Holomua Marine Initiative

Community-Based Subsistence Fishing Areas, or CBSFAs, are unique marine areas co-managed between DAR and the local community to protect fishing practices customarily and traditionally exercised for purposes of native Hawaiian subsistence, culture, and religion. This type of marine management area seeks to balance the needs of the community with the needs of the fisheries and the ecosystem. Currently there are 3 CBSFAs in the State, with several other communities working towards their designation.

Fisheries Management Areas, or FMAs, manage or enhance fisheries for long-term sustainability of the resources and to help resolve conflict between diverse resource users. Some unique examples of Fisheries Management Areas include the Kahekili Herbivore Fisheries Management Area on Maui and the ‘Ewa Limu Management Area on O‘ahu.

Marine Life Conservation Districts, or MLCDs, were introduced in 1967 with the establishment of the Hanauma Bay MLCD on O‘ahu and continue to be an important tool to manage the valuable ecosystems in our nearshore waters today. They are designed to conserve and replenish marine resources to the greatest extent possible by providing fish and other aquatic life with a protected area in which to grow and reproduce. The taking of any type of living material (fishes, eggs, shells, corals, algae, etc.) and non-living habitat material (sand, rocks, coral skeletons, etc.) is generally highly restricted, if permitted at all. The 10 MLCDs that exist statewide today are popular places for snorkeling, diving and underwater photography.

Fully and highly protected MMAs – where most harvest is not allowed or is very restricted – such as MLCDs, have shown to have significantly greater fish biomass for species targeted for food compared to areas with lower levels of protection.

Learn more about Pūpūkea Marine Life Conservation District on O‘ahu

Natural Area Reserves, part of the Natural Area Reserves System (NARS), were established to preserve in perpetuity specific land and water areas that support communities, as relatively unmodified as possible, of the natural flora and fauna, as well as geological sites, of Hawai‘i. The diverse areas found in the NARS range from marine and coastal environments to lava flows, tropical rainforests, and even an alpine desert. Within these areas one can find rare endemic plants and animals, many of which are on the edge of extinction. Currently, 21 reserves on five islands, encompassing 123,810 acres of the State’s most unique ecosystems, exist today with ‘Āhihi-Kīna‘u Natural Area Reserve being the only one that is considered an MMA, as the others encompass mostly terrestrial ecosystems.