"The importance of fishponds in Hawai`i prior to European contact is illustrated by their numbers and distribution. In 1778, when Captain Cook arrived, about 360 fishponds were identified. In 1990, DHM Planners, Inc., conducted a thorough survey of fishponds and fishtraps in the six major islands and concluded the number to be 488, some distinguished only by remnants of the walls and sluice gates. The large number of ponds and traps on O‘ahu (718) and Hawai‘i (138) reflects the large human populations and the suitability of the landscape with its streams, estuaries, broad plains, and flat coastal reefs for the construction of fishponds. The numbers of fishponds and fishtraps on the other islands were as follows: Moloka‘i (74), Kaua‘i (50), Maui (44), and Lana‘i (4) with the one pond on Ni‘ihau not included.”

(Source: Kahea Loko Curriculum by the Pacific American Foundation)