For years, environmental groups and some members of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) have groused about the Hawai`i longline fleet being allowed to skirt its international bigeye tuna quota by attributing some of its catch to U.S. … Continued
“How many observers or crew members have to die before WPCFC takes action? … This. Must. End. Charlie, Keith, and all the other missing observers deserve better,” the World Wide Fund for Nature’s Bubba Cook told the Western and Central … Continued
The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission closed its annual meeting last month, having failed again to significantly strengthen its measure aimed at ending overfishing of tropical tunas, especially bigeye. But it wasn’t for lack of trying. Ahead of the … Continued
Olowalu Town Nixed: Last month, at the end of a 12-hour-long hearing, the Land Use Commission refused to accept a final environmental impact statement for a residential development of 1,500 units in West Maui first proposed more than 10 years … Continued
Perhaps nothing highlights the need to tighten WCPFC’s shark finning and transshipment measures more than Greenpeace’s documentation last September 9 of the activities of the Taiwanese vessel Shuen De Ching 888. “The catch log indicated only three blue sharks were … Continued
Several years ago, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission adopted a measure ostensibly aimed at banning shark finning, a practice that has helped drive several shark species worldwide toward extinction. But at last month’s annual commission meeting, as the … Continued
Gardens Gone? The iconic gardens at Honolulu International Airport international terminal may soon be no more than a memory. The three gardens and their ponds – landscaped in the styles of China, Japan, and Hawai`i – have long been … Continued
Board Approves Concrete Fish Houses In Hanauma Bay, Waikiki Sand Channel On September 25, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources approved a one-year special use permit to Mark Hixon, a professor of marine biology at the University of Hawai`i, … Continued
In the coming weeks, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources is expected to decide whether or not to allow the non-profit Kua`aina Ulu `Auamo (KUA) to replace native Hawaiian educator and cultural practitioner Henry Chang Wo, Jr., as … Continued
With Governor David Ige’s signing of Act 120 in June, the state Department of Health edged closer to tackling the public health threat posed by the tens of thousands of cesspools scattered throughout the islands that discharge an estimated 50 … Continued