Maunalua Bay Fisheries Management Area rules now in effect
On January 24, 2025, the Board of Land and Natural Resources unanimously approved rules for the Maunalua Bay Fisheries Management Area (FMA). These rules were signed by Hawaii Governor Josh Green on May 13, 2025, and went into effect ten days later, on May 23, 2025.
The new rules for the FMA include:
- Restriction on the take and/or possession of ʻalakuma (7-11 crab), horned helmet, Triton’s trumpet, ula (spiny lobster) and ula pāpapa (slipper lobster)
- Restriction on nighttime dive spearfishing, beginning 30 minutes after sunset and ending 30 minutes before sunrise
The area covered by the FMA runs from the Diamond Head buoy near the lighthouse to the southern tip of Kawaihoa Point (Spitting Caves), to the shoreline. Boats that are transiting through the bay are allowed to have dive spearfishing gear or restricted species on board as long as they are in active transit.
The rules are codified under Hawaii Administrative Rules (HAR) § 13-48.5. Click here to read the full text of the rules.
