If the rats want to rumble, Paul Min is willing and ready.

Min, manager of You Market II, is one of scores of Chinatown merchants who have seen their businesses suffer in the wake of news reports about rats in the popular Kekaulike Marketplace.

"If there are rats, I'll fight the rats," he said. "I'm (at the store) at 3 a.m. every morning. It's my home and no one is going to take my home away."

Min was one of just two Kekaulike vendors who attended yesterday's education session presented by the state Department of Health.

The session, facilitated by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, was intended to help vendors recognize and prevent rat infestation of their businesses and included a presentation by state sanitarian Dennis Loo. Department of Health inspector Amber Vuong also attended.

The issue was first brought to light by citizen journalist Larry Geller, who posted video he had captured of rats crawling over produce at a Kekaulike market.

Subsequent media coverage and an investigation by the Department of Health that uncovered other health and sanitation violations have produced a ripple effect throughout the district, with businesses losing as much as half of their business since the story broke, according to Wes Fong, who is coordinating the Chinese Chamber of Commerce's efforts to help the Department of Health educate vendors about how to maintain sanitary, rat-free working environments.

Vector control workers and food safety inspectors visited the marketplace last week to see what vendors were doing to address the rat problem. They said that improvements have been made but said that more needs to be done.

"I'm very, very appreciative of what the Department of Health is doing to address this problem," Fong said. "Our goal is to maintain Chinatown as a viable place to shop, eat, visit and work. The perception that rats are running all over the place will not help Chinatown."

Noting that the maximum fine for health code violations (per incident, per day) is $1,000, Fong said he is encouraged that the Department of Health is working with the chamber to emphasize education rather than enforcement.

"These businesses are not Macy's," he said. "These are people living hand to mouth just trying to eke out a living selling produce at low prices. One thousand dollars? Can you imagine how many bananas you'd have to sell?"

Yesterday's meeting was one of two scheduled information sessions aimed at giving vendors specific information about how to deal with rats.

While the focus was on Kekaulike Marketplace — as the initial source of the complaint — future outreach programs will seek to address all Downtown businesses.

Loo's presentation included information about rat characteristics and tendencies, as well as strategies for detecting, eliminating and blocking access to rats while keeping food supplies clean and secure.

Ramil Seril, owner of Gabriel and Germain Meat Market, said he attended the meeting to find out what he can do to prevent rats from invading his shop.

"I learned a lot," he said. "It was really helpful because I didn't know a lot of these things. I'm going to encourage the other vendors to come to the next one."

Min said time conflicts (Kekaulike Marketplace closes at 6 p.m.; the meeting started at 4:30 p.m.) and fear of media coverage kept many vendors from attending yesterday's session. He said he will share what he learned with his neighbor businesses, including an informational handout that included Chinese and Vietnamese translations.

The meeting spurred discussion among the audience — which included representatives from the Arts District Merchants Association, the Honolulu Chinese Jaycees and other Downtown organizations — about how to restore consumer confidence not just in Kekaulike Marketplace but all of Chinatown. Suggestions ranged from shutting down the area for a weekend of mass pest extermination and cleanup to inviting President Obama to shop in the area.

"A lot of people don't even know where Kekaulike Market is, but they hear 'Chinatown' and they stay away," said John Ng, a member of both the Arts District Merchants Association and the Honolulu Chinese Jaycees. "This has affected business all down Nu'uanu."

Marsha Rose Joyner, Arts District Merchants Association coordinator, said the Department of Health did a thorough job of investigating the marketplace, but she said she worries about how budget cuts slated to kick in next month will affect future monitoring and investigation.

Like others at the meeting, Joyner said she would like to see the education program extended throughout the district to help all Chinatown businesses.