Hokule'a crew labors on Laysan Island
By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Science Writer
LAYSAN ISLAND, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands — The sailing canoe Hokule'a was scheduled to leave Laysan shortly after dawn this morning after a three-night stay.
The canoe was slated to sail by Lisianski Island and Pearl and Hermes Atoll, stopping to anchor briefly if conditions permit. Then it was to continue to Kure Atoll, the last island in the Hawaiian archipelago, and return to Midway on June 9, where a new crew is waiting to bring Hokule'a to Kaua'i.
Crew members were busy at Laysan. They joined with wildlife crews on the island and hauled away hundreds of pounds of washed-up nets and ropes that could entangle monk seals and turtles.
They planted native vegetation from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service nursery on the island, and helped collect the native sedge makaloa from Laysan for transplanting to Midway Atoll, where wildlife officials hope to restore a wetland habitat.
They also were tourists, beachcombing, ogling the island's amazing array of birdlife, including hopping green Laysan finches and waddling Laysan ducks.
They dived on the reefs and checked out schools of fish that were entirely unafraid of humans.
They also acted as hosts, bringing fresh-caught deep-sea fish ashore for wildlife researchers who are not permitted to fish in the nearshore waters, part of a wildlife refuge. And on Thursday night, crew members with 'ukulele and guitar played Hawaiian music until the early morning hours.
Laysan, once a forested island, a century ago was so degraded that it was compared to a desert. The degradation was the result of severe exploitation of its guano-rich soil for fertilizer, its seals and turtles for food, its birds' feathers for fashion and the release of rabbits, which ate the vegetation from two dozen species to four.
But most of Laysan is green again, and it is being revegetated with native plants. Hokule'a captain Nainoa Thompson said he considers it a symbol of what can be done to restore the environments of the main Hawaiian islands.
"This island is a symbol of hope for our Hawaiian home," Thompson said.
His words echoed those of invasive species biologist Heather Major.
"This island is definitely a vision of hope for all the work that has been done. It's a success story, but it's still in progress," she said.
Advertiser science writer Jan TenBruggencate is serving as a crew member aboard the voyaging canoe Hokule'a during its journey through the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. His dispatches are sent back via satellite phone.
