After World War II, into the 1950s, ʻōpelu fishers began to use flat back plywood canoes with motors, instead of koa canoes with paddles, for their unique method of fishing. These canoes evolved into what became known as the iconic " ʻōpelu fishing canoes." While primarily used for ʻōpelu fishing, the canoes are also used for trolling and handlining.

This ʻŌpelu Fishing Canoes Oral History Project for the Puʻuhonua O Hōnaunau National Historical Park began with a collection of 78 slides that geographer Matthew McGranaghan photographed in South Kona between November 1991 and February 1992 at Keauhou, Napoʻopoʻo, Keʻei, Hōnaunau, Hoʻokena and Miloliʻi. The cultural resources staff asked the University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa Center for Oral History (COH) to conduct oral histories with families connected with the ʻōpelu fishing canoes and speak with them about their construction, use, and connection to families in the South Kona communities. The COH staff showed the narrators the 78 slides of ʻōpelu fishing canoes, one-by-one, and asked them to share what they knew about each of the canoes - builder, owner, design, materials, uses, range, fishing methods, storage, etc.

A report of the findings was created to summarize the information shared by narrators about general themes relating to the ʻōpelu fishing canoes.

This project was funded by the National Park Service through a collaboration between the NPS and the University of Hawaiʻi. The project was conducted through the Hawaiʻi-Pacific Islands Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Agreement Number P20AC00973. The oral history interviews were conducted, transcribed, and edited by a team from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa's Center for Oral History composed of Davianna Pōmaikaʻi McGregor, Micah Mizukami, Kuʻi Keliʻipuleʻole, Dani ʻĀnela Smith, and Lahela-Ann Kaulukukui in cooperation with the National Park Service.

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