Students' fish-friendly rulers are
individually lettered and decorated.
Joshua Izumigawa, one of the students in the two classes, wrote a letter to the Star-Bulletin asking the newspaper to help spread the word about the rulers. So the Star-Bulletin talked with Joshua and his teacher, Karen Ching-Hew.
Ching-Hew explained that the project is part of a Moanalua Gardens Foundation contest, "You Can Make a Difference," and came about when the students watched an episode of the television program "Exploring the Islands." The TV show is an interactive program on Oceanic Cable channel 56.
The back sides of the rulers
feature important information
on fishing seasons and limits.
Joshua said the two classes brainstormed about possible projects. Suggested activities included building a composting bin and recycling plastic. Then one kid said something like, "Hey! Let's make and give out minimum catch size rulers!"
Almost everyone voted for the rulers, "because people thought we should save baby fish before they come into extinction," recalled Joshua. "Each student had to make 10 rulers. You could make any design you want."
Ching-Hew said the class participated in a recycling project to raise money for the supplies necessary to make the rulers.
After the rulers were made, Joshua said, "We sent them to different places and businesses, Harry Kojima (of the "Let's Go Fishing" TV show), the governor, the mayor, Mike Sakamoto (of the TV show "Fishing Tales") and stores like Daiei to pass out to customers. We sent out a lot."
He said the students hadn't received a response from the individuals. However, Ching-Hew said the fishing supply stores "were happy to give out the rulers. Some stores are calling back for more."
If the kids win the contest, Ching-Hew said they can use some of the prize money to buy more supplies to make more rulers.
Joshua thought some prize money could also be used to cover costs of the fourth-grader's field trips and maybe "use it for things for the school, maybe computers or library books."
In any event, the students and their project will be featured on the March 18 edition of "Exploring the Islands," which airs at 8:45 a.m. And even if they don't net the big prize, they've caught the attention of a lot of island fishers.