Changes to the size limit for commercial ahi is in the works.
State and federal fisheries regulators seeking comment on raising the minimum size of ahi from 3 pounds — along with other rule changes — took input from about two dozen commercial fishermen in Kailua-Kona on Saturday.
The scoping meeting held by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council and the state Division of Aquatic Resources was the last in a series designed to take the temperature of the commercial and sportfishing industry on the proposals.
“There is some foundation for protecting yellowfin because they breed here,” said Dan Roudebush, who identified himself as both a commercial and sport fisherman. “But no one knows where the bigeye breeders go.”
Alton Miyasaka, acting commercial fisheries program manager for DAR, said the feedback from a half-dozen other similar meetings around the state favored increasing the ahi size limit. But the regulators acknowledged that some fishermen felt the smaller fish were too important to the communities and opposed changing the size limit at all.
“Most people feel it should be raised in the range of 5 to 10 pounds,” Miyasaka said.
In a video shown to the group, Department of Land and Natural Resources Chairman William Aila said it is in the fishermen’s interest to allow yellowfin to grow. Restraining the number of smaller fish caught allows them to mature into a larger and more valuable product, Aila said.
The movement to change ahi limits has been afoot for years, said Mark Mitsuyasu, fisheries program officer for WPRFMC.
“There have been several initiatives to change minimum size, but they haven’t really stuck,” he said.
Along with the commercial size increase, regulators floated the idea of minimum size limits and daily bag limits for sportfishing. Respondents were asked to fill out questionaires that quantified what they felt limits should be.
“What we’re hearing across the state is that, if you are going to limit the size of commercial ahi, you should have a noncommercial size limit and bag limit,” Miyasaka said.
The restrictions would help curb abuse of the system by people who keep small fish and sell them on the roadside, he said.
“If there’s no enforcement, why you guys make rules like this?” one fisherman asked. “Why you guys picking on the roadside people?”
Miyasaka said regulators are trying to determine if there is a large market for 3-pound fish on the Big Island.
“People don’t sell 3-pound fish over here,” the fisherman responded. “You gotta do your job. You gotta catch those guys selling under 3 pounds.”
Miyasaka said law officers enforce the rules to the best of their ability.
Feedback was also sought on size limits for commercial aku and noncommercial daily bag limits. Additionally, the agencies wanted to know if there should be a grace period after the season closure when bottomfish may be sold.
Current rules prohibit possession of bottomfish after the quota has been met and the season closes.
Fishermen tend to fish to the last day of the season, then come in and sell, and dealers are then stuck with illegal fish, Mitsuyasu said.
“Some fishermen were getting stuck on different islands. Guys weren’t happy,” Mitsuyasu said.
Fishermen at previous scoping meetings have tended to prefer a five-day grace period. More time would make sense so retailers have a chance to sell the fish, said Mike Armstrong, general manager of Garden Isle Seafood.
“I’d be in the ballpark of 14 days for the fish to clear,” Armstrong said.
A regulatory plan addressing the issues is probably at least a year and a half away, Miyasaka said.
“This information will be taken back to the decision makers to help give them an idea of which way to go,” he said.