Aquarium Permits: On January 30, Environmental Court Judge Jeffrey Crabtree granted a motion filed last year by the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) to amend a statewide ban on the issuance of aquarium collecting permits that had been in … Continued
Last year, the Office of the Inspector General for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a scathing audit of the way in which the Western Pacific Fishery Regional Management Council (WPRFMC, or Wespac for short) had used monies from … Continued
“Council Offended by Removal of Last Vestiges of US Ocean Waters Open to Fishing.” That was the headline on a press release issued June 23 by the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council. Members of the panel, the presser stated, were … Continued
Land Board Heeds Community’s Wishes In New Rules for Miloli‘i Fishing Area On June 9, seventeen years after the Legislature designated Miloli`i as a Community Based Subsistence Fishing Area (CBSFA), the state Board of Land and Natural Resources approved rules … Continued
Wire Leader Ban: The National Marine Fisheries Service has published a final rule that, effective May 31, will ban the use of steel wire leaders by Hawai`i longline fishing vessels that target tunas. The leader is the part of the … Continued
On February 25, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources finally approved public hearings on proposed for a community-based subsistence fishing area (CBSFA) rules at Miloliʻi that was established nearly 20 years ago. “Miloliʻi and its surrounding coastal areas … Continued
Kihei High Update: “While construction of the two classroom buildings, administration building, and locker rooms is proceeding at a brisk pace, due to some unavoidable construction and material delays, we have been informed that completion of these new facilities will … Continued
Whales on the Line, I: Last year, the Hawai`i-based longline tuna fleet hooked five false killer whales inside the Exclusive Economic Zone around Hawai`i. All of the animals were determined to have been mortally or seriously injured (M/SI) by the … Continued
PRI Planning: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are inviting public input as a first step toward developing a management plan for the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. The monument, which covers almost half … Continued
The 189th meeting of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council convened last month, amid a spate of unfavorable publicity, much of which dealt with the council’s lack of transparency. On the day before the full council meeting, the council’s Executive and … Continued