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Off the coast of Hawai\u2018i, an unwelcome guest crowds the waters, devouring creatures that cross its path.<\/p>\n
How to stop them?<\/span><\/p>\n A new effort wants to put them on your feet.<\/span><\/p>\n Measuring barely a foot long (30 centimeters), lemon yellow with electric-blue stripes, ta\u2019ape doesn\u2019t look like much of a threat, yet it travels in the thousands, a moving wall of fish in Hawai\u2018i\u2019s waters.<\/span><\/p>\n For decades, the invasive species has feasted on native fish \u2014 and fishermen\u2019s wallets.<\/span><\/p>\n Now, Conservation International-Hawai\u2018i and P448, a luxury Italian shoe brand, have teamed up to tackle the issue \u2014 creating a shoe that uses ta\u2019ape fish leather in the design.<\/span><\/p>\n While fish leather has found its way into the fashion world<\/a>, this is new territory for ta\u2019ape, said Jhana Young, who leads Conservation International’s work on the project<\/a> in Hawai\u2018i.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cRewiring how we think about invasive species and turning them into leather flips the script and helps protect our reefs and uplift local communities,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is the kind of creative strategy we need in the conservation world now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Invasive species are a scourge the world over<\/a>, but Hawai\u2018i holds a bleak distinction: It is known as the invasive species capital of the world. More than 5,000 non-native plants<\/a> and animals cost the state tens of millions<\/a> of dollars each year.<\/span><\/p>\n With 10 million annual visitors to Hawai\u2018i, invasive species can arrive to the islands in a host of ways, from the ballast water of ships to the wheel wells of airplanes. They also arrive through imported goods like Christmas trees.<\/span><\/p>\n Others, like ta\u2019ape, were purposefully introduced. Back in the 1950s, the state government brought them to O\u2019ahu from the South Pacific as part of an effort to bolster local fisheries. Ta\u2019ape, which thrives in a range of different marine environments, from shallow reefs to deepwater, and has no natural predators in Hawai\u2018i, quickly exploded in number.<\/span><\/p>\n Fishing is the best way to eliminate the species, Young said, which means it has to be a profitable and worthwhile endeavor for fishermen to target ta\u2019ape.<\/span><\/p>\n Last summer, P448 sourced 2,000 ta\u2019ape skins from fishermen on the island of Moloka\u2019i for the collection \u2014 the first time ta\u2019ape skins have been tanned at a commercial scale. Those skins have since been transformed into nearly 900 pairs of shoes.<\/span><\/p>\n Preparing the fish skins for leather-making is a delicate process, said Young. In the heat and humidity of Hawai\u2018i, there\u2019s a limited time window for exposing the skins to the elements before the quality begins to drop.<\/span><\/p>\n Leather-making is typically an environmentally damaging process, using toxic chemicals like chromium<\/a> and massive amounts of water. Aquaborne, the tannery company processing the ta\u2019ape, uses eco-friendly materials and processes, including no heavy metal or chromium use, and 80 percent less water and energy compared with traditional tanning processes.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cLeather is a widely used textile, but it comes at a steep environmental cost,\u201d Young said. \u201cFish leather can be a more sustainable alternative and due to its crosshatched fiber structure, it\u2019s actually stronger than cow leather when you compare it by thickness.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n This shoe collection builds on years of hard work to combat ta\u2019ape destruction in Hawai<\/span>\u2018<\/span>i, Young said.<\/span><\/p>\n Since 2019, Conservation International-Hawai\u2018i has partnered with local nonprofit Chef Hui<\/a> to work with fishermen, chefs and influencers to encourage people to eat ta\u2019ape<\/a>. Once known as a rubbish fish, the effort set out to change perspectives and persuade people to see ta\u2019ape as an opportunity, rather than a burden.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThankfully, they taste really good,\u201d Young said. \u201cChefs in Hawai\u2018i have really embraced it and helped put it on the map as a great fish to eat.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Since the program started, annual harvests of ta\u2019ape have increased 90 percent, its market value has increased by 168 percent, and the amount of ta\u2019ape released back into the ocean has dropped by more than 200 percent \u2014 which means fishermen are increasingly seeing their value.<\/span><\/p>\n With the shoe collection, the program reached a new milestone \u2014 now, every part of ta\u2019ape can be used.<\/span><\/p>\n After the skins are removed, the meat is donated to local families and to people in need in the community. The fish bones are then used on a local farm, and the remainder of the fish is donated to researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to study the life cycle of ta\u2019ape.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe shoe collection is really a culmination of everything that we\u2019ve built over more than a decade,\u201d Young said. \u201cNot only can we eat them to beat them, we can wear them and apply this idea of using an invasive species for the benefit of our society. This is just the tip of the iceberg.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The ta\u2019ape shoes are available for purchase here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n For more:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Mary Kate McCoy is a staff writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? Sign up for email updates<\/a>. Also, please consider supporting our critical work.
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