Tori Lines and Tuna Fish: On October 16, the National Marine Fisheries Service proposed a rule requiring almost all Hawaiʻi-based longline vessels targeting tuna in the Pacific Ocean north of 23 degrees N latitude to use tori streamers to scare … Continued
For a few days last June, the website of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council carried, under the rubric of news releases, a notice that it was seeking “private legal counsel and/or other relevant outside services” to assist the council … Continued
In November 2021, the Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General determined that the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council had inappropriately spent about 28 percent — $1,237,671 of $4.5 million – of monies drawn from its Sustainable Fisheries Fund over … Continued
Board Denies Petition for Contested Case On Mosquito Control Suppression Project The state Board of Land and Natural Resources’ May 12 meeting began at 9:15 a.m. and stretched well past dinnertime. As the board heard public testimony on one of … Continued
Cliff Sheds, Price Soars: A coastal house in Hilo had to be partly demolished a few years ago, when county inspectors deemed it unsafe. The house, perched atop a cliff near Honoliʻi, had begun to slide into the ocean. Debris … Continued
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