January 2016 PDF
January 2016
Court Upholds Transfer of Bigeye Quota to Hawai`i Longline Fleet
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
Fisheries Commission Makes No Headway Toward Reducing Hauls of Pacific Bigeye
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
Whatever Happened to … The Villages of `Aina Le`a
In 1989, the state Land Use Commission approved a redistricting petition that shifted about 1,000 acres of Agricultural land in South Kohala, on the west side of the Big Island, into the Urban district. Signal Puako, the landowner, had planned … Continued
Commission Adopts Measures to Protect Fishery Observers in Western, Central Pacific
“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
NEW & NOTEWORTHY: Olowalu Town Nixed, FEMA Funds
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
Greenpeace Busts Taiwanese Shark Finning Operation
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
Loopholes in Measures to Protect Sharks, Limit Transshipments Withstand Protests
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
Rift in U.S. Purse Seine Fleet Is Laid Bare in Comments on Tri Marine Petition
In this issue, Environment Hawai`i takes a closer look at the U.S. purse seine fleet fishing in the South Pacific. Although the purse seiners fish thousands of miles from Hawai`i and none regularly pulls into port in Honolulu, they are … Continued
New & Noteworthy: Invasive Initiative, Rapid `Ohi`a Death, and GEMS
Invasive Initiative: The state’s ability to deal effectively with invasive species has been sorely challenged of late, with the rapid spread of the little fire ant, coconut rhinocerous beetle, coffee berry borer, coqui frogs, weeds too numerous to count, and … Continued