‘ALIOMANU — Twenty-two students from a Kapa‘a Elementary School’s fourth-grade class were greeted by just the sound of lapping waves and plenty of sunshine as they arrived in ‘Aliomanu yesterday morning. Sudden heartbreak followed. The young students discovered that some
‘ALIOMANU — Twenty-two students from a Kapa‘a Elementary School’s fourth-grade class were greeted by just the sound of lapping waves and plenty of sunshine as they arrived in ‘Aliomanu yesterday morning.
Sudden heartbreak followed.
The young students discovered that some time between late Sunday afternoon and early Monday morning, thieves made off with two of their limu (seaweed) cages, both filled with the vitamin-rich sea vegetable.
The coastline from Anahola north through Aliomanu to Moloa‘a is noted for an abundance of choice eatable limu.
The scene that greeted the students changed the day to one of black clouds.
Hosea Lovell, a resident of Anahola who has been working with the fourth graders, said he checks the traps twice a day.
He said his checks Sunday were important because he knew the students were coming Monday for their final harvest prior to summer vacation.
Lovell said the two traps were there Sunday afternoon, but when he returned Monday to do his usual checks, both traps and their contents were gone.
Kalei Arinaga, the fourth-grade teacher who spearheaded the limu project, explained that students started out in October with eight traps, enough for eight teams that were derived from dividing up the 22-student class.
Lovell added, “The kids had good fun checking the results of their monthly visits, weighing the growth, and noting just how much the limu had multiplied in just a month. It was like a contest — ‘mine grew more than yours,’ and the kids really had fun.”
From the project’s onset, Arinaga explained that students worked to correct problems and work on solutions that would appear along the way.
Initially, the limu would all float away from the cages, Arinaga explained. The students came up with a mesh-bag concept that effectively solved this problem, and the limu began to proliferate. That’s when poachers entered the picture. Traps began to disappear. Lovell said when they first started, they used rope to secure the wire baskets to the reef, but thieves cut through that.
“We put names and stuff on our cages, and sometimes, they would cut those off,” said student Camile Gange. Arinaga added that the student cages were marked and buoyed with special markers.
The remaining cages were equipped with chains attached to a long, stainless-steel spike with a toggle bolt that Lovell said was tightened using an adjustable wrench. “You couldn’t just undo it with your hands,” he said.
But, the thieves persisted. Lovell explained that they could cut the wire attaching the chain to the cages, and make off with the entire trap full of limu.
And, for the more stubborn cages that wouldn’t bulge, Lovell said the poachers simply cut the wires securing the trap door, and took the cage’s contents.
“This was supposed to be our last harvest,” Arinaga said while looking over at the students, some who were collecting specimens in the ocean, while others worked on limu art on a shaded picnic table. “But, now we have nothing.”
The Kapa‘a Elementary School students would make monthly trips to ‘Aliomanu to check on the progress of their limu. In addition to weighing the mass and noting the progress of growth of the limu, students would also harvest a portion of the growth, always leaving a sufficient quantity for the limu to regenerate itself for the following month, Arinaga said.
In addition to the scientific data-recording, Arinaga explained that the collected limu was brought back to the school, and prepared so the students were able to sample dishes that the limu was used in.
Arinaga explained that, when the incident was reported back to school Principal Dora Hong, she suggested that they file a police report.
This was done, and while waiting on the arrival of the police officer, the students quickly adjusted to other tasks, such as creating limu art, and collecting specimens of invasive limu.
Arinaga explained that the students brought back the specimens to class, to identify them.
Undaunted, Arinaga said, “Might as well make the best of things. We’ll start again next year.”
The black clouds were chased away by the sunshine as another student piped in, “Did you see the two monk seals? I saw them first!”
- Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@pulitzer.net.
