Maunalua Bay Fisheries Management Area Wins Approval After Years of Negotiation
“Part of the reason we were able to come to an understanding of the need to do something is that the science is showing Maunalua Bay has some of the most degraded fish biomass stocks in the state. And when you talk to fishers, they also find that fishing stocks … are down in Maunalua Bay. The longer they’ve been fishing Maunalua Bay, the greater that decrease they see,” Doug Harber, executive director for the non-profit Malama Maunalua, told the Board of Land and Natural Resources at a briefing last year on proposed rules that would establish a fisheries management area within O’ahu’s Maunalua Bay.
He explained that in 2017, a hui of stakeholders that included fishers, conservation groups, and researchers formed “after a previous proposal was found to not be as inclusive as we felt it should be.” He said the hui started a new process with a larger stakeholder group. “Since then, we’ve had over 200 meetings,” he said.
With the Land Board’s blessing, the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Aquatic Resources presented proposed rules that grew out of those meetings at a public hearing on October 2.
The rules, if adopted, would prohibit the take of ʻalakuma (7-11 crab), horned helmet, Triton’s trumpet, ula (spiny lobster) and ula pāpapa (slipper lobster).
“These are resources identified by the stakeholders as depleted compared to what they used to be. We want to start with protecting these,” DAR’s David Sakoda told the board during last year’s briefing.
Also under the proposed rules, between a half hour after sunset and a half hour before sunrise, the use or possession of any spear while diving, the possession of both diving equipment and a spear at the same time, and the possession of both diving equipment and any specimen of speared aquatic life at the same time would be prohibited. Transiting vessels in possession of these restricted items during that period would be exempt.
The fishing restrictions would remain in place until June 30, 2036.
On January 24, the Land Board unanimously approved the proposed rules for the Maunalua Bay Fisheries Management Area, which received overwhelmingly supportive written and oral testimony from the public.
Board Extends Moratorium For Pākuʻikuʻi in West Hawaiʻi
On December 13, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources unanimously approved a two-year extension of a moratorium on the take of pākuʻikuʻi from the West Hawaiʻi Regional Fishery Management Area that was set to expire on December 18. West Hawaiʻi populations of the reef fish, also known as Achilles tang, have declined significantly over the years. Theyʻre also smaller than they used to be.
Fishers harvest them for food, and the their striking bluish-black, orange, and white coloring have made them a popular target of the aquarium trade.
During a hybrid public hearing held November 13, the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Aquatic Resources sought comments on proposed amendments to the agencyʻs rules regarding the area. The division proposed establishing a fishing registry, as well as a two-year extension of the existing no-take moratorium, plus a 10-year moratorium with a bag limit of zero, which essentially amounted to a 12-year moratorium. (DAR had proposed back in September setting the bag limit at 4, but the Land Board voted to reduce it.)
Only 18 members of the public offered testimony, mostly against the 12-year moratorium. One written testimony, from University of Hawaiʻi Richardson School of Law student Abigail Mawae, questioned the fairness of such a long no-take period. “This new rule, while trying to restore and preserve the population, unfairly burdens kānaka who fish for pākuʻikuʻi for subsistence purposes and punishes them for the act of aquarium harvesters,” she wrote.
Several testifiers, however, supported the two-year extension “to give DAR additional time to gather data and develop a more robust, data-driven management plan,” the division’s report to the board states. A number of written testimonies encouraged the division to take steps to enhance pākuʻikuʻi populations while allowing Native Hawaiians to continue subsistence fishing.
Considering the public testimony, DARʻs recommendation to the Land Board last month was to just do a two-year extension of the moratorium.
“The proposed rules would affect Native Hawaiian subsistence fishing rights and cultural practices because the rules would restrict subsistence fishers’ ability to gather pākuʻiku‘i for food for themselves and their communities. On the other hand, these rules are being proposed based on reports of the decline of pāku‘iku‘i from West Hawaiʻi waters, and
these reports have come from West Hawaiʻi community members. Therefore, the
purpose of these proposed rules is to take a precautionary approach to protecting
pāku‘iku‘i populations so that traditional and customary fishing practices that involve
pāku‘iku‘i are sustainable for future generations of Native Hawaiian fishers,” the report continues.
At the board’s meeting last month, member Kaiwi Yoon asked DAR staff “how we measure the accountability if we’re wrong on this?”
DAR administrator Brian Nielson asked whether Yoon meant restricting pākuʻikuʻi harvest when the population is sustainable.
Yoon confirmed that is what he meant.
Nielson then replied, “I guess you have to weigh that against if we don’t restrict harvest when maybe we should have.”
In response to a question from board member Aimee Barnes about efforts to “continue to provide” Native Hawaiians their rights, Sakoda pointed out, “We can never take away those rights. Those rights exist, but they’re very place-based.”
He said that the only way those rights would be adjudicated is if a person was cited for a fishing violation. “They could raise [those rights] as a defense in court,” he said.
Sakoda said his division has been trying to get authority from the state Legislature “for permitting those rights ahead of time so people don’t have to risk a citation or going to court.” He said the idea needs more outreach, noting that Native Hawaiians don’t want to be required to obtain a permit. He said the permit would be voluntary and DAR would like it to be available to those who want it.
“I really encourage us to be proactive to think about how to address this so people aren’t at risk of being arrested. I’m glad to hear there’s some possibility of legislation in the mix,” Barnes said.
Sakoda said that officers with the DLNR’s Division of Conservation and Resource Enforcement could also be educated to ask questions to determine whether someone is exercising their rights “rather than using the Native Hawaiian card to exploit resources. That and building relationships with the community.”
Former Land Board chair Suzanne Case, who has long argued for strict protections for the pākuʻikuʻi population in West Hawaiʻi, testified in support of DAR’s recommendation to amend the rules to extend the moratorium.
She reminded the board that she had provided them with a chart showing that the 2008 baseline being used to highlight the population’s decline “was already, in some places, over 90 percent declined from the last few decades.”
“Nobody has an unconditional right, no matter whether Native Hawaiian or non-Native Hawaiian. The public trust doctrine is your obligation, is protection and sustainable use. Thatʻs your obligation,” she said.
She continued that konohiki fishing rights that used to provide for local management were “wiped out in 1900 under new territorial law to provide for open public access. Thatʻs why we have overfishing. When you have open, public access, and a huge population, and modern fishing methods, there’s just heavy-duty opportunity for the decline of fisheries.”
The board voted unanimously to approve the two-year moratorium.
Before the vote, board members discussed with staff ways to include the meaning of pākuʻikuʻi in the rules or in some other official way. According to Hawaiian dictionaries and websites for the the Waikīkī Aquarium and Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund state that pākuʻʻikuʻi describes the beating or slapping of water to scare fish into nets.
Sakoda said that his division is working on including references on its website regarding the meaning of the native Hawaiian names of aquatic species, as well as cultural uses.
A member of the public later requested a contested case hearing on the board’s decision, but it was denied as such hearings are not considered to be the proper venue to challenge administrative rule changes.
—Teresa Dawson
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