KUPA Friends of Ho‘okena Beach Park Receive OHA Grant

KUPA Friends of the Ho‘okena Beach Park, a nonprofit organization located at Ho‘okena on the Island of Hawai‘i, has been selected for a Community Grant Award from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA). The two-year award totals $99,940.

KUPA Friends of the Ho‘okena Beach Park is a community-based organization founded in 2006. The organization co-manages Ho‘okena Beach Park under a Memorandum of Understanding with the Hawai‘i County Department of Parks and Recreation.

Ho‘okena Beach Park file photo.

The park receives over 9,000 visitors from out of state each year and also serves as a major recreational destination for the local Native Hawaiian families. In addition to co-managing the park, the organization is active in managing its natural and cultural resources.

The Community Grant Award will be used to revitalize native Hawaiian opelu fishing practices in Ho‘okena’s near shore fisheries. Master fishermen who are skilled in these practices will feed and monitor 10 opelu ko‘a and gather data on the health of the ko‘a along with other scientific information, such as water temperature, currents, tides, moon phases and fish maturity.

Portions of the award will go toward outreach and education of current opelu fishermen and/or new and next generation fishermen.

Along with the OHA, the organization is partnering with Conservation International, its neighboring communities and networks such as E Alu Pu, Kai Kuleana and agencies like the West Hawaii Fishery Council to educate a broader community.

The organization can be reached at PO Box 505, Honaunau, HI 96726. The project administrator is Charles Young. He can be reached at (808) 987 9052 or at youngc042@hawaii.rr.com.

About the Office of Hawaiian Affairs

Established by the state Constitution Convention in 1978, OHA is a semi-autonomous state agency mandated to better the conditions of Native Hawaiians. Guided by a board of nine publicly elected trustees, OHA fulfills its mandate through advocacy, research, community engagement, land management and the funding of community programs. Learn more at www.oha.org.

About OHA’s Community Grant Program

OHA’s Community Grants Program support non-profit organizations whose projects and programs serve the Native Hawaiian community and align with OHA’s Strategic Results. For more information about the Community Grants Program, visit https://www.oha.org/grants.