Results and Conclusions of Ahihi Reserve Opihi survey

I think the Ahihi Reserve should not be opened. Think about and look at the results. Compare to the research we did with the Opihi then you will see that the Ahihi Bay site near the edge of the reserve has a lot less Opihi compared to the site further in Ahihi Reserve. We should not open up the reserve. People poach and break the rules with fishing. They say they won’t poach, but look at the results.
Evidence and research points out that we should not open the reserve at all. See the Excel graph below to prove my point. We found twenty eight Opihi a the Ahihi Bay site. When we went to the deep inside Ahihi Reserve site we found one hundred and five opihi in the research area. This is some of the evidence we need to keep the reserve closed.

We also found evidence on the shells of Opihi being poached at the Ahihi Reserve sites. The shell has a couple of broken pieces on the sides of the shell. This shows a person with a knife slaughtering the Opihi and eating them. This means people are coming in to the reserve to poach and eat Opihi. There aren’t enough rangers to cover the whole reserve and not enough money to hire more rangers.

As I said before, I think we should close the reserve area and let the Opihi grow for a bit and have some rest. There are four endemic species of Opihi in Hawaii and the reserve is one of the homes to one of these endemic species called Black Foot Opihi. So I rest my case and say the Opihi should be left alone and the reserve stay shut down for now.




Writing by Kaleb Wilstead
Graph by Tehilla Ben Gershom and Tara Servis