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Ban ‘hits the
people hard,’ longline
fishermen say
A judge's recent ruling closes
By Wilma Jandoc
a major portion of the state's
fishing grounds to longliners
and Steve Murray
Star-BulletinTHE first thing Lynda Gates thought after a recent ruling that affects her longline fisherman husband was that her family may have to leave the state.
Zoe Timoney, whose husband is a longline fishing boat captain, said they wanted to buy a house, "and now how can we do that? The bank is not going to give us a loan without any income."
Members of Hawaii's fishing industry packed the United Fishing Agency yesterday to go over a judge's ruling that closes a major portion of the state's fishing grounds to longline fishing.
In 1999, environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service to protect endangered and threatened sea turtles. The Hawaii Longline Association joined the suit with the Fisheries Service as an affected party.
U.S. District Judge David Ezra decided to ban all longline fishing in an area north of Hawaii and to limit the fishing in an area south of the state. The closure is pending an environmental impact statement on the effects of longline fishing on sea turtles, which is due in March 2001.
According to National Marine Fisheries Service statistics, 60 sea turtles were recorded ensnared by longlines in 1998. Of those, one leatherback, one loggerhead and three Olive Ridley turtles died.
Ezra's ruling also states that:
A federal observer be aboard every vessel on every fishing trip, to record the boat's take of sea turtles and certain seabird, whale and dolphin species.
Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council Administrator Jim Cook said the Hawaii Longliners Association's next step will be to file for reconsideration of the ruling. If Ezra refuses to modify his decision, Cook said longliners will appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
KITTY Simonds, executive director of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, said the injunction would threaten current efforts to establish an international council on tuna fishing based in Hawaii.
"This doesn't bode well," she said.
Simonds said an international treaty establishing the council is to be signed in August or September in Fiji. Talks of a headquarters located at the University of Hawaii's East-West Center, she said, have the support of Gov. Ben Cayetano and UH President Kenneth Mortimer.
Fishermen, buyers, auction employees and their families listened yesterday to an explanation of Ezra's decision.
For many, the news was not good.
Sue Myking said, "The ruling has made our vessels, the equipment worthless."
Myking, whose husband is a longline fisherman, said the boats cost money even when they are not in use. "We still have to pay the $1,500-a-month rent to dock the boat between sets," she said.
Longline fishing can be an expensive business. In addition to the cost of the boat and docking fees, the equipment carries a hefty price tag. Pacific Ocean Producers, a manufacturer of longline equipment, lists the cost of outfitting a boat at $60,000 to $75,000.
The effects of the longline fishing ban go beyond the men in the boats.
"This hits the people hard. We have families and kids in school. ... This could put 200 to 300 people out of work immediately," said William Vincent, a fish auction employee.
Guy Tamashiro, vice president and buyer for Tamashiro Market, said the ban will cause higher prices. "If we didn't have longline fishing ... we'd have to rely on imports and frozen fish, and prices would be really high," he said.
Star-Bulletin staff writer Peter Wagner contributed to this report.
