{"id":635425,"date":"2026-05-10T21:28:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T21:28:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/635425\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T21:28:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T21:28:15","slug":"nonprofit-groups-partner-again-to-remove-invasive-species-from-kealakekua-bay-big-island-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/635425\/","title":{"rendered":"Nonprofit groups partner again to remove invasive species from Kealakekua Bay : Big Island Now"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bigislandnow.com\/file\/bigislandnow\/2024\/10\/kealakekua-bay-featured.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/kealakekua-bay-featured-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-382919\"\/><\/a>Kealakekua Bay in South Kona. Photo courtesy of Ho\u0101la Kealakekua Nui website.<\/p>\n<p>Big Island nonprofits are coming together, once again, to work together to restore and preserve Kealakekua Bay\u2019s ecological and cultural integrity by removing invasive species.<\/p>\n<p>Local nonprofit <a href=\"https:\/\/ikelawaia.org\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">\u02bbIke Lawai\u02bba<\/a>, in partnership with KapuKapu \u02bbOhana and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.alexanddukederegofoundation.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Alex &amp; Duke De Rego Foundation<\/a>, will host the 2nd annual invasive species removal event at Kealakekua Bay on May 17, removing Roi (Cephalopholis argus), Ta\u2018ape (Lutjanus kasmira), and To\u2018au (Lutjanus fulvus).<\/p>\n<p>No other species will be removed.<\/p>\n<p>ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ADARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD<\/p>\n<p>To ensure the safety of all participants and visitors, Kealakekua Bay waters will be closed to the public from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the day of the event. The community is invited to come out to the bay as there will be informational booths and opportunities to engage with organizations supporting the effort.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are proud to bring our community together for the 2nd Invasive Species Tournament in order to care for our bay through the knowledge of our ancestors,\u201d said Uncle Chuck Leslie from \u02bbIke Lawai\u02bba, a native Hawaiian Organization rooted in Kealakekua Bay, dedicated to perpetuating traditional lawai\u02bba (fishing) practices, safeguarding the bay\u2019s environmental and cultural well-being, and passing down ancestral knowledge to future generations. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cRemoving invasive species supports our coral restoration, fish population and makes sure all things are healthy in Kealakekua Bay. We make sure that there is a future for both our keiki and this wahi pana (sacred place).\u201d<\/p>\n<p>ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD<\/p>\n<p>This invasive species removal effort aligns with the goals of the Kealakekua Bay Community Action Plan, adopted by the local community in 2022, which serves as a community-led framework for stewardship of this culturally and ecologically significant area. <\/p>\n<p>The implementation of the plan is led by Kapukapu \u02bbOhana community stakeholders and state partners, including the Kealakekua Bay Cultural Advisory \u02bbOhana, The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, Ho\u02bb\u0101la Kealakekua Nui, NPS \u2013 Ala Kahakai, Department of Aquatic<br \/>Research, DLNR-DOCARE, and State Parks.<\/p>\n<p>The Community Action Plan was incorporated by the Board of Land and Natural Resources into the Hawai\u2018i State Parks Master Plan for Kealakekua Bay Marine Life Conservation District\/State Historic Park in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD<\/p>\n<p>For more information about \u02bbIke Lawai\u02bba and its mission, visit: <a href=\"https:\/\/ikelawaia.org\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/ikelawaia.org<\/a>. To<br \/>learn more about the Kealakekua Bay Community Action Plan, visit: <a href=\"https:\/\/kealakekua.org\/community-action-plan\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kealakekua Bay<br \/>Community Action Plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kealakekua Bay in South Kona. Photo courtesy of Ho\u0101la Kealakekua Nui website. Big Island nonprofits are coming together,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":500985,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[274470,192,5379,274471,4167,274472,274473,79],"class_list":["post-635425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-annual-invasive-species-removal-event","tag-environment","tag-hawaii-county","tag-ike-lawaia","tag-invasive-species","tag-kealakekua-bay","tag-kealakekua-bay-community-action-plan","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=635425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635425\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/500985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=635425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=635425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=635425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}