Everyone interested in marine resources — including fishers, divers, surfers, cultural practitioners and kupuna — is invited to attend the Maui kick-off of the Holomua Marine 30X30 community planning process.

This is an opportunity for the Maui community to become familiar with the Holomua Initiative (Holomua means “moving forward”), share stories of smaller scale efforts and gain the larger community’s input to inspire the island’s marine resource management efforts ahead.

Three identical talk story sessions are slated for Friday, Oct. 28, from 5 to 9 p.m. in the J. Walter Cameron Center “Ekolu” Auditorium at 95 Mahalani St. in Wailuku; Saturday, Oct. 29, from 1 to 5 p.m. in the Lahaina Intermediate School Cafeteria at 871 Lahainaluna Road; and Sunday, Oct. 30, from 1 to 5 p.m. in the Ala Kukui “Halau” Building at 4224 Hana Highway in Hana.

Maui community members will be asked to share their knowledge about nearshore waters and how we can come together to keep families fishing for generations to come

“The Holomua Marine 30×30 planning process is totally dependent on resource user participation. We highly encourage Maui residents to come out and attend one of the talk story events this month and share stories about Maui’s nearshore resources” said Brian Neilson, DAR administrator.

During the events, DAR will seek input from local marine resource users to help guide the development of Maui’s Navigation Team, a diverse group of local resource users tasked with the design of the island’s interconnected networks of marine management areas (MMAs).

Beginning with Maui, DAR will work with communities on each of the main Hawaiian Islands through Holomua Marine 30×30 to weave cultural, community and scientific knowledge to create interconnected networks of MMAs by 2030. The initiative is a component of the broader Sustainable Hawai’i Initiative.

For more information, visit www.dlnr.hawaii.gov/holomua.

Participate in the process and help the state better protect our marine resources for the future.