Division of Aquatic Resources

On June 27, 2022, Act 207 (SB2065) was signed into law, which prohibited the possession or use of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) on, in, or near state marine waters for purposes of fishing. The bill specifies that drones may be used for fishing only if a permit is obtained from the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

The permitting system has yet to be developed. To design a drone fishing permit program, the Division of Aquatic Resources is gathering preliminary input from Hawaii’s fishing community through an online survey.

The purpose of this preliminary survey is

• to understand the perspectives of Hawaii’s fishing community on drone fishing, including what practices and areas are appropriate for drone fishing
• to understand how drone fishers prefer to use their equipment and what their standard practices have been regarding drone use.

DAR has very limited information about how fishers use drones and how the general community feels about their use. This survey is the starting point to build a sound permitting program. The information obtained will help guide DAR as it begins to develop the drone fishing permit process.

If you would like to participate in the survey, please click here.