Honorable Richard M.
Page 4
May 4,
Nixon
1973
There is no lagoon, and
an atoll, and is fringed with a reef.
all shipping from
heavy winds and tides isolate the island from
November until March or April of each year.
Kili Island is almost devoid of marine resoureces.
The
absence of a lagoon completely eliminates the type of fishing to
which the Bikinians were accustomed.
Surf and
sea conditions at
Kili prohibit the use of sailing,
sea going canoes once used on
Bikini, and these have fallen into disrepair.
The fringing surf
prevents any vessel of size from approaching closer than several
hundred yards from Kili.
Off-loadiny of supplies
is often imposThe
Sible, and when possible, it is both dangerous and costly.
reef itself is dense and homegcneous and does not support lobsters,
other mollusks, or varietics of recf fish. For a fishing people
accumstomed to an atoll, Kili is a prison; the reef an? surf
isolates them and prevents access to the even limited marine
resources available beyond the fringing reer.
Kili had been a copra plantation during Japanese and
times,
and most of the
arable
land was planted
in coconuts.
German
When
the Bikinians arrive in 1948, there were only a few pandanu:: and
breadfruit trees, and none of the hardwood trees found on Bikini
for use in house and canoc construction.
Kill has agricultural
potential, but for a marine-orientated people, accustomed to fishing
and unaccustomed to tilling soil and cutting brush on Kili, agriculture has never been either rewarding or successful.
Life on Kili island has never been pleasant for the Bikini
people.
In the early years, and continuing to the present, the
difficulties are too numerous to explain in detail.
The heavy
surf and sea conditions, plus fFrecuent local ship shortages,
usually prevented more than four visits a ycar by a field trip
vessels.
Failure of the field trips meant that the copra that the
Bikini people had produced was
left
to spoil or be eaten by rats.
Failuse to pick up copra was strong disincentive to make it.
Food
ye
Shortages were again common and the people became convinceca that
Kili was another Rongerik.
In 1949 and 1950 and again in 1°52
food shoctages occurred, severe enough so that in 1952 a ton of
fous was air dropped to the people.
"ven then, parachutes were not
oa
useeé,
and
the
Food vas
bro .On
Snead
rurned.
The efforts
at aegricul-
care Cid not work erd produced Litt
i
le food.
Tho Bikinianas w
snip, a converted £PoORbLy-Took whotlebont, whien wv
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