Bass project may revitalize fishery at Wahiawa lake
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
Robert Garner of Wahiawa fishes on the bank of Lake Wilson, which once teemed with gamefish, residents recall, until shifts in the island economy took their toll.
By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Central O'ahu Writer
Wahiawa's economic future may well rest with a 8-pound female large-mouth bass sitting in a giant tank at Wahiawa Middle School.
Science teacher James Chow hopes the captured mama bass will start replenishing the population of 300-acre Wahiawa Reservoir, otherwise known as Lake Wilson. The anticipated spawning — scheduled to take place in a couple of months — is part of a long-term plan to revitalize the lake and the economy of the former plantation town.
"We're hoping this is the one," Chow said of the scheduled laying of 1,000 eggs.
After a number of setbacks and delays over the last two years, community leaders are regrouping for another push to promote bass fishing as a visitor attraction. Two key developments are driving the latest effort:
• The hatchery at Wahiawa Middle School, which reached a new level of production because of a 3,200-square-foot expansion completed last summer as part of a federal project to restock the lake with peacock and large-mouth bass.
"It provides a permanent sheltered facility for us," said Chow, who had to store some fish in his back yard until the campus hatchery was finished.
"There's room now for all the tanks and aquariums," he said. "There's even room to build outside storage tanks when the fish get bigger."
• Discussions between community leaders and Dole Food Hawai'i Co. that could ultimately end the city's daily dumping of effluent into Lake Wilson, which it has done since 1928. The city's Wahiawa Wastewater Treatment Plant discharges about 2 million gallons of treated effluent into the lake per day, and finding an alternative is perhaps the biggest stumbling block to revitalizing the fishery.
Although the city recently made $14 million in upgrades to the treatment plant as part of an agreement with state and federal officials, state Rep. Marcus Oshiro, D-40th (Wahiawa, Whitmore Village), said community leaders began preliminary talks with Dole two weeks ago on the possibility of piping effluent straight to Waialua for agricultural use.
"We've been meeting with (Dole) privately, and there is some interest on their part, but the big issue obviously is cost," Oshiro said.
The company plans to meet with community leaders again, said Yoshi Tanabe, Dole's land and facility manager. "Pipelining the effluent straight to Waialua would be best for the lake, but questions remain on who would pay for it," Tanabe said.
Dream of revival
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
Hurdles haven't stopped many in the community from dreaming of an economic boom. Tourists would add freshwater fishing to their vacation itinerary if they could, said Dan Nakasone, Wahiawa Community and Business Association vice president.Nakasone recalls childhood days when fish would almost "jump onto the shore or boat" at Lake Wilson. "People come here for the sun and surf, but if they could, they would also want to catch a trophy," he said.
Wahiawa Middle School's hatchery is raising bass to restock freshwater lakes such as Lake Wilson.
The lake, once abounding with gamefish, has been changed by man, nature and economics.
Dole's Waialua Sugar Co. closed in 1996, and with huge amounts of lake water no longer being used for irrigation, the lake stagnated. Water levels remained high — 80 feet in some places — which was conducive to the proliferation of alien fish, which feed on minnow bait fish or baby bass.
A push to build campgrounds at the lake has fallen short, and other improvements are on hold while the Department of Land and Natural Resources deals with repair backlogs and requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act at all state parks.
On the positive side, there have been some improvements to the lake. As part of a master plan written in the 1970s, the state last year completed a $250,000 project to construct a half-mile stretch of walking trails around the perimeter. Some say the trails need to go farther to allow more people to roam the 22 miles of shoreline accessible mostly by boat.
Nakasone envisions guided fishing tours and annual bass fishing tournaments on Lake Wilson to attract more tourists and local visitors. The increased fishing could spawn related businesses such as tour, boat rental and fishing equipment, while supporting area restaurants and retail stores, he said.
Avid game fisherman Steve Baker thinks Hawai'i may be ideal for freshwater fishing because it provides a variety of family activities.
"To keep peace at home, you don't want to drag your whole family to some isolated fishing spot for vacation," said Baker, who has fished for bass across the Mainland. "In this scenario, you could still fish, yet enjoy the rest of your vacation with family." He noted that several Kaua'i tour companies provide freshwater fishing tours along privately owned reservoirs.
But Lake Wilson's health must be restored first, and facilities must be built to complement the plan. The main order of business will be millions of dollars to create a pipeline to carry the effluent.
Fish release ready
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
In the meantime, Wahiawa Middle School plans to release its baby bass into Lake Wilson at this time next year, when the fish weigh about a pound each, Chow said.
James Chow, who teaches science at Wahiawa Middle School, adjusts an air hose while student Lauren Daima prepares to feed bass that the school is raising for release into Lake Wilson a year from now.
"We're confident we'll be ready on our end," he said. "But the other pieces need to fall in place to make this work."
The school's hatchery program began in 1996 following community plans to revitalize the lake. Using $20,000 from a 1998 city settlement with state health officials to help restock the lake, Chow and others got a federal grant that matched the city money three to one.
Hawai'i Freshwater Fishing Association Vice President Jason Brockington has volunteered many hours building and maintaining the facility. He said the club recently took a weekend fishing trip on the lake and caught only 10 fish among seven boats.
"That's why we're behind this (restocking) program 100 percent," Brockington said. "I want this so my grandkids can enjoy this."
The school program suffered a major setback when nearly all of its 5,000 raised bass hatchlings died suddenly in 2000. Only five of the bass survived into adulthood.
"They were growing fine until they began dying off, tank by tank," Chow said. "Even the state wasn't sure if a virus caused it."
While the school awaits the latest hatching, students are raising younger bass captured from the lake for mating purposes and until they are large enough to fend off predators.
The state in 2000 released 100 adult bass into Lake Wilson taken from Nu'uanu, Chow said. Many of the bass caught in the lake under the state's catch-and-release program during the last two years were identified as those same fish.
"It's a promising sign that they're surviving, but the young ones to be released next year are the ones being counted on to reproduce," Chow said. "If they can survive and spawn, in two or three years we could start seeing the lake becoming what it was back when."
Reach Scott Ishikawa at sishikawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2429.
