Fishing

In response to today’s filing of a petition for a writ of mandamus with the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court by the plaintiffs in Umberger v. DLNR, the Dept. of Land and Natural Resources provides the following statement

Want to better understand the Hā‘ena Community-Based Subsistence Fishery Area (CBSFA) and rules, and how Department of Land and Natural Resources and Hui Maka‘āinana o Makana are working towards co-management? Come down and join us for a fun-filled afternoon on Sunday, October 22 from 12 to 3 p.m. at Camp Naue YMCA, 7420 Kūhiō Highway in Hā‘ena.

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.

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.