Holomua Marine Initiative Community Capacity Building Cohort 2025-2026: Hawai'i Island

Holomua Marine Initiative Community Capacity Building Cohort 2025-2026: Hawai'i Island is sponsored by Hawaiʻi Community Foundation. This opportunity supports mission-aligned projects and measurable outcomes.

Holomua Marine Initiative - Department of Land and Natural Resources > Division of Aquatic Resources Updates Holomua Launched on Hawaiʻi Island! Talk Story Updates Share Feedback Latest updates on the Maui process Maui Proposal Information Exchanges The ocean is our culture — our life — in Hawai‘i. We fish, surf, and swim in it, and gather with our ‘ohana along its shores.

We need your kōkua now to ensure healthy reefs and abundant resources for current and future generations. Lend your voice to the new community-based approach to manage our marine resources: the Holomua Marine Initiative. Let’s holomua (move forward) together.

Today, we see that the fish, coral, and other resources that are central to our livelihoods, culture, health, and island lifestyle are not as healthy and abundant as they once were. The loss of traditional and customary practices, a growing population, development, unsustainable harvest, climate change, and other threats are putting pressure on our nearshore environment.

A recent scientific analysis showed population declines of some of our favorite reef fish by as much as 75%, and the mass bleaching event in 2015 resulted in up to 50% coral mortality on some of our world-famous coral reefs. Our marine environment is resilient, but needs our kōkua (help) to thrive again with abundance. So the waters of Hawai‘i thrive What is the Holomua Marine Initiative all about?

The Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) launched Holomua Marine Initiative as a way to work with communities to effectively manage our nearshore marine resources around each main Hawaiian island so that our local resources are available and plentiful, today and for future generations. This is a new community-based planning approach to ensure local knowledge is guiding marine resource management planning at every step in the process.

Click below to check out the guide that describes DAR’s multi-faceted approach for resource management that focuses on convening all stakeholders and expanding outreach, enforcement, monitoring, and restoration efforts. Click the icon on the left to view DAR’s Holomua Marine Initiative guide! The planning process was launched on Maui first as a pilot in October 2022.

We will continue our commitment to co-management collaborations with communities statewide in areas where there is expressed interest. Below is a general overview of the Holomua process as we move to each island one by one.

STEP 1 Talk Story Sessions : Local communities engage in collaborative conversations to exchange knowledge, ideas, and offer guidance STEP 2 Navigation Team Planning : Each island’s community-nominated Navigation Team drafts management goals, solutions, and actions for their nearshore marine resources STEP 3 Information Exchanges : Navigation Team shares their proposal to the broader community on their island for feedback and revision.

STEP 4 Scoping and Rule-Making : Navigation Team revises proposal based on community feedback, then DAR plans public scopings and hearings to move forward STEP 5 Implementation : Collaborative implementation of island-wide management plan Management actions proposed in the island management plan will be based on concerns identified by each island’s community members and resource users.

They may include fishing regulations, enhanced enforcement, education and outreach efforts, improved signage, coral restoration, and additional monitoring, among others.

Holomua on Hawaiʻi Island The Holomua on Hawai‘i Island process launched in May 2026 with a series of Talk Story sessions , where more than 400 residents, including fishers, cultural practitioners, and other ocean users, attended to share their priorities, concerns, and ʻike to help guide future management discussions.

Insights gathered during these sessions will shape the selection and direction of the community-nominated Navigation Team(s) and inform the next phases of developing nearshore management recommendations that are grounded in local voices and place-based knowledge. Holomua launched on Maui in October 2022.

The community nominated Maui Navigation Team developed draft management recommendations for Maui’s nearshore waters and shared them with the Maui community through a series of Information Exchanges hosted in September 2024 and another round in the summer of 2025. The Navigation Team is grateful to everyone who attended these sessions and took time to share their perspectives and feedback.

Next, based on the comments received during these Information Exchanges, the Navigation Team will further revise the proposal to reflect the priorities and needs of the Maui community.

Feedback for Maui Navigation Team’s Management Proposal If you have additional feedback to share or questions on the draft proposal, you may also directly contact the Maui Navigation Team members below: Maile Shannon: [email protected] Darrell Tanaka: [email protected] Brian Ventura: [email protected] Greg Czar: [email protected] There are many ways you can participate in this effort.

Get informed about the Holomua Marine Initiative Learn about the Maui Navigation Team and Maui Pilot process. Learn about Holomua on Hawaiʻi Island. Holomua on Hawaiʻi Island Mahalo for participating in the Information Exchanges!

Watch for upcoming opportunities to contribute to this effort. Spread the word within your community Holomua on Hawaiʻi Island ʻAʻohe hana nui ke alu ʻia. No task is too big when done together by all.

– Mary Kawena Pukui, ʻŌlelo Noʻeau #142 Stay informed about the Holomua Marine Initiative Zip / Postal Code of Residence * Island(s) you participate in ocean activities How did you hear about us? Would you like to receive additional emails regarding the following?

(select all that apply) Public hearing or public scoping announcements Holomua events on your island Fisher-focused outreach events and/or meetings mailing address: 1151 Punchbowl Street, Room 330, Honolulu, Hawai`i 96813 Background photo courtesy of Nathan Hayes.