Closing the Loop,  From Waste to Food Security by Sean Cummings Unlike most vendors at the Kailua Farmers Market, Sean Butterbaugh takes food from people instead of offering it. In fact, only once a month does he actually have anything ...

Planting Seeds, Feeding Young Minds by Grace Cajski Nearly two decades ago, Eliza Lathrop, an American Studies teacher at Punahou, heard her students groan, “ugh, ʻsustainability.’ We already did that!" This was a lightbulb moment for Lathrop. She wanted to ...

Balancing the Buzz by Carolyn Bernhardt Hawaiʻi’s honey bees are the lifeblood of the islands’ agriculture, diligently pollinating many different types of crops and contributing over $200 million in pollination services. But a focus on domestic bees, while boosting food ...

Superfoods in Hawaiʻi: Eating the Rainbow by Megan Herndon There’s a lot of hype around the idea of “superfoods.” But there’s no scientific definition of what makes food a superfood. “Superfood is more of a marketing word than a scientific ...

Chefs in the Spotlight Colin Sato, Devynne Fuga Ah-Mai, Matt Vidusek, & Adam Wade Colin Sato Restaurant: Mugen Website: mugenwaikiki.com Email: colinsato1782@gmail.com Instagram: @chefcolinsato Hometown: Honolulu, HI Trained: Kapiʻolani Community College, restaurants, and hotels on Oʻahu Favorite Dish: My favorite ...

The Secret Ingredients of Food Science by Maddie Bender Alchemy, the mystical process of transforming metals into gold, has a clear appeal. Imagine if it were possible to unlock hidden value from objects, ensuring prosperity and abundance for yourself and ...

Paʻakai (Hawaiian Salt) by Lurline Wailana McGregor Sea salt is what is left when seawater evaporates, while rock salt is mined from ancient lakes and seas. Salt mines can be deep underground or high in the mountains, such as the ...

by Kristel Tjandra “He Aliʻi Ka ʻĀina, He Kauwā Ke Kanaka” (The land is the chief, the people are its servants) is an ʻōlelo noʻeau (proverb) to describe the relationship between Hawaiians and the land. Before Western contact, Hawaiians lived ...

E like me nā poʻe maoli a noho papa like ʻole a puni i ka hōnua, ua mahi pono nā Kānaka ʻŌiwi o Hawaiʻi nei i nā ʻāina momona a me nā kai uluwehi i mea e hānai aku i ...

Click on the cover image to view the full issue. The deep sea is usually described as dark, cold, lifeless, and mysterious, but to Pacific Islanders, it is the complete opposite. The deep sea is where life began, mysteries unfold, ...

by J. MattIn the 2023 run up to New Year’s Eve, Hawai‘i saw a bounty blow in from across the Pacific, the result of a difficult negotiation. The local fleet’s catch limit on ahi had been increased. There would be ...

by Grace CajskiSteamed mullet, grilled opelu, ahi poke: local seafood is delicious. It constitutes 51 percent of all the seafood eaten in the state of Hawaiʻi. On average, individuals in Hawaiʻi consume almost 19 pounds of local seafood every year, ...

by Alice Van VeenendaalNOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center has welcomed a new leader, Dr. Charles Littnan, whose path from Minnesota to the Pacific Islands speaks volumes about his dedication to marine biology and fisheries science. From jokes made in ...

by Lurline Wailana McGregorIn pre-contact Hawaiʻi, a lūʻau meant a lavish meal of foods grown in the ahupuaʻa, which extended from the mountain to the sea. From the land came ʻuala (sweet potato), kalo (taro), ʻulu (breadfruit), niu (coconut), and ...

by Devin Reese Seafood has been a staple in Hawaiian diets for generations, since Polynesians settled the islands more than 1,000 years ago. Many communities across Hawai‘i fish locally and commercially, and restaurant menus feature fish that are both native ...

by Natasha VizcarraOn the morning of July 11, 2023, marine wildlife veterinarian Dr. Joe Gaydos stood in front of a beautiful, six-foot-long fish that had washed up on Crescent Beach, Orcas Island. Its body was torpedo-shaped, and its skin was ...

by Breanna RoseNative Hawaiian fisherman Uncle Mac Poepoe witnessed the decline in fish for decades at Moʻomomi, on Molokaʻi, where he grew up fishing. Poepoe turned his concern into action, and galvanized a community-led movement. In the 1990s, Poepoe spearheaded ...

by Josh McDanielThe health of fisheries is vital to the marine environment, economy, and culture of Hawaiʻi. Subsistence fishing also plays an outsized role in food security for many who live in the state. In a recent NOAA survey of ...

Click on the cover image to view the full issue. Fisheries are critical to the health and well-being of people throughout the Pacific Islands and world. In addition to their significant financial value, fisheries also offer nutritional and cultural benefits ...

by Cary DeringerTo increase future sustainable food production while reducing methane emissions, scientists are turning to the ocean, specifically seaweed, for answers. Food production needs will have to double to feed nearly ten billion people by 2050. However, production of protein-rich foods ...

by Liz ColeyIf “developing solutions to monitor, protect, manage, and restore” ocean ecosystems sounds like a challenge the human species is unprepared to face, author Deborah Rowan Wright offers good news in Future Sea: How to Rescue and Protect the World’s Oceans. Her treatment of the subject ...

by Damond BenningfieldGhosts haunt the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. They glide in with the currents and tides, from all around the North Pacific Ocean. They destroy coral reefs and ensnare seals, sea turtles, and other endangered animals. They foul the beaches, present a hazard to boats, ...

by Rayne SullivanWith worsening ocean health, the Pacific and much of the world are facing a multifront threat to heritage and culture, livelihoods, security, health, and ultimately their very existence. In Palau, it is said that when there is threat to one mesekuuk (surgeonfish), ...

by Mallory HoffbeckUndergraduate student Noah van Aardenne stands lookout on the bow of the tall ship SSV Robert C. Seamans, holding on to the forestay as the ship tosses. He watches the horizon for rain clouds, marine animals, or rare ...

by Lurline Wailana McGregorWhen the last of its four counties implemented laws to ban plastic bags from store checkouts in 2021, Hawaiʻi became the first in the nation with a full statewide ban. Since then, the City and County of ...

by MARIA FROSTICWith the ocean on track to teem with more plastic than fish by the year 2050, marine debris is making waves in local and global economies. Damage from marine litter on the global marine economy was estimated at ...

by Mark MarchandThere’s an “all hands on deck” effort underway to understand and counter the growing issue of derelict fishing nets and other plastic debris washing up on Hawaiʻi’s shores and reefs, and in its harbors. Organizations and individuals—environmentally conscious ...

by Tess JoosseThe United States uses and discards the most plastic in the world, churning out a whopping 42 million metric tons each year. Despite this distinction, as recently as 2020 the full scale of the U.S.’s contribution to ocean ...

by Libby LeonardThe Kumulipo, the Hawaiian creation chant, describes the area of Papahānaumokuākea as the realm of Pō, where life springs from a single coral polyp, and where spirits return upon death. Papahānaumokuākea got its name in 2007 from two ...

Click on the cover image to view the full issue. On the Cover The numbers are hard to envision— 8 million metric tons of plastics entering the ocean each year—but the result is something we’ve all experienced: plastics on the ...