Molii Fishpond
National Register of Historic Places

Molii Fishpond

Kaneohe, Honolulu County, Hawaii
Listed
December 5, 1972
Type
Site
Period
Listed
Ref No.
72000429

About this property

Moliʻi Fishpond is located southeast of Kamehameha Highway between Kualoa and Johnson Roads, near Kaneohe, on the island of Oahu, in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The pond encompasses 125 acres (50.59 ha; 0.20 sq mi) The locale is part of the ahupuaa (land division) of Hakipuu. The Molii pond is part of Kualoa Ranch. Tilapia, mullet and moi are found within the pond. Commercial fishing operations are contracted out. They [the Hawaiians] have numerous small lakes and ponds, frequently artificial, wherein they breed fish of various kinds, and in tolerable abundance. Moli'i, along with Huilua, Kahaluu and Heʻeia are the only four original Hawaiian fishponds remaining on Oahu. Fishponds were used by the ancient Hawaiians for ocean husbandry. Each pond had a set of sluices that controlled the seawater flow and the fish available in the pond for harvesting. Moli'i had five such sluices, and three of the sluices were still in place in 1972 when the pond was listed on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Oahu. This system of harvesting ocean catch was unique to Hawaii, and does not exist within other areas of ancient Polynesia. The 4,000-foot (1,200 m) wall which partitions the pond from Kaneohe Bay dates back to the earliest Hawaiian settlement of the land, and is traditionally attributed to the Menehune of Hawaiian mythology. The craftsmanship applied in constructing the wall is similar to brickwork, in that the gaps and crevices between the stacked stones are plugged with coral and smaller rocks.

Location

Kaneohe, Honolulu County, Hawaii
21.51079, -157.84596

Categories

PREHISTORICHISTORIC - ABORIGINALAGRICULTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Native Heritage
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Nearby Historic Sites

Kualoa Ahupua'a Historical District
Listed
1 mi
Waikane Taro Flats
Listed
1.9 mi
Small Heiau
Industrial
2 mi
Huilua Fishpond
Modern
3.5 mi
Kahaluu Fish Pond
Modern
3.7 mi

Nearby Battles

Attack on Pearl Harbor — Battleship Row
1941Modern
12.4 mi

Questions about this property

When was Molii Fishpond listed on the National Register?

Molii Fishpond was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 5, 1972.

What type of historic resource is Molii Fishpond?

Molii Fishpond is classified as a site in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Molii Fishpond?

The period of significance for Molii Fishpond is recorded as the listed era.

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