The entire ahupuaʻa of Halawa is highly sacred to Kanaka Maoli. At the far Makai (ocean) side at Puʻuloa or Pearl Harbor, it is, according to Kanaka Maoli beliefs, the home of the shark goddess Kaʻahupahau, known as the "Queen of Sharks", who protected Oʻahu and strictly enforced kind, fair behavior on the part of both sharks and humans. Until the late 1890s, the home of Kaʻahupahau was famously lined with beds of pearl oysters, however, according to Kanaka Maoli religious experts who follow the goddess, Kaʻahupahau removed all of the oysters (and some say, herself) because the area was being abused by human misdeeds. Today, the water of Pearl Harbor has been highly contaminated by nuclear defueling and other toxic influences, and has thereby been designated as a Superfund site.