Department of Land and Natural Resources

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES
News Release

DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR

CARTY CHANG INTERIM CHAIRPERSON

For Immediate News Release April 15, 2015    

OCEAN USERS INVITED TO HELP
FORM ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR MAUNALUA BAY

HONOLULU — Ocean users, especially those who live near and recreate on Maunalua Bay, are invited to an informational meeting on April 20, hosted by the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), regarding the planned establishment of an Ocean Recreation Advisory Committee for Maunalua Bay on O‘ahu. 
  
In response to growing community concerns regarding user conflicts and levels of commercial ocean recreation activity within Maunalua Bay, the DLNR is seeking to form a Recreation Advisory Committee (RAC) to assist DLNR’s Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) in establishing and implementing new rules and guidelines for ocean recreation in Maunalua Bay.“Some rules have been in existence for Maunalua Bay since 1994, but the user base continues to grow and the uses continue to diversify.  We find it is time to revisit our rules for this resource and make them more pertinent,” said DLNR Interim Director Carty Chang.   
  
Pursuant to Hawaii Administrative Rules § 13-256-4 Rev., DOBOR seeks to gather a group of stakeholders who represent various ocean recreation interests in Maunalua Bay.   The advisory committee will consist of five members who will represent the viewpoints of various user groups in Maunalua Bay. The user groups represented will include surfers (including stand-up paddlers and board surfers), fishing (all types), paddling (individual and club), thrill craft (commercial) and diving (commercial).

“An advisory committee can help DLNR expedite the process of drafting rule changes by incorporating input from stakeholders as the new rules are still in the conceptual stage.   Past practice has shown that rules devised through this strategy already have strong user support when first presented to the general public,” said Chang.   

The advisory committee will act as a conduit for transmitting concerns or recommendations to DOBOR from user groups in Maunalua Bay.   It will be project-based, supervised by DOBOR, and will meet to carry out specific tasks assigned to it by DOBOR in order to help the division with efficient management of Maunalua Bay ocean recreation issues, and to assist in minimizing user conflicts.

The meeting to begin the process of forming the Maunalua Bay Recreational Advisory Committee will take place on Monday, April 20, 2015 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Koko Head Elementary School cafeteria, 189 Lunalilo Home Road.  Boating Division staff will provide information on the role of the advisory committee and how to be involved in the selection of its members.

For more information call Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation 832-3520. To view Hawaii Administrative Rule 13-256-4, go to the DOBOR website at https://files.hawaii.gov/dlnr/dobor/rules/amend/Amend-13-256-3-4.pdf

 

# # #

Media Contact: 
Deborah Ward 
DLNR Public information specialist 
Phone: (808) 587-0320