(BIVN) – A community celebration was held at Isaac Hale Beach Park in Puna on Monday, kicking off the long-awaited project to excavate the Pohoiki Boat Ramp following the the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea. 

The Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources shared photos, video, and a news release detailing from the event:

On Monday, hundreds of people gathered for a community celebration and blessing at the top of the ramp, which by November is expected to be clear of an estimated 42,000 cubic yards of black sand and boulders. That’s about 22,000 full-sized pickup truck beds.

Photo courtesy Hawaiʻi DLNR

DLNR Chair Dawn Chang, speaking before the blessing, commented, “This is a day of celebration to recognize the collaboration of the community, elected officials and DLNR working together to support this project. The Pohoiki Boat Ramp is a piko, or focal point for this community. Fishing is a huge part of the greater Puna community and commercial, recreational and subsistence fishers have been waiting patiently for this work to begin. The million-dollar question is what took so long?”

Even before the eruption, Finn McCall, the head engineer with the DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR), made multiple visits to Pohoiki. Immediately after the eruption stopped, McCall continued making further visits to Pohoiki to shift the strategy in addressing ramp needs. “Boy, this has been a long journey,” he remarked. We tried looking at sites from Kapoho all the way to Kalapana. Sand and boulders continued to fill the entire bay, but once that stopped, we began focusing on restoring the Pohoiki ramp.”

The state had hoped for more federal support to approve removal of most of the volcanic debris in Pohoiki Bay, but FEMA was only able to approve restoration of the boat ramp entrance channel. Then it took dogged efforts by state lawmakers from the district to convince the rest of the legislature that opening the Pohoiki boat ramp was the top priority for people in the district.

Chang singled out the efforts of state Senator Joy San Buenaventura and state Representative Greggor Ilagan in getting $5.4 million of state funding for the dredging. The total project cost came in at $9.28 million, which means the $2.9 million shortfall is being covered by DOBOR’s Boating Special Fund, which derives its revenues almost entirely from boating user fees.

Photo courtesy Hawaiʻi DLNR

In remarks during the blessing ceremony, Sen. San Buenaventura said, “We needed people to understand how much it cost in fuel just to bring all our boats from the Wailoa Small Boat Harbor in Hilo, the nearest boating facility, out to Puna to they could fish to feed and support their families.”

She and Rep. Ilagan often pointed out it was akin to only having one small boat ramp for all of O‘ahu. “In 2021, I was also advocating for the alternate highway route, as that was the number-one issue that people voted on during town hall meetings. In 2022 the community reprioritized my priorities and made the Pohoiki Boat Ramp number one.”

Chang fielded letter after letter, comment after comment from upset and frustrated fishers, some of whom had to give up their generational livelihoods of fishing because it became too expensive. Family members with lineal connections to the coastline were not able to fish, either. She and every single speaker singled out the community for not giving up and pushing to have Pohoiki restored.

As did the consulting company and contractor hired to do the work. Kyle Kaneshiro of Limtiaco Consulting commented, “This has been one of the most eye-opening, humbling projects I’ve ever worked on. The community made everything so easy. This is not an easy project, but the community got everyone together.”

Photo courtesy Hawaiʻi DLNR

Guy DiBartolo from Goodfellows Bros. Inc., added, “I’ve been to many ground blessings and ceremonies. This one for me, stands out as something unique and special, seeing the community’s involvement over many months and years.”

For many people, like DLNR First Deputy Ryan Kanaka‘ole, Pohoiki stirs up fond childhood memories. “Summertime for me was coming down here, making the two-hour drive each way from Kaʻū with my father to dive, surf, or just relax. This day makes me remember my dad. He didn’t have a house, but he had a car and I’ll never forget those days spent at Pohoiki.”

The contractor has nine months to complete the project but expects to be finished in November.