MILOLI’I, Hawaii – The traditional methods of ʻŌpelu fishing were on display Saturday off the coast of South Kona in Miloliʻi.
Big Island Video News was invited to document the day’s events. For the first time in Miloli’iʻs modern history, the village formally opened the ʻŌpelu season with a night of cultural practitioners and traditional vegetable palu preparation followed by fishing the next morning.
A small fleet of Outrigger canoes participated in the feeding of the ʻŌpelu. Long time cultural practitioners from the village guided the next generation of fishermen in the process, showing them how to hanai the prized fish.
The Miloliʻi ʻŌpelu project is sponsored through two grants from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the NOAA-Bay Watershed Education and Training Program. It will be a two year project.
Big Island Video News will present a feature story on this event with more information on Monday. The video above is a loosely edited documentation of Saturday’s fishing expedition.
