HONOLULU (AP) - A fisherman and conservationist is being honored for a lifetime of work protecting Molokai's northern coast.
The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Pacific
Islands Region will present Mac Poepoe with the 2013 Umu Kai Award on
Thursday in Kaunakakai.
The award is presented to a Native Hawaiian
cultural practitioner who invokes the spirit of traditional fishing
practices and management while adapting to modern fishing environments.
Poepoe created a localized guide on the life cycles
of fish of Moomomi, Molokai. This inspired communities on Kauai, Oahu
and Hawaii islands to develop similar calendars and adopt some other
Poepoe approaches to conservation.
In previous years, the award has gone to navigator
Nainoa Thompson, Board of Land and Natural Resources Chairman William
Aila and charter school principal Mahina Paishon-Duarte.
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