He was among the only native Hawaiian fishermen to speak in favor of a ban on fishing green sea turtles.

[1] After giving up a career in turtle fishing, he became involved in the conservation of native Hawaiian ecosystems.

He assisted renowned botanists Otto Degener[2] and Dr. Harold St. John in surveying remote regions of the Hawaiian Islands for native plants.

To me, this is a disgraceful and insulting way of saving Hawaiian plants.”[4]He was active with many volunteer organizations, including the Honokowai restoration project, and the reforestation of Kaho‘olawe until suffering from a stroke in 2006.

He is credited with mentoring numerous conservationists, including native plant nursery owner, Anna Palomino, and parataxonomists Forest and Kim Starr.