Kona Coast Fishing Ban?
During a Salt Talk Chat session an alert visitor directed us to an AquaLink Webforum - Marine & Reef Discussion - Hawaiian Fish Collecting Restricted posted message that said, "As of Monday, November 1, the collection of Hawaiian fish directly off the Kona Coast has been banned." Being that we live in Hawai'i, had collected marine fish on the island of Moloka'i for 10 years, but had not heard about this was fascinating. We were aware that the State of Hawai'i was planning on enacting some new reserve or protected areas along the Kona Coast of the Big Island of Hawai'i, but to read this message of a total ban set things into motion for us to learn the facts about this matter for you.
Brian Tissot and William
J. Walsh, Ph.D. are two of the principle investigators of the Kona
Fishery Management Area Program. They have actively been involved
in the study and the research of the Kona Coast reefs for many years, and
they provided the following information.
Comments from Brian
Tissot
Hawai'i
Coral Reef Network
"As you know, the Kona situation has gotten out of hand, largely due to total denial and lack of management in the past by DAR (Department of Aquatic Resources) and a few ruthless collectors. There do appear to be some good collectors here, but people tend to band them all together -- a major part of the problem in my opinion. I have been working with Paul Holthus at MAC (Marine Aquarium Council) to work with people here.""Fish collecting is being banned in Kona, but only in nine new reserves that total 35% of the west Hawai'i coastline, along with previously established reserves. The rules were approved by the land board (BLNR - Board of Land & Natural Resources) in September, but still need to be signed by the Governor before becoming law. (See Hawai'i Fishing Laws, Chapter 188F for the DAR rules). As you saw on our Web Site, we are currently studying these reserves and hope to find out if they help promote sustainability in the aquarium industry in Kona."
DAR - Kona Division - State of Hawai'i > Page 1, 2, 3, 4
Yellow Tang image created by Debbie Hauter
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