West Maui Kumuwai hosted “Hawaii’s First-Ever Seaweed Eating Competition” at the four-year anniversary of the Kahekili Herbivore Fisheries Management Area (KHFMA) in North Kaanapali.
The event took place Sunday, July 28 at Kahekili Beach Park (Airport Beach) and made the front page of Maui News the following day. For the seaweed-eating contest, Elizabeth Triplett, a part-time resident of Kaanapali, beat out four other female contestants by eating one pound of seaweed in four minutes and 59 seconds. Kaau Abraham, the Maui coordinator for Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, chowed down on a pound and a quarter of seaweed in two minutes and seven seconds. Watch contestants in action!
The KHFMA was created in July 2009 in response to concerns about the long-term decline of the reef in North Kaanapali. Situated along an approximately 2-mile stretch of coastline, the KHFMA protects the population of herbivores— animals that eat seaweed, such as surgeonfish, parrotfish (uhu), and sea urchins—in the area to reduce excess algae and improve coral health.
