The fishpond next door

The rock wall you can see in the water from the lanai is not a breakwater. It's Koʻieʻie, a loko iʻa — a Hawaiian fishpond — built by hand somewhere between 400 and 500 years ago.

Fishponds like this one are among the most sophisticated aquaculture systems ever built by any Pacific people. Walls of fitted lava rock enclose shallow water; wooden gates called mākāhā let small fish in and keep grown fish from leaving. The pond raised ʻamaʻama (mullet) and awa (milkfish) for the chiefs of the region.

Respect the wall

The wall looks like a perfect place to walk. Please don't. It is a registered historic site, it is fragile, and every dislodged rock is someone's restoration work undone. Swim beside it, photograph it at sunset, and leave it be.

Help rebuild it

ʻAoʻao O Nā Loko Iʻa O Maui, the association that cares for Koʻieʻie, runs community workdays where volunteers pass rock hand-to-hand the way it was first built. If you want two of your vacation hours to matter for the next hundred years, this is how. Details are on our Kōkua page.