Aloha Aina
"Kapu" restrictions were used to regulate Hawaiian fishing in order to maintain the long-term viability of ocean life in the 1700s and 1800s. Certain fishes and/or designated areas were forbidden (or kapu) at the times when overfishing could damage the environment. This is similar to the modern regulation of monitoring and regulating fishing and hunting through licensing but, well before the "modern" era, the society exercised insight into sustainable living and created a system to manage it. Also the Kapu ʻōhiʻa kō chant was needed before harvesting an ʻŌhiʻa tree.
Read more about this topic: Kapu