With a blessing, chants and the symbolic passing of rocks among supporters, a group of Windward Oahu residents last week launched fundraising and volunteer efforts to complete the restoration of an 800-year-old Hawaiian fishpond.

The ceremony at the 88-acre Heeia Fishpond marked a milestone for the group Pae­pae o He‘eia, which has secured federal and state permits to move forward with the restoration.

More than 40 people attended the ceremony.

"What it will get us is a fishpond with fish," said Hi‘i­lei Kawelo, executive director of the nonprofit Pae­pae o He‘eia. "We hope to have the last rock placed one year from the launch."

He‘eia Fishpond was left with a 200-foot breach after devastating rain flooded it May 2, 1965.

The group said the hole allowed mullet and milkfish to swim out and for predatory fish such as barracuda and papio to swim in and raid the pond.

Portions of the fishpond wall have been restored, and the campaign will help to close a final 80-foot section of the breach, the group said.

Kawelo said during the "Pani ka Puka," or "Close the Hole" campaign, the group seeks to raise $100,000 to restore the wall.

Much of the money will go to purchasing and transporting rock and coral from quarries and building a 10-foot-wide sluice gate, or makaha, and a hale kiai, or guardhouse.

In the next 12 months, the group plans to stack the rocks Hawaiian style along the original alignment of the fishpond wall with no mortar or machinery.

Donations can be made and volunteers can sign up at www.pae­pae­o­heeia.org. Checks can be sent to Pae­pae o He‘eia, P.O. Box 6355, Kane­ohe, HI 96744.