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 Miloli\u02bbi that was established nearly 20 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMiloli\u02bbi and its surrounding coastal areas have become one of the last pockets in Hawai\u02bbi where traditional Hawaiian fishing practices have been preserved and are still practiced today,\u201d according to a February 25 report by the Department of Land and Natural Resources\u2019 Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2005, the state Legislature established Miloli\u02bbi as a CBSFA. Over the past decade by the groups Pa\u02bba Pono Miloli\u02bbi (PPM) and Kalanihale have worked with Conservation International, Plan B Consulting, and DAR to engage community members and conduct biological monitoring activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe documented work, commitment, and marine stewardship efforts of the Miloli\u02bbi families and community members since the early 1980s\u201d \u2014 when PPM formed and helped create a community master plan \u2014 \u201cthrough today display the community\u2019s dedication and motivation to actively manage their resources,\u201d the report states. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On February 8, after DAR held a statewide public scoping meeting last December, Kalanihale submitted an updated management plan for the Miloli\u02bbi CBSFA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the Land Board\u2019s February 25 meeting, DAR presented the proposed rules. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The CBSFA would stretch from Pa\u02bbakai Point at Kipahoehoe down to Kaun\u0101 Point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to establishing several rest areas and protected zones that regulate the species that can or can\u2019t be taken and the types of gear used, the rules prohibit the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1) Take or possess \u02bba\u02bbama crabs with eggs; <\/p>\n\n\n\n
2) Take or possess any k\u014d\u02bbele; more makaiauli and \u02bb\u0101linalina (with shell attached) than can fit in a one-gallon-sized bag per person per day;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4) Take or possess more than two ula (spiny lobster) per person per day;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5) Take or possess any \u02bb\u016b\u02bb\u016b (menpachi) from April through June;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
6) Take or possess any p\u0101ku\u02bbiku\u02bbi or kole less than 5 inches in length with a maximum allowable take or possession of five p\u0101ku\u02bbiku\u02bbi per person per day and a maximum allowable take or possession of twenty kole per person per day;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
7) Spear any uhu at night using any gear type;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
8) Take or possess any uhu \u02bbele\u02bbele or any uhu uliuli;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
9) Take or possess any uhu \u02bbahu\u02bbula or uhu p\u0101lukaluka during the months of March<\/p>\n\n\n\n
through May;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
10) Take or possess more than one terminal-phase uhu and two initial-phase uhu per person per day, provided that of the allowable two initial-phase uhu per person per day, only one may be an uhu \u02bbahu\u02bbula or an uhu p\u0101lukaluka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aquarium fishing or taking marine life for aquarium purposes would also be prohibited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although it was the community\u2019s wish to allow a person to take up to five p\u0101ku\u02bbiku\u02bbi per day, DAR suggested in its report to the Land Board that it consider reducing that limit. DAR also suggested that the p\u0101ku\u02bbiku\u02bbi rest area be enlarged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The division pointed out that p\u0101ku\u02bbiku\u02bbi, a long-lived fish with a life span of 30-40 years, is extremely vulnerable to overfishing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cP\u0101ku\u02bbiku\u02bbi has been fished extensively in Kona for both aquarium fishing and as a food fish. As noted in the Board discussions on the Kona aquarium fish [environmental impact statement], populations of p\u0101ku\u02bbiku\u02bbi have plummeted in recent decades. P\u0101ku\u02bbiku\u02bbi abundance has declined by a range of 50-95 percent in juvenile habitat areas and by 90 percent in shallow water adult habitats. These declines have been so severe that the aquarium fishing EIS proposed no take of p\u0101ku\u02bbiku\u02bbi. Additionally, surveys across West Hawai\u02bbi have indicated that juvenile recruitment of p\u0101ku\u02bbiku\u02bbi has been very low over the past two decades, indicating that recovery will be slow for this species,\u201d DAR explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is a slow-moving fish, found in small clusters of several fish, in shallow reef habitat in the wash of the waves close to shore, so is very easily caught. Unlike kole, a food fish with quite large populations and much shorter lifespans, p\u0101ku\u02bbiku\u02bbi in any area could be easily wiped out in one day,\u201d the report stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DAR noted that proposed rules can generally be made less restrictive, but not more, after public hearings are held. Therefore, it suggested that the Land Board “consider amending the proposed rule to 1) extend the p\u0101ku\u02bbiku\u02bbi rest area south to Point HH (to include all of the Honomalino Bay Pu\u2019uhonua), and 2) limit take of p\u0101ku\u02bbiku\u02bbi to not more than one fish per person per day, for further discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the Land Board\u2019s meeting, Miloli\u02bbi residents acknowledged the division\u2019s perspective, but explained that the community\u2019s proposed take limit of five was in recognition of the fact that one person may be fishing to feed many.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSometimes one lawai\u02bba is fishing for three or four households,\u201d U\u02bbilani Naipo explained. P\u0101ku\u02bbiku\u02bbi is one of the kupunas’ favorite fish, she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Laila Kaupu added that in MIloli\u02bbi, there are only 50 households. Those with three to four generations in one household have as many as 12 people to feed, and maybe one is a fisher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DAR\u2019s proposed take limit would put a damper on that person\u2019s ability to feed their family. \u201cThat\u2019s how the community looks at it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kevin Chang, executive director of the community-based resource management non-profit Kua\u02bb\u0101ina Ulu \u02bbAuamo (KUA), testified that the establishment of CBSFAs help the state reach its goal of protecting 30 percent of its waters by 2030. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He noted that so far, only Ha\u02bbena on Kauai\u2019s north shore has a CBSFA with a rule package and a management plan. \u201cI do not see our community or state moving forward if we do not build models like the one that is before you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moloka\u02bbi subsistence fisherman Kelson Poepoe has spent three years sharing his knowledge of how to collect data with the people of Miloli\u02bbi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think I worked with people that learned this fast. I got to pat them on the back for really getting it and putting it to use. \u2026 It\u2019s something that\u2019s not simple. A lot of the knowledge that I gained took me a long time [and] with climate change \u2026 it\u2019s something different, something new for me and I think for everybody else, too,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Poepoe was instrumental in drafting rules for a CBSFA at Mo\u02bbomomi on Moloka\u02bbi. While the board approved public hearings on those, they have yet to be adopted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMiloli\u02bbi can be the shining example,\u201d Poepoe said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While many Miloli\u02bbi community members and others testified in support of the proposed rules, a handful of people from the aquarium fishing community testified in opposition to the proposed ban on aquarium fishing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kim Koch suggested the proposal was overreaching. \u201c18.6 miles does not equate out to the population of Miloli\u02bbi,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She warned that the rules would force aquarium fishing into a smaller zone, which would be counterproductive. The West Hawai\u02bbi Regional fishery management area north of Miloli\u02bbi already limits aquarium fishing along much of the coastline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHad they sat down one on one, I might be supporting this. \u2026 Right now, I have to oppose this moving forward because they have not done their proper outreach,\u201d Koch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ron Tubbs, an aquarium fisherman for 45 years, said the aquarium fishery shouldn\u2019t be ostracized. \u201cIt\u2019s very well managed [and] can benefit all Hawaiians. It\u2019s a $100 million a year fishery. \u2026 We\u2019re fishing brothers. We should care for each other,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Board member Kaiwi Yoon responded, \u201cSubsistence has little or nothing to do with commerce. \u2026 To the opposition, I think they really need to consider this plan is about families sustaining life and sustaining the resources.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Board member Chris Yuen congratulated the Miloli\u02bbi community for bringing the rules forward. \u201cIt\u2019s a tremendous amount of work. \u2026 I hope other groups working on their management plans feel encouraged, not discouraged,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yuen initially made a motion to approve the rules as proposed and vote separately on DAR\u2019s proposed p\u0101ku\u02bbiku\u02bbi amendments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDAR can introduce a p\u0101ku\u02bbiku\u02bbi regulation covering any part of the state of Hawai\u02bbi. The community, they go back and forth with their members. They cannot say, \u2018Let\u2019s make a deal.\u2019 They\u2019ve gone to the community with the five bag limit. I want to honor their process. We should try to move forward on the terms they\u2019re brought as much as we can. If the state feels strongly we need p\u0101ku\u02bbiku\u02bbi regulation, let\u2019s move on that separately,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Land Board chair Suzanne Case was also eager to move the rules forward. \u201cWe\u2019ve been waiting for many, many, many years for the rule package. \u2026 I\u2019m very, very elated about it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, she added that she had \u201csome deep conversations about p\u0101ku\u02bbiku\u02bbi.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am as deeply attached to Honomalino as the Miloli\u02bbi folks are attached to Miloli\u02bbi. I am responsible for what happens in Honomalino (which would be included in the CBSFA boundaries and lies just south of Miloli\u02bbi). I know where the p\u0101ku\u02bbiku\u02bbi are. There are about six of them. You can go in one morning and wipe them out. \u2026 I don\u2019t feel it\u2019s responsible not to address something. \u2026 If we go out to public haring and there\u2019s testimony why that\u2019s not a good idea, we can come back to this board and strike it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DAR administrator Brian Neilson said he understood Yuen\u2019s point about needing to look at protecting p\u0101ku\u02bbiku\u02bbi beyond Miloli\u02bbi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is an issue throughout West Hawai\u02bbi. \u2026 A one bag limit for Miloli\u02bbi, that\u2019s not going to help the rest of the coastline,\u201d he admitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The board voted down Yuen\u2019s motion to approve the rules, but not include a p\u0101ku\u02bbiku\u02bbi bag limit of one,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His motion to adopt the rules with DAR\u2019s proposed amendments passed unanimously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014 Teresa Dawson<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14337,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[495,13,16,8],"tags":[3],"class_list":["post-14336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-april-2022","category-board-talk","category-dlnr","category-fisheries","tag-teresa-dawson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}