 2019; Bodin and Crona 2009; Friedlander et al. 2013; Glazier et al. 2013; 

Turner et al. 2014). However, participants in the bottomfish heritage study referenced a delicate 

balance between sharing and protecting local fishery knowledge. Advancements in navigation 

and GPS technologies may play a role in this shift in sharing of knowledge due to increased lack 

of trust and reduced dependence on community members for information exchange by younger 

people entering the fishery. 

It is clear from the data that the bottomfish community is increasingly influenced by, and 

vulnerable to, conflicting external pressures (i.e., weather, markets, and regulatory changes). 

Communities often lack control and power over these external processes; however, their ability 

to adapt their fishing practices and market decisions demonstrates capacity to cope with change 

(Clay and Olson, 2008). Adaptive capacity can be further strengthened by community 

connections in the form of informal social networks and formal fishing cooperatives, as 

demonstrated by the Maui Cooperative Fishing Association’s ability to confront unfair market 

practices through their united front. 

Rotating or resting fishing grounds was mentioned by most interviewees as a method to ensure 

sustainability of fish stocks, which can be referenced back to traditional management practices 

(Friedlander et al. 2013; Friedlander et al. 2000). Rotational fisheries management has been 

documented as a viable approach for sessile marine species (Plagányi et al. 2015); however, 

rotations occur on a long-term basis and no evidence is available to support functionality for 

finfish fisheries (Cohen and Foale 2013). Additional research is needed to assess the 

effectiveness of self-regulated rotational fishing practices present within the bottomfish fishery.

When discussing regulatory changes, participants were most vocal regarding fishery closures

(i.e., BRFAs and closure of the NWHI) and how they have negatively impacted the fishery due 

to increased fishing pressure on fewer fishing areas. The loss of traditional fishing grounds and 

displacement of local fishermen is a common public concern when implementing fishery 

closures or marine protected areas. Loss of fishing grounds has socio-economic impacts that can 

be detrimental to a small-scale fishery and results in loss of confidence with state and federal 

fishery managers (Friedlander et al. 2014; Hospital et al. 2014; Bennett et al. 2019). 

Given the scope and breadth of findings identified within the interview transcripts, a broad 

overview of the results was provided and can act as a platform to identify areas for future 

exploration and inform other PIFSC projects (e.g., studies related to fisher motivations). 

Academic literature and previous assessments of the bottomfish fishery have been used to frame 

and triangulate findings where applicable throughout the report. Additional analysis of the 

interview content could further groundtruth information collected in socioeconomic surveys 

(e.g., supporting classification of fishers, supporting estimates of non-commercial catch that is 

eaten or given away, and better understanding practices of self-regulation) and serve as a 

resource for considering historical context of any future fishery issues. 
28

CONCLUSION

Oral history supports the preservation of traditional knowledge. Combined with other social 

science methodologies, oral histories can also identify cultural values of local fishing 

communities and draw out traditional and local ecological knowledge of past and current 

fisheries for consideration in management programs (Calhoun et al. 2016; Colburn and Clay 

2012). In-depth qualitative findings such as those found within this report and the NVivo project 

database can be used to support social impact analyses as required under the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Clay and Olson 2008). Furthermore, this subset of 

oral histories is a resource for the Hawaiʻi bottomfish community as a form of cultural 

preservation and knowledge transfer for future fishing generations. Public access to select 

“Fisher Highlight” videos made available through the Voices from the Fisheries database10 can 

contribute to the public’s knowledge of the bottomfish fishery and cultural significance of 

fishing practices.

The collaborative nature of the Hawaiʻi Bottomfish Heritage Project led to a high level of fisher 

engagement in the co-design and implementation phases of the study. This project demonstrates 

the value of bringing fishermen’s voices into human dimensions research for consideration in 

fishery assessments and future management plans. Respect for local and cultural practices in

these assessments can strengthen confidence in state management of fisheries (Friedlander et al.

2013). Building relationships between managing agencies and fishing communities can serve to 

increase the current low level of satisfaction documented among bottomfish fishermen when 

asked about their perceptions of management processes (Hospital and Beavers 2014). It is these 

types of collaborative studies, when considered by managers, which can also lead to policies that 

adequately address both environmental and social challenges in the face of changing climate. A 

timely example of this regulatory process is the upcoming reauthorization of the MagnusonStevens Act. A roundtable tour is planned to “hear from people whose livelihoods depend on 

healthy oceans.”11

Considering the importance and interest of this project to the local fishing community, this study 

could be expanded to conduct additional oral histories with fishermen, fishing families, and other 

bottomfish community stakeholders that may contribute to the broader understanding of local 

fishery knowledge and community traditions. It is critical to recognize variations in experiences 

between individuals and island communities to avoid overgeneralization of the larger Hawaiian 

bottomfish community. Regardless of the analytical findings, the value of oral history and video 

ethnography research within a targeted community can ensure the preservation of local fishery 

knowledge and increase cultural heritage pride for generations to come.

 

10 This collection is available at https://voices.nmfs.noaa.gov/collection/hawaii-bottomfish-heritage-project. 11 https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/supply-trade/roundtable-tour-leading-up-to-magnuson-stevens-reauthorization-planned. Accessed July 15th, 2019. 
29

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to the Hawaiʻi bottomfishing community who made this project possible. They 

initially identified the need for the project and generously shared their time, personal histories, 

and reflections on experiences with the fishery. We also thank project partners Clayward Tam 

(Pacific Islands Fisheries Group), Mark Mitsuyasu (Western Pacific Regional Fishery 

Management Council), and Kurt Kawamoto (PIFSC) who helped design the project, write 

proposals, and led the implementation. Dr. Craig Severance and Dr. Adam Ayers assisted in

developing and testing data collection protocols and collecting fieldnotes. Finally, we thank 

NOAA Fisheries Citizen Science coordinators for selecting this project as one of three 

showcased for the NOAA Science Advisory Board Ecosystem Science and Management 

Working Group in 2017. This project was funded through the NOAA Fisheries Cooperative 

Research Program and a 2016 Preserve America Initiative Internal Funding Grant. 
30

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Appendix A: Interview Template for Deductive Coding

Guiding Questions

BACKGROUND/PERSONAL STORY

1. Please tell me about yourself as a bottomfish fisherman. 

2. What are the things you need to know to be good at bottomfishing?

3. Why do you go bottomfishing? What do you like most about it?

4. What is your best memory of bottomfish fishing?

5. Have your reasons for bottomfishing changed over the years? If so, how?

6. What kind of bottomfish do you target? Why? Are there seasonal changes in what you target?

7. What determines whether you keep or sell your catch? Whether catch is reported as commercial?

CHANGES OVER TIME

8. Please tell me about any years that were different from others in terms of catch, e.g., years with 

few fish, a lot of fish, size differences, more of different species. 

a. Which years/decades?

b. Why do you think this is?

c. How did you respond?

9. How did any new gear, techniques, or innovations really change bottomfishing?

a. When did these changes happen?

b. What was the magnitude of the change?

10. How did you learn about them?

How has a typical bottomfishing “trip” changed since you have been fishing? When did these 

changes happen?

11. Have you changed how you report your catch/trips over time? If so, why?

FUTURE OF BOTTOMFISHING

12. When you are fishing, what things do you do to make sure there will be bottomfish in the future? 

Have any of these practices changed over time, and if so, why?

13. Have you introduced any other people to bottomfishing or shared knowledge with them? If so, 

who? What role does secrecy play in bottomfishing?

14. When you leave the fishery how will you pass on your knowledge? To whom? Why?

15. What is your advice to future bottomfish fishermen?

CLOSE-OUT 

16. Do you have any additional pictures or objects you would like to share?

17. Who else should we make sure that we talk to about bottomfishing?

18. Do you have any questions for us
34

Appendix B: Social Network Analysis Sociograms

Forms were completed by each interviewee to provide names of individuals that taught them to fish, who they fished with, and who they have or 

are currently teaching to fish to create a “Bottomfish Family Tree”. Sociograms were created to visualize the transfer of knowledge between 

interview participants and island communities. 

Interview participants are referenced by NVivo case icons and the unique source ID (e.g., MA120). The blue circles represent individuals 

mentioned by participants in the family tree forms and/or within interview transcripts as participating in a transfer of knowledge. A blue person 

icon represents individuals not mentioned by name (e.g., father, grandfather, crew, future generation). Direction of the arrow between individuals 

denotes direction of knowledge transfer. 

Figure 2. Maui sociogram
35

Figure 3. Kauaʻi sociogram
36

Figure 4. Oʻahu sociogram
37

Figure 5. Hilo sociogram
38

Figure 6. Kona sociogram
39

Appendix C: Initial Coding Guide 

The initial coding process was informed by a conceptual model that identified broad thematic 

concepts to examine in analysis (Figure 7). Through the coding process, additional details and 

sub-themes were expanded upon, as reflected in the final codebook (Appendix E).

Figure 7. Conceptual model of concepts used initially to guide coding 
40

Appendix D: Species in the Hawaiian bottomfish management unit 

species complex.

Common name Local name Scientific name

Pink snapper ʻŌpakapaka* Pristipomoides filamentosus

Long-tail red snapper Onaga* Etelis coruscans

Ruby snapper Ehu* Etelis carbunculus

Hawaiian grouper Hapuʻupuʻu* Hyporthodus quernus

Oblique-banded snapper Gindai* Pristipomoides zonatus

Von Siebold’s snapper Kalekale* Pristipomoides sieboldii

Silver mouth snapper Lehi* Aphareus rutilans

Grey snapper Uku Aprion virescens

Bluestripe snapper Taʻape Lutjanus kasmira

Yellowtail snapper Yellowtail kalekale Pristipomoides auricilla

Amberjack Kahala Seriola dumerili

Thick-lipped trevally Butaguchi Pseudocaranx dentex

Giant trevally White ulua Caranx ignobilis

Black trevally Black ulua Caranx lugubris

* Deep 7 Bottomfish species
41

Appendix E: Hawaiʻi Bottomfish Heritage Project Coding Rubric

Major Theme Subtheme Description

Bottomfishing 

skills 

NA ● Skills necessary to be a good bottomfish 

fisherman

(e.g., patience, adapting to external pressures)

Community 

connections 

Big Names in 

Bottomfishing

● Historical and current individuals highlighted by 

participants as instrumental to the fishery

Cooperatives, 

Clubs 

● Fishing cooperatives (e.g., Maui Cooperative 

Fishing Association and Waialua Boat Club) and 

cooperative research with PIFG

Giving Away 

Fish

● Family, community ties, social networks, and 

cultural reasons (e.g., holidays, celebrations, 

signal of health) 

Conservation 

efforts

Cultural ● Conservation efforts as a result of cultural 

heritage, knowledge, and respect for nature 

Self-regulation ● Rotating fishing spots (see ‘Fishing Grounds’ 

subtheme), only catching what you need, 

selective fishing practices (by size); ‘Pono’ 

fishing 

Environmental 

considerations 

Currents ● Need to understand currents to be a skilled 

bottomfish fisherman (see ‘bottomfishing skills’)

● Currents as a driver of fishing technique 

(anchoring vs. drifting) and success of trip 

● Currents drive movement of fish 

Cyclical 

Fisheries

● Due to seasonality, migration, or other 

environmental factors 

● Changes in fish populations (e.g., variation by 

season, weather, overfishing, increase in 

predation) 

● More time spent searching for fish

● Shift in target species and size of fish
42

Environmental 

Changes 

● Currents, ocean temperatures, weather, climate, 

etc.

Fishing 

Pressure

● Opposite of rotating areas—fishing pressure on 

specific areas (may be due to GPS use); more 

boats fishing the same areas

Water Temp ● Influence of water temperature on location and 

availability of fish

Weather ● Driver of fishing technique and when to fish

● ‘Weather-dependent fishery’ 

Evolution of 

bottomfishing 

Changes in 

Technology 

● GPS, Loren C, recorders, depth finders, electric 

reels (some overlap with ‘gear’)

● Positive vs. negative perceptions

● Cultural implications

Fleet 

Characteristics

● Size and types of boats

● Changes in size of fleet

Future of 

Bottomfishing

● Positive and negative perceptions

● Next generation practices 

Historical Catch ● Changes in targeted catch and availability of 

stocks 

No Change ● Fishery has stayed the same

Fishery 

Management

Fishing Zones ● Historical fishing areas, current fishing areas, and 

thoughts for future management areas 

Regulations ● Fishing closures: BRFAs, NWHI

Fishing 

characteristics

Boat 

Considerations 

● Stories about boats—traditional to modern

● Evolution of boats 

● Individuals evolving fishing effort with boat 

advancements
43

Cost of Fishing ● How much went into a trip, then and now

Diversified 

Fishing 

● Participating in various fisheries due to economic 

reasons or progression of fishing career

Fishing 

Techniques 

● Gear types and modifications

● When to fish, best practices (e.g., rotating spots, 

finding spots) 

● Techniques then and now, what’s changed—see 

‘evolution of bottomfishing’ 

● Traditional methods (e.g., landmark fishing, 

handlining, lunar cycles) 

Fishing Trip 

Duration 

● Differences between main island fishing and 

northwest island fishing (e.g., multiple days vs. 

single-day trips) 

Fishing Trip 

Load 

● Typical or good load (indicator of fishing effort)

Market 

considerations 

NA ● Flooding the market, supply and demand, market 

diversity, quality of fish, etc. 

● Dictating fishing trips (e.g., fishing in bad 

weather to meet seasonal market demands) 

Passing of 

Knowledge 

Generational 

Fishing 

● Family ties (also see ‘Reason for Bottomfishing’ 

theme)

Taught to Fish ● Who taught the individual to fish (e.g., mentor 

who helped them get started) 

Teaching to 

Fish

● Who the individual taught, or is currently 

teaching to fish (mentoring role) 

Traditional 

Knowledge 

● Passing down traditional bottomfishing skills, 

expertise (e.g., techniques, fishing spots) 
44

Trust ● When participants choose to share (or choose not 

to) knowledge, teaching to fish, secrets of fishing, 

fishing spots 

● Referencing trust to government 

relationships/confidence in fishery management 

Public 

Perception of 

Fishermen

NA ● How the public views fishermen

● Changes in perception over time 

● Need for continued education/outreach 

Reason for 

bottomfishing 

(Identity)

Financial ● Career choice, family support, boat maintenance, 

etc.

Lifestyle ● Referring to bottomfishing as a lifestyle (e.g.,

cultural and/or community ties to fishing) 

● Subsistence fishing

No Longer 

Fishing 

● Reasons for quitting fishing (e.g., age-related, 

other job opportunities, industry changes) 

Recreational ● Fishing for fun, hobbies, relaxing, social reasons

Started Fishing ● Variation of experiences led to entrance into 

fishery

Red fish NA ● Cultural traditions around red fish/paka (e.g. 

celebrations, symbol of good health, sharing with 

community) 

Shared ocean 

spaces

Differences by 

Island 

● Weather differences (e.g., ability to fish, fishing 

technique) 

● Availability of fish

● Fishing zones 

● Number of bottomfish fishermen 

Fishing 

Grounds – Spots 

● Protecting fishing spots from other fishermen 

(secrecy) and sharing spots with trusted 

community members 

● Technology, specifically GPS, affecting scouting 

or hunting techniques
45

● Techniques to hide fishing spots (e.g., use of 

drifting and pretend fishing) to avoid ‘stealing’ 

grounds 

● Theme connects to ‘passing of knowledge,’ ‘lack 

of confidence in next gen,’ and ‘bottomfishing 

skills’

Interactions 

with Fishing 

Boats (nonbottomfish) 

● Some issues/contention around industrial fishing

affecting catch and safety

Interactions 

with non-fishing 

Boats 

● Non-fishing boats include submarines (military 

presence), coast guard, tugs, barges, and cruise 

ships (tourism)