Naturalist Bobby Camara offers insight into the fishponds of Pā‘aiea, located on the western tip of Hawaiʻi island. Once among Kamehameha’s principal properties in North Kona, these were large, productive royal ponds used to support the aliʻi and their court. Bobby explains that unlike communal fishponds that may have served neighboring ahupuaʻa, Pā‘aiea was not accessible to the broader public. It was reserved for chiefly use, aligned with the high status and needs of Kamehameha and his many retainers. He also recalls Kamehameha’s personal fondness for fishing in the area, especially for aku near Kaʻelehuluhulu.
It was one of Kamehameha’s main properties in Kona ʻAkau.
So, Pā‘aiea was a pond for Kamehameha. We don't know how old it was, but just before its being filled by lava, it was one of Kamehameha’s main properties, I guess, in Kona ʻĀkau, or North Kona. It was a very large fishpond or series of fishponds on the western tip of the island of Hawaiʻi. And as befits aliʻi ponds, it was really, really productive. As you know, from our understanding of it, Kamehameha was an avid fisherman, and he loved going to Kaʻelehuluhulu, which is on the north boundary of the pond, and fishing, especially for aku. That was one of his favorite pastimes.
It didn’t serve as a fish market. It was the place of, and for, the aliʻi.
The ponds themselves were not meant to feed the populace at large. They were meant for the aliʻi and their large, large number of retainers, or their, what we might call their court today. So it wasn’t a pond where people from neighboring ahupuaʻa or from other districts could come and get fish. It wasn’t, it didn’t serve as a fish market for the people. It was the place of and for the aliʻi.
