Promise seen in Big Isle’s land-based fisheries

For all that Kohala Mountain Fish Co. is accomplishing, the farm is only half the story.

To start, it sits on land — 2,400 acres of it — managed by the Kohala Institute, a nonprofit dedicated in part to sustainable endeavors good for the land and the community. The institute holds the master lease for all that acreage, purchased by Bennett Dorrance, a Big Island resident and one of the heirs to the Campbell’s Soup fortune. Dorrance helped found the institute.

Dorrance’s aim was to consolidate the land that comprises the ‘Iole ahu­puaa (an ancient land division from mountain to ocean), then work with it in a manner consistent with the institute’s values of sustainability.

“On-land fisheries is one of the top ways to do that. It leaves a smaller footprint,” he said.

But Dorrance’s eye is also on the bigger picture.

“Now, with environmental pollution, radiation and plastics in the water, and overfishing, farmed fish grown in a controlled environment is of value,” he said. “The world in general must think more seriously about raising fish on land for food.”

Dorrance hopes Kohala Mountain’s plan to incorporate smaller growers could become “part of the road map to economic stability for the Big Island,” and for Hawaii agriculture in general. “This fish farm could be an economic engine for so many things,” he said. “I believe we must think systemically to be successful in agriculture.”

Scott Enright, chairman of the state Department of Agriculture, called the company’s work “amazing.”

“It’s cutting-edge for Hawaii, and the expectation is that others will follow when they see the strong market,” he said.

Enright said Hawaii is still in transition from the plantation model of agriculture common more than a century ago. When someone with capital sees an opportunity here and invests, it starts the ball rolling.

“It’s a generational process,” he said.

In reunifying the ahupuaa, Dorrance’s investment reflects the richness of a values-based project, which goes beyond financial success.

“The reunited ahupuaa includes the majority of an entire water and land system, so we can better control all the elements of what happens on that land. We can give it cultural consideration,” Dorrance said. “It’s a social impact investment model of doing good while doing well.”