(HONOLULU) – A trio of divisions under the Dept. of Land and Natural Resources are set to begin a three-month-long pilot project which allows state conservation enforcement resource officers to issue tickets and/or fines on the spot for violations of rules.
Aquatic Resources
(HONOLULU) – The Moloka‘i community came together to clean-up Pāpōhaku Beach, after a boat, grounded on the reef, broke apart in heavy surf and littered the shoreline with debris. DLNR Deputy Director Laura Kaakua said the actions of local residents, who cleaned most of the vessel’s debris off the beach, made a big difference. “This was a good example of a community and government coming together. DLNR extends our heartfelt appreciation to the Maunaloa community for their care of Pāpōhaku,” Kaakua said.
(Kahului, Maui) – Shark warning signs are up from Ho‘okipa to Baldwin Beach Park after a 45-year-old Haiku woman sustained minor scrapes in an apparent encounter with a shark at around 1:00 p.m. today.
(HONOLULU) – Natural resources are cultural resources in Hawaiʻi, and managing ecosystems requires an understanding of their cultural context. This is the guiding idea behind a new video series called "ʻIke Kaiāulu,” translated as “Community Knowledge,” produced by the Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) at the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR). While the series is ongoing and will expand over time, the first four installments were recently released and feature experts in the fields of la‘au lapa‘au (medicinal plant collection), wood carving, kilo limu (seaweed observation), and stewardship of special areas.
(LAHAINA, MAUI) – Three sophisticated sampling instruments are now gathering information from the ocean waters just off the coast of this fire-ravaged west Maui community. The devices, on loan from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), will collect data over time.
(LĀHAINĀ, HAWAI‘I) – Preliminary water testing in the nearshore waters off Lāhainā are showing that physical parameters, like temperature, PH, salinity, and dissolved oxygen, are currently in normal ranges.
(HONOLULU) – Marine pollution is a very significant threat to marine life in the ocean. Abandoned, lost, and discarded fishing nets can ruin essential habitat like coral reefs, as well as entangle marine life such as turtles and humpback whales. The Protected Species Program with the Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) would like to remind everyone to utilize its statewide marine debris hotline and reporting website.
(HONOLULU) – The Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR), on Friday, tentatively approved a proposed settlement by the Albert Trust parties only to pay the fine of $117,472 for the Nakoa boat grounding that damaged over 100 coral colonies and over 1,900 square yards of live rock just outside the Honolua-Mokulēʻia Bay Marine Life Conservation District, on Maui’s west coast.
(HONOLULU) – Open hearings will be conducted by the Division of Aquatics (DAR) on the proposed adoption of Hawaiʻi Administrative Rules (HAR) Chapter 13-78, establishing provisions for the Ocean Stewardship User Fee. The proposed new chapter will implement §187A-52, Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes, which requires all operators of commercial vessels, watercraft, or water sports equipment, that are required to have a commercial operator permit or commercial use permit pursuant to HAR §13-256-3, to collect a $1 ocean stewardship user fee from each passenger carried or customer served, and to transfer these fees to DLNR.
(HONOLULU) – This morning, at the 30th Annual Hawaiʻi Conservation Conference on Oʻahu, DLNR’s Edward “Luna” Kekoa received the 2023 Hawaiʻi Conservation Alliance Outstanding Leadership Award for his contributions to community-based natural resource management and conservation in the state.