A new set of rules will affect the catching and selling of several herbivorous reef fish species used in aquariums.
The state Board of Land and Natural Resources last week unanimously voted to accept changes that regulate the fishing of manini, kole, kala and uhu in Hawaiʻi.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources' Division of Aquatic Resources proposed the rules years ago to manage both the reef ecosystem and local fishing practices.
The proposed rules have been controversial, and the public has been split on its support.
Even board members mentioned having issues with them, but BLNR Chair Dawn Chang says it’s a good start.
“There's parts of it we all don't like — I think board members shared (concerns about) night diving, blue uhu, Molokaʻi, Niʻihau — but I too am inclined to support this motion because we have adaptive management tools in here. But we need to start someplace,” Chang said after the board’s vote.
The affected nearshore reef fish have cultural, subsistence and commercial significance in Hawaiʻi. Scientists, Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners, environmentalists and local fishers all testified on the proposed rules.
The rules create, remove or change fishing bag and size limits. They also put regulations on seasons and permitting requirements to take or sell the fish species. Both commercial and noncommercial fishers will be affected by the rules.
In general, conservationists say the rules the land board approved are too weak to provide protections for the fish and the fragile reefs they inhabit, while some local fishers say they’re too restrictive for subsistence or commercial uses.
Randy Kosaki, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s research coordinator for the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, was primarily concerned about the health of Hawaiʻi’s reefs.
“Herbivores are critically depleted. Some of the species around Oʻahu are down to 5% of their pre-exploitation levels — we have fished out 95% of some of these species,” he told the board. “The proposed rules are a big step in the right direction, but we feel they’re insufficient to recover these seriously depleted populations.”
Kosaki, scientists and conservationists were more supportive of the rules before the most recent BLNR meeting because they catered more toward the conservation of the species. DAR recently amended the proposed rules in a way that has appeased fishers.
But Chang and others said less restrictive statewide rules will provide an opportunity for more specific rules to be established, although any additional rules will require their own rulemaking process — which normally takes years to complete.
The land board has asked DAR to look at additional rules for night fishing, uhu and specific islands, which it and the public raised concerns about.
