Quick work urged on new ogo limu plan
By Will Hoover
Advertiser Staff Writer
'Ewa Beach ogo limu, a species of edible seaweed prized for its use with Hawaiian-style raw fish and limu salad, may be too popular for its own good.
The area's prized limu beds are considered among the richest and most diverse in the state. But overharvesting has taken its toll.
Now, five years after grassroots efforts to save 'Ewa Beach's ogo limu began, those who prize this salad of the sea believe time is running out and they are urging the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to speed up and expand a proposal to ban its harvesting for a year.
The DLNR, which has jurisdiction over rules governing limu, presented a proposal at a community meeting Thursday that called for a one-year ban on the taking of ogo limu in 'Ewa Beach for a mile-and-a-half stretch of One'ula Beach Park.
"The kapu idea I agree with," said resident Glen Oamilda. "But I think the kapu should be extended to all limu, and along the whole shoreline."
Oamilda said it made little sense to isolate one species of limu and neglect the dozens of other forms of limu in 'Ewa Beach. His concerns were echoed by others at the meeting, several of whom pointed out that in addition to its value as a food, limu has medicinal uses as well as long-standing cultural importance to Hawaiians.
Current state laws allow individuals to pick 1 pound of limu a day for home use. Licensed commercial collectors can harvest up to 10 pounds a day.
By the end of the meeting, there was consensus among the more than two dozen people present that the DLNR management area proposal should include all species of limu in the one-year ban, and that the boundaries should extend from the mouth of Pearl Harbor to Kalaeloa Point. After the one-year kapu, individual harvesters would be limited to picking 1 pound a day per person — and in only three months of the year: November, December and June.
Eric Whiteman, a Campbell High School biology teacher who brought several of his students to the meeting, said an important part of the project is to educate the public, particularly when it comes to picking limu. Some harvesters prevent regrowth by pulling limu out by the roots, which is illegal.
Alton Miyasaka, a biologist with the DLNR's Division of Aquatic Resources, said the next step would be to redraft the DLNR proposal to include those suggestions.
That proposal will then be presented to the 'Ewa Beach community for consideration at another public meeting. If the community is in agreement, the DLNR would then draft the proposal into a legal format and the rules would be changed.
Otherwise, Miyasaka said, further public meetings on the issue could take place.
Resident Mike Lee passed around photos showing how limu has vanished from parts of 'Ewa Beach.
"We are losing a lot of seaweed," said resident Henry Chang Wo, who said the reef system in 'Ewa Beach is dependent on the limu.
"No limu, no fish. No limu, no coral. There is no seaweed to keep the shifting sands from rolling over our coral," he said. "So our coral is starting to bleach."
The move to save 'Ewa Beach's ogo limu goes back to 1998, when a group of alarmed citizens launched an effort to replant the once-abundant beds of 'Ewa Beach. The replenishing program, sponsored by the Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Center and assisted by Nanakuli limu expert Walter Kamana'a, went well.
Unfortunately, demand for the seaweed delicacy was so great that the 15 families involved in the 'Ewa Beach Limu Project soon realized all they had accomplished was attracting more limu collectors to 'Ewa Beach. Overharvesting continued unabated.
Responding to community concerns, the DLNR drafted the proposal for a kapu, or ban.
More than once during last week's meeting, resident Tesha Malama stood to say that time is running out to take decisive action.
"This needs to happen now," she said. "All this talk we did for five years. We need to move on."
Reach Will Hoover at 525-8038 or whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.
