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Oyster farm
proposal draws
mixed reactions

Marine biologists and jewelers
support the plan while thrill-craft
owners object to having
to move

---

By Janine Tully
Star-Bulletin

Opponents as well as supporters of a proposed black pearl oyster farm crammed the Board of Land and Natural Resources small conference room last night to testify on the benefits and drawbacks of the project.

Black Pearls Inc., a Big Island company, wants to build an oyster farm -- the first of its kind in Hawaii -- in a 75-acre area off the Honolulu airport reef runway. The company is seeking a permit from the Department of Natural Resources for the use of the submerged land.

In favor of the project were marine biologists and a few environmentalists who said an oyster farm is environmentally benign and would replenish an imperiled species -- the black-lip pearl oyster. The project also would help diversify Hawaii's economy, they said. Also testifying in support were jewelers who said demand for made-in Hawaii articles has increased.

Environmentalist Patrick Takahashi said an oyster farm was ideal because it's in "harmony with the natural environment."

But private thrill-craft owners don't see it that way. While acknowledging some of the project's benefits, they feel it would only squeeze them out of one of few remaining areas where they can jet ski.

Russell Kaupu, who owns a personal water craft, said that in the last three years the number of people with thrill crafts has increased but the areas have remained the same.

Kaupu and others also complained that the existing thrill-craft area, outside Keehi Lagoon, makai the proposed project site, is too far from the launching area and too rough. Instead they asked to be relocated to South Lagoon, where the ocean is more calm and the whole family can enjoy the water craft.

The designated thrill-craft area is 867 areas. The proposed farm would use 8.6 percent of that area.

Company Vice President Neil Sims said the project would not only restock the imperiled native Hawaiian pearl oyster but would create a new market and jobs. The farm also would serve as a research and education center for pearl farming.

The oysters would be grown in net panels submerged in a 40-foot-deep large pit. Four pontoon rafts would be moored within the farm area, and marker buoys and float lines would mark the site. It takes about four years for a pearl to be ready for harvesting.

Company officials are asking that the area be off-limits to the public, except for an easement that would be built on either side of the project to accommodate fishermen who fish on the reef flats.

However, Waianae boat harbor manager William Aila recommended that no permit be granted until issues related to the project's viability and public benefits be answered. Aila also suggested greater buffer zones around the project site and a shorter lease than the 20-year lease being sought.

"I'm in favor of the concept," he said. "But we need to balance the benefits of economic development with the needs of the people who reside in the area. We already don't have enough marine resources for our people to use them."

Aila asked that a contested hearing be scheduled to determine if the present Environmental Assessment is sufficient to approve a lease application.