Kaʻū News Briefs December 11, 2023

AN IDEA FROM MAUI COULD HELP local people solve the housing shortage by using their own land and equity in their properties to finance and build 'ohana units to rent at lower than market price. The idea was before Maui's County Council before the Lahaina fires that destroyed homes and exacerbated Maui's extreme housing shortage. The Maui program would provide grants of up to $100,000 to each property owner who, for ten years, would rent 'ohana units at rates under federal affordable housing guidelines. 

    On Maui, last Friday a bill passed the County Council's first reading to provide $2.5 million for the funding. Second and final reading is set for January.
    On Maui, two 'Ohana dwellings area allowed on lots that are at least 7,500 square feet. On Hawai'i Island, lots have to be at least 14,500 square feet for one 'ohana dwelling.
    On Maui, anyone receiving the grant who breaks the agreement to rent at affordable rates would have to pay the county back the prorated amount for the time the additional dwelling unit is not used in affordable housing.

Various fishes attracted to dFAD. Photo by Kydd Pollock of The Nature Conservancy

USING FISH AGGREGATING DEVICES AS CONSERVATION TOOLS is an idea supported in a study by The Nature Conservancy and Queensland University of Technology in Australia. Assistance also comes from TNC's Lab at Palmyra Atoll. The study, published in the journal Conservation Letters reveals says research shows that using FADs could enhance the effectiveness of blue water marine protected areas. The
paper suggests FADs, deployed by commercial fishing fleets worldwide, could also be used to retain targeted fish species within Marine Protected Areas, where there is no or limited fishing, long enough to benefit the local fish population.
   "As governments and conservation groups world-round set sights on protecting 30 percent of the world's ocean habitat by 2030, figuring out how to maximize the value of protected ocean patches for pelagic species should be a key objective," says Alex Wegmann, Ph.D., co-author of the paper and Lead Scientist for The Nature Conservancy's Island Resilience Strategy.

dFAD in the waters of Palmyra Atoll Photo by Chris Ryen of TNC

    A FAD is a matt or raft attached to floats or buoys that can be anchored or designed to drift (dFAD) in the open ocean and attract fish that swim past in schools. dFADs are usually fitted with a satellite location device that also monitors fish biomass beneath the FAD. The species of pelagic fish commonly targeted by commercial operations using FADs include tuna, billfish and mahi-mahi (dolphin fish); globally, most canned tuna are caught using dFADs.
    "The technology has transformed the world's open ocean fisheries over the past 20 years," says co-author Michael Bode from QUT. "Drifting FADs attract schools of these fish, making them easier and cheaper to catch."
     While larger than nearshore MPAs, blue water MPAs are small relative to the vast ocean, making protecting pelagic species in these areas difficult.
     "By putting FADs inside MPAs, we could increase the time that species like tuna spend in those MPAs (where they can't be caught) thereby reducing mortality rates," says co-author Edward T. Game, TNC's Asia Pacific Lead Scientist & Director of Conservation. "Somewhat amazingly, we found that even a small number of FADs inside a blue water MPA can meaningfully amplify the benefits of that MPA."
    Palmyra Atoll is a protected area in the central Pacific Ocean roughly 1,000 miles south of Hawai'i, managed by The Nature Conservancy.
    "Using FADs as a conservation tool is unique," says co-author Kydd Pollock, Pelagic Conservation Strategy Lead with The Nature Conservancy's Climate Adaptation and Resilience Laboratory at Palmyra Atoll. "We can have control over where they are positioned, so therefore can keep them inside an MPA and use them to aggregate the fish and increase their residence time within protected waters."    See nature.org/HawaiiPalmyra. 

       The Nature Conservancy is the project lead nationwide and is working locally to manage the project with Hawai‘i ‘Ulu Cooperative. TNC is working nationally with Propagate, Savanna Institute, Tuskegee University, University of Missouri–The Center for Agroforestry, and Virginia Tech University. TNC manages the project, including coordinating with national partners to expand financing and develop markets for agroforestry commodities.
    “Agroforestry is an underutilized tool in our collective efforts to support rural economies while mitigating climate change,” said Audrey Epp Schmidt, agroforestry program manager for The Nature Conservancy’s North America Regenerative Agriculture program. “Putting more trees on agricultural lands creates more resilient agricultural systems, and expanding the production of commodities grown in agroforestry systems can help drive new market opportunities to build an increasingly climate-smart food system.”
    A statement from program managers says that Agroforestry is used by less than 2% of farm operations in the U.S., "yet it can sequester 2 to 4 tons of carbon per acre per year in plant biomass. Adding trees to agricultural landscapes can also increase carbon stored in soils and decrease the use of fertilizers, reducing associated greenhouse gas emissions and impacts on water quality. This project, which includes targeted efforts to increase accessibility and engagement with underserved producers, could eventually spur the adoption of agroforestry practices on tens of millions of acres of U.S. farmlands."