Community-based co-management is an effective way to sustain near shore resources and the livelihoods of those depending on them while addressing concerns and user conflicts, West Hawaii Fisheries Council chairman Glennon Gingo said Sunday.
Given that the state’s enforcement agency is understaffed, under financed and faces other hindrances, such as only being able to inspect coolers if there’s probable cause, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources has adopted co-management schemes with community groups to help draft and recommend actions. WHFC is such a grassroots advisory group, Gingo said.
The all-volunteer members, representing diverse geographic areas and stakeholder groups, suggest rules to DLNR for the West Hawaii Regional Fisheries Management Area, which encompasses 147 miles of shoreline from South Point to Upolu Point. Established in 1998, its first accomplishment was designating the Fish Replenishment Areas, or FRAs, where aquarium collecting is prohibited. Since the closure of FRAs, the top 20 aquarium species, including the yellow tang, showed overall increases, said WHFC member Marni Herkes.
After 10 years of extensive research, committee meetings and community discussions, WHFC is proposing several changes to the management area’s rules. The top three changes are implementing a 40-species “white list,” establishing a Kaohe Bay FRA and prohibiting scuba spearfishing. Also proposed are the establishment of a West Hawaii aquarium permit in addition to the state’s aquarium fish permit, the requirement of labeling commercial marine license numbers on nets or containers used for aquarium collecting purposes, and clarifications regarding the Puako and Keauhou Bay Fisheries Management Areas’ boundaries, Gingo said.
During the monthly Kawaihae Local Resource Council meeting, Gingo and Herkes explained the basics and reasons pertaining to the rule changes, as well as answered questions about WHFC and the state’s administrative rule making process.
Public hearings on the proposals are anticipated to be held sometime in August and currently informational sessions are occurring, Herkes said.
Gingo added the rules have to pass the state Small Business Regulatory Review Board before hearings may happen. He also repeatedly encouraged the public to get engaged in developing management actions by providing valuable feedback or revisions and joining WHFC or attending its monthly meetings at the Hawaii Big Game Fishing Club at Honokohau Harbor.
If passed, Gingo said West Hawaii would be the first in the state to prohibit scuba spearfishing — something that is already banned in other places like Australia. He claimed the apparatus allows the user to spearfish more efficiently and is ecologically unsustainable because of “the potential detrimental effect on fish populations.” Proponents have said this fishing method allows for an unfair advantage and harvesting of existing fish stocks that could be too great — so much so that they cannot naturally recover.
The rule amendment would make it illegal to possess scuba gear, spears and speared aquatic life at the same time, Gingo said.
Another major proposal would establish a 1,500-foot section of Kaohe Bay, commonly known as Pebble Beach, in South Kona as a FRA, where aquarium collecting and recreational fish feeding is prohibited. Residents felt the ocean area, fronting the Kona Paradise subdivision, was being depleted of popular aquarium fish. It took roughly four years of solid working committees and community discussions to reach this solution, Gingo said.
The last major change is the “white list,” which indicates the fish aquarium collectors may harvest. There are 40 fish species permitted for take and those species account for about 99 percent of the total aquarium fish landings. There are size and bag limits for only three of the 40 fish species on the list: yellow tang, goldring surgeonfish and achilles tang, Gingo said.
Meanwhile, this proposal also prohibits anyone from taking or possessing vulnerable species, such as sharks, rays and two mollusks, he said.
For more information about WHFC or the proposed rules, call Herkes at 987-2171 or Gingo at 960-9348.
