Understanding Seascapes Through the Eyes of Honoli‘i Surfers - PIPES Intern Report
Dates
Date Reported
2015-08-05
Summary
Local stakeholders are stewards of their own coastal communities, aware of changes both socially and physically that occur in the seascape. How the landscape changes has implications for local cultural values and beliefs. To gain a better understanding of how communities change over time socially and physically, we conducted semi-structured interviews with surfers who are known as experts in the surf spot of Honoli'i Bay located in Hilo, Hawaii. Interview methods included diagrams, open-ended questions, and photographs. Within the community, we interviewed 12 surfers considered to be local experts on surf conditions to ask about their observations. The expert surfers provided a better understanding of (1) great, average, and poor surf [...]
Summary
Local stakeholders are stewards of their own coastal communities, aware of changes both socially and physically that occur in the seascape. How the landscape changes has implications for local cultural values and beliefs. To gain a better understanding of how communities change over time socially and physically, we conducted semi-structured interviews with surfers who are known as experts in the surf spot of Honoli'i Bay located in Hilo, Hawaii. Interview methods included diagrams, open-ended questions, and photographs. Within the community, we interviewed 12 surfers considered to be local experts on surf conditions to ask about their observations. The expert surfers provided a better understanding of (1) great, average, and poor surf conditions at Honoli'i, (2) changes both socially and physically over time and (3) whether the surf quality has changed over time through the eyes of someone within the community. Stories shared by the expert surfers were formed into four themes; social perceptions, sense of place, environmental changes, and changes in surf quality. The themes illustrate what has changed over time and were observed by these local watermen first-hand. Through this interview, we discovered the resiliency of the community towards social and physical changes in the seascape and the communities ability to adapt.
