Kiholo Fishponds Estuary Restoration Project

The estuary/fishpond complex at Kiholo Bay is currently overgrown by invasive riparian vegetation along the majority of the shoreline, reducing the extent native aquatic vegetation that supports juvenile fish recruitment and survival. The depth of the pond has been severely reduced in places due to the influx of beach sediment (rocks, gravel and sand) during high surf and storm wave conditions. Detrital material from dead vegetation forms a thick layer of organic sediment on the bottom, resulting in periodic onsets of anoxia and fish kills. TNC proposes to begin the process of restoring the natural fishpond function by removing the invasive riparian vegetation along the fishpond margins. TNC will conduct surveys to examine the dynamics of water exchange between the ponds and the ocean, and the numbers and species of larval and juvenile fish transported during this exchange. These activities will allow TNC to better manage and enhance the function of the estuary/fishpond complex in supporting survival and recruitment of coastal marine fishes and to continue restoration actions that will increase juvenile fish survival. This project will benefit the public by increasing production of recreationally, commercially and culturally important fish and invertebrates as well as improving the physical chemical and physical characteristics of the estuary/fishpond complex at Kiholo Bay.