The Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) has scheduled statewide public hearings on proposed administrative rule amendments that would increase the annual commercial marine license fees from the current $50/year to $100/year initially, then to $150/year on January 1, 2018. This date may be delayed until later in the year, depending on when the rules are approved. The proposed rules also would establish a reporting deadline for dealers who buy marine life directly from commercial fishers.
Fishing
The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) has long issued annual commercial and recreational aquarium fish permits, pursuant to HRS §188-31 and administrative rules, authorizing the use of fine meshed traps or nets to take aquatic life for aquarium purposes. On Wednesday, the Hawai‘i Supreme Court ruled that aquarium collection using fine meshed traps or nets is subject to the environmental review procedures provided in the Hawai‘i Environmental Policy Act (HEPA). The issue has been remanded to the circuit court for further proceedings.
A capital improvement project for the DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation’S Manele Small Boat Harbor is scheduled to begin on June 26, 2017, that will include the removal of 11 existing wooden finger piers and installation of new aluminum framed finger piers with slip resistant fiber reinforced plastic decking, plastic lumber fendering, and cleats.
A fish with a lot of “fingers” will be hands-off starting June 1. The season for moi, or Pacific threadfin, will be closed from June through August in Hawaii waters.
LIHU‘E – The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) announces an open fishing season for rainbow trout in the Koke‘e Public Fishing Area (PFA) on Kaua‘i, beginning Saturday, June 17, 2017.
After wildlife biologists and veterinarians relocated a 10-month-old Hawaiian monk seal on March 30th from the Lihi Canal in Kapa‘a, to a beach on the island’s west side they’d hoped she would stay away from the canal. Two days ago the seal, identified as RH92, returned to the canal along with an adult seal (RK13). Together they’ve been seen feeding on small fish in the manmade waterway along with discarded fish parts. The return of RH92 to Lihi is prompting stepped-up public awareness and outreach and potentially enforcement of littering laws for fishermen who dispose of fish parts in the water.
LIHU‘E – The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) announces an open fishing season for rainbow trout in the Koke‘e Public Fishing Area (PFA) on Kaua‘i, beginning Saturday, June 18, 2016.
LIHU‘E – The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) announces an open fishing season for rainbow trout in the Koke‘e Public Fishing Area (PFA) on Kaua‘i, tentatively beginning Saturday, June 14, 2014.
HONOLULU –A state Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) officer cited a fisherman for using a throw net with mesh of less than two inches in waters off Aina Haina on Feb. 5. The officer spotted the man fishing with a throw net from shore while on routine patrol.
HONOLULU —An Ewa fisherman was found guilty of violating state laynet fishing rules and fined $500 in Ewa District Court on Feb. 19, 2014. Allen Zamora was cited by the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) for possession of illegal lay nets in the Waikele Stream-West Loch area on Dec. 14, 2013.