Hawaii needs to rely on Native Hawaiian fishers to help conserve and protect the state's near-shore ecosystems, one of the speakers at a marine resources forum said today.

William Aila, Waianae's harbormaster, made the remarks this morning at a forum sponsored by The Honolulu Advertiser, which is running a series — Man, Land & Sea — about the state of Hawaii's reefs.
Aila told the audience that the fishermen, based on their years of experience, could provide the state with timely data about fisheries in the waters they go to daily.