At the virtual meeting last month of the False Killer Whale Take Reduction Team (TRT), it became clear, early on, that agreement on substantive recom- mendations the group is tasked with making to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) would be difficult, if … Continued
On October 16, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that a draft recovery plan for the Main Hawaiian Islands insular population of false killer whales had been prepared and was open for public comment. The insular population, numbering 167 individuals, … Continued
Wait a Minute: On October 22, the Sierra Club of Hawai‘i asked 1st Circuit Judge Jeffrey Crabtree to force the state Board of Land and Natural Resources to wait until its December 11 meeting to consider renewing four revocable permits to Alexander & … Continued
More than three years ago, the Hawai‘i Supreme Court issued its ruling in a case that many observers thought would halt commercial aquarium fish collection, at least for a time. The high court determined in Umberger v. Dep’t of Land and Natural Res. that … Continued
Last May, the Board of Land and Natural Resources refused to accept an environmental impact statement that had been prepared by a private group seeking to reopen much of the west coast of Hawai‘i island to commercial aquarium fish collectors. In … Continued
Some 17 years ago, Leon Hallacher and Brian Tissot undertook to assess the impact of aquarium fish collectors on the population of reef fish along the Kona coast of the Big Island. To collect the data needed, undergraduates were trained to identify the … Continued
On September 24, Environmental Court Judge Jeffrey Crabtree heard final arguments in a case brought by the Sierra Club of Hawai‘i over permits that allow East Maui stream water to be diverted out of the watershed. The group argues that the state Board of … Continued
Land Board Grants Permits, Easements For ‘Auwai Repair Projects in East Maui In the midst of a years-long legal battle with the state Board of Land and Natural Resources over its decisions to allow Alexander & Baldwin, Inc., to divert water from … Continued
A Loss for American Samoa: The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a lower court decision, effectively giving longline fishing vessels the right to fish as close as 12 miles from the territory’s coast. The decision is a blow to … Continued