ABSTRACT

Nascent aquaculture evolved in an era when numerous industries were already established and competing for political clout as well as limited land, coastal sites and other resources. The federal government, far from encouraging new industries, restricted them in ways unimaginable in the nineteenth century. Biologists conducting aquaculture research in state fish and game departments had different research priorities than scientists in either the National Marine Fisheries Service or the universities. By 1987, despite an enthusiastic state government and its Aquaculture Development Program that was busily promoting the industry, aquaculture was still a big question mark in Hawaii’s future. Aquaculture is agriculture; both are in the husbandry business. Most will agree that from a production standpoint the agriculture industry needed four advantages to prosper: Farmers, good land and water, a research arm that provided the essential knowledge for successful and innovative husbandry, and a political/legal system that guaranteed property rights and the right of the farmer to conduct his business.