The state has approved an interim rule that restricts imports to Maui and Lānaʻi, as part of an effort to keep the invasive coconut rhinoceros beetle from establishing on those islands.
The rules were proposed as a community-led petition, spearheaded by the nonprofit Lahaina Community Land Trust. The Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity approved the rules Tuesday after consultation with and input from the state Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity’s Plant Quarantine Branch.
The approved rules include a ban on the import of potted plants, untreated mulch and other decomposing material, and even coconuts themselves.
“The reality is the risk that CRB poses to Maui really cannot be denied or understated,” said Carolyn Auweloa, the land trust’s director of operations. “Kauaʻi and Oʻahu are tragic examples of what CRB does to an island, and we're only beginning to start to understand the greater impacts that it's going to have to the industries, like this situation right now.”
CRB is considered infested on Oʻahu and has spread on Kauaʻi and even Hawaiʻi Island. The beetle is not established on Maui, Lānaʻi and Molokaʻi, though there have been recent discoveries on Maui and Lānaʻi.
Tuesday’s board discussion included testimony from the local nursery industry, which said that a total ban on potted plants would harm business operations.
“Our main concern is our members, our nursery men and women, that we would like to make sure that they don't get hurt adversely with the administrative or interim rule to ship plants to Maui and Lānaʻi,” said Hawaii Floriculture And Nursery Association Vice President Eric Tanouye.
While not outright opposing the interim rule, nursery business owners urged the board not to approve a total ban on potted plants. Tanouye requested an exemption for plants not known to host CRB and urged for more research on potential treatments for beetle infestations.
The approved rules included potted plants, though an inspection of treated plants shipped from and originating outside Hawaiʻi and in CRB-safe containers is allowed. Some small, laboratory-grown plants approved by the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity could also be considered for shipment.
A list of other exemptions was included in the finalized rules. They include fresh fruits and plant parts — other than coconuts — meant for consumption; seeds for planting; rock, coral and gravel not mixed with organic material; and cultured plant tissue.
Kapala Keahi, on behalf of the land trust, told the board that its responsibility is to protect local agriculture and the environment.
“I understand that some of the nursery industry have concerns about how these proposed rules may affect their businesses. Those concerns deserve to be heard and respectfully considered, of course,” he said. “However, the department has a responsibility to protect Hawaii's agriculture, native ecosystems and communities from the spread of this harmful pest.”
The agriculture department’s Plant Quarantine Branch, which provided input in the finalized rules, was supportive of the rules.
