Division of Aquatic Resources

Commercial Marine License

Individuals or vessels engaged in taking, selling or offering for sale any marine life for commercial purposes (including charter fishing services) must obtain a Commercial Marine License. License fee $100 residents, $250 nonresidents. Dup. $10.

Fishing Report Requirements

“Commercial purpose” means the taking of marine life for profit or gain, or as a means of livelihood, when the marine life is taken in or outside of the State, and when the marine life is sold, offered for sale, landed, or transported for sale anywhere in the State.

Every commercial marine licensee shall furnish to the Department of Land and Natural Resources a monthly report with respect to marine life taken and any bait used. The report shall be submitted no later than the tenth day of the month following the month in which the marine life was taken. Fishing reports are required whether or not fishing occurred. If you did not fish during the month, a “Did Not Fish” report must be submitted. If any Deep 7 species (onaga, ehu, ōpakapaka, gindai, hāpu‘u, kalekale, and lehi) are landed, lost to predator, or released, a trip report is required and due within 5 days of the trip end date. More information about the Deep 7 fishery can be found on the bottom fishing page.

Failure or refusal to submit a monthly catch report is cause for revocation of the commercial marine license. Violators are also subject to criminal and administrative penalties as provided under Sections 187A-12.5 and 189-4, HRS, and Civil Resource Violations System rules, Section 13-1-51, HAR. (See also the April 1, 2009 letter to commercial marine licensees regarding CRVS penalties.)

Commercial Fishing Report Online System

Commercial fishers are able to submit monthly commercial fishing reports online

Fisheries Statistics

The DLNR-DAR collects various data for use in monitoring and assessing the aquatic resources of the State. It does this through fishing reports from fishermen, marine life and habitat surveys (fish counts/transects, etc.), creel surveys, port surveys, fish market sampling, and other scientific surveys.

Commercial Fishing Reports — History and Importance

The largest and oldest dataset in DLNR-DAR’s fisheries data collection is the commercial fishing report. These reports have been collected, processed, compiled, and archived continuously since 1948. Fishermen who take marine life for commercial purposes must have a valid Commercial Marine License and may be required to report their fishing effort and total catch on a commercial fishing report form (189-2 and 189-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes). These data are used extensively by DLNR-DAR and authorized federal fisheries management agencies for monitoring fisheries and assessing the health of the marine resources in near-shore and offshore areas in the Exclusive Economic Zone around the State of Hawaii. The fishing report data are especially valuable because they provide a good source of time-series information for analyzing landing trends in the State’s fisheries. Fishery managers rely on the data to make recommendations and render decisions to manage fisheries for the long-term, or in other words, maintain sustainable fisheries. Fishermen who complete and submit accurate fishing reports on a timely basis are truly partners in fisheries management with a common goal of making sure that we have fish for future generations.

The data that individual fishermen report on the commercial fishing report is confidential and protected by State law (189-3, HRS) and can only be released to the public in summarized form. The latest calendar year summaries are available from the links below.

NOTE: The reports are downloaded as pdf files.

Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 2023
Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 2022
Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 2021
Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 2020
Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 2019
Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 2018
Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 2017
Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 2016
Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 2015
Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 2014
Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 2013
Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 2012
Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 2011
Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 2010
Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 2009
Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 2008
Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 2007
Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 2006
Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 2005
Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 2004
Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 2003
Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 2002
Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 2001
Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 2000
Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 1999
Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 1998
Commercial Marine Landings Summary Trend Report, Calendar Year 1997

Online Dealer Reporting Website

The Division of Aquatic Resources implemented the Online Dealer Reports (ODR) website on October 13, 2019.  The site enables primary commercial marine dealers who purchase marine life directly from licensed commercial fishers to report their purchases online. Primary dealers must comply with a weekly reporting period requirement, otherwise they may face Civil Resources Violations System citations. Since implementation, the rate of online reporting by dealers and their satisfaction with the system has been very high. The ODR site also has a Public License Search function to search for a commercial fisher’s Commercial Marine License validation.