Hawaiʻi Study Blends Native Knowledge and Science to Reveal Cookiecutter Shark Role

On December 29, 2025, researchers from the University of Hawaiʻi published a study that brought together ʻike Hawaiʻi (Native Hawaiian ecological knowledge), ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language), and conventional marine science to investigate the Cookiecutter shark, a deepwater species best known for leaving small, round bite marks on larger marine animals. The work combined traditional naming, local observations, historical accounts, and modern sampling to build a fuller picture of the shark’s behavior and its place in Hawaiʻi’s marine ecosystems.

Lead investigators framed the project around community knowledge and language as sources of insight rather than as ancillary material. Traditional names and oral histories helped generate specific research questions that guided contemporary sampling and analysis, while historical accounts from local observers provided baseline context that modern methods could test. Community science contributions were integral: locals reported occurrences and bite-mark patterns, and volunteers assisted in sample collection and shoreline observations that expanded the geographic and temporal reach of the study.

The interdisciplinary approach had immediate implications for local management and conservation. By combining Indigenous knowledge systems with Western methods, researchers said the study produced clearer conservation implications for Hawaiʻi’s nearshore and deepwater habitats and suggested priorities for monitoring and protection. The findings strengthen the evidence base that managers will need when crafting policies that affect fisheries, protected species, and habitat stewardship across the Big Island and surrounding waters.

Beyond immediate ecological insights, the project highlighted broader equity and policy concerns. Including ʻike Hawaiʻi and ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi in scientific design addresses a long-standing gap in how research is framed and whose knowledge counts. That shift can reduce extractive research practices, better align scientific agendas with community priorities, and improve trust between researchers and Indigenous communities, factors that are critical when policymaking touches cultural practices, subsistence fishing, and coastal livelihoods.

For Big Island County residents, the study demonstrates how local observations and cultural knowledge can directly influence scientific understanding and management decisions that affect fisheries, tourism, and marine resource health. Researchers recommend that future marine studies in Hawaiʻi continue to integrate Indigenous knowledge holders and community scientists, and that resource managers use these combined data streams to guide monitoring, conservation planning, and equitable policy development.