In determining the health of fish populations, accurate information is essential. But the state of Hawai’i, to which falls the responsibility to collect data on catches of all fish landed in Hawai’i (including fish caught in federal waters), has a … Continued
Starting in the late 1970s, Hawai’i’s fisheries came under increasing state and federal scrutiny. In 1979, the state issued its first fisheries development plan, which prescribed an ambitious array of activities (some state, some federal, some private) intended to encourage … Continued
Are Opakapaka, Onaga Overfished? Council Says Yes, State Says Maybe Two of the choicest catches in Hawaiian waters are in danger of being overfished, according to the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council. And, WesPac claims, the state, which has … Continued
Navy Looks At Expanding Missile Range To Northwestern Islands, Johnston Atoll The Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility, in western Kaua’i, is planning to expand its ground-based launch capability to other islands and atolls in the Northwest Hawaiian chain and to … Continued
Are marine national monuments established under the Antiquities Act legal? And should Congress compensate fishers – even potential fishers – for loss of access to monument waters? Those were two the questions posed to the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council … Continued
The star attraction at the Honolulu fish auction is bigeye tuna, also known as ahi. It is the target of almost all of the 125 or so active boats in the Hawai`i longline fleet. The choicest fish are flown to … Continued
A decade ago, Daniel Pauly, one of the leading scientists in the field of fisheries management, coined a term: Fishing down the food web. This describes what happens when the large marine predators are overfished and their numbers decline, while … Continued
The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council’s vote to make certain records available to the public only through Freedom of Information Act requests and others available not at all came exactly one week after U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder issued instructions … Continued
When it comes to the free flow of information, the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Wespac) has locked itself into the proverbial smoke-filled back room. While other regional councils are taking steps to make their actions more transparent, the Honolulu-based … Continued
In the three years since total allowable catch limits, or TACs, were first set for seven species of highly prized bottomfish around the Main Hawaiian Islands, the annual quotas have steadily grown. From 178,000 pounds the first year, it has … Continued