Try Wait: Kilo and Collaboration
The Try Wait marine reserve at Kaʻūpūlehu reflects a community commitment to restoring abundance along this coastline. Fishing remains prohibited within the reserve as lineal descendants, lawaiʻa, community members, and agency partners work together to support the recovery of nearshore resources and ensure that future generations can continue to benefit from a healthy and productive marine ecosystem.
Protecting a reserve requires more than signs, rules, and regulations. It requires people who maintain a strong pilina with a place and remain attentive to what is happening within it. Effective stewardship begins with kilo.
In Hawaiʻi, kilo has long been a foundational practice of resource management. Through careful observation, people developed an understanding of seasonal patterns, environmental conditions, and the abundance of resources over time. Kilo helped inform when to gather, when to rest an area, and how to respond to change. Today, the importance of kilo remains the same. Effective stewardship begins with paying attention to place, resources, and the relationships that connect them, and developing the ʻike that comes from an ongoing pilina.
One of the core principles of the Makai Watch program is that people who spend time in a place are often the first to notice when something seems out of the ordinary. Through training, community members learn how to observe, document, and report concerns through appropriate channels. Makai Watch is not about confrontation or acting as law enforcement. It is about awareness, education, and helping connect communities with the agencies responsible for managing and protecting Hawaiʻi's natural resources.
A recent enforcement case involving the alleged unlawful take of ʻopihi from within the Try Wait marine reserve serves as a reminder of why kilo remains so important. Community observations can play a valuable role in helping resource managers and enforcement agencies respond to concerns and protect the resources that communities have committed to mālama.
This experience also highlights the importance of collaboration. Protecting nearshore resources requires communication, trust, and coordination among community members, cultural practitioners, organizations, and agency partners. Neither kilo nor collaboration alone is enough. Together, they help create the conditions necessary for effective stewardship and mālama ʻāina.
We also want to recognize and mahalo the Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) for their work. Community observations are only one part of the process. Effective stewardship depends on strong partnerships between community members and enforcement agencies that are willing to investigate concerns, follow up on reports, and uphold the laws intended to protect Hawaiʻi's natural and cultural resources. Makai Watch was built around this partnership, recognizing that communities and agencies each have important and complementary roles to play.
The ongoing protection of Kaʻūpūlehu's shoreline and marine resources depends on all of us. Whether through learning about the Try Wait reserve, attending community gatherings, participating in stewardship efforts, or becoming involved with programs such as Makai Watch, each person has a role to play in fulfilling their kuleana to this place.
For those interested in learning more, Hui Kahuwai periodically offers Makai Watch trainings that help community members better understand nearshore resources, resource regulations, and appropriate reporting pathways. These trainings provide an opportunity to strengthen skills in kilo while contributing to the collective stewardship of Kaʻūpūlehu and Hawaiʻi's nearshore environments.
Kuleana is strengthened through pilina, kilo, and collaboration.
As we continue working toward a healthy and abundant future for Kaʻūpūlehu, we remain committed to mālama this place alongside lineal descendants, cultural practitioners, lawaiʻa, community members, and agency partners. Together, we can help ensure that the resources we enjoy today remain available for future generations.
June 11, 2026