New rules restrict The state Department of Land and Natural Resources wants to remind the public that new rules have expanded the size of the Pupukea Marine Life Conservation District on the North Shore and placed more restrictions on the types of fishing allowed there.
Pupukea fishing
The conservation boundaries
now include Waimea BayBy Diana Leone
dleone@starbulletin.comThe expanded conservation district now includes Waimea Bay, and its boundaries off Pupukea Beach Park have been moved farther out to sea. The district now is bounded by a line extending due west from Kulalua Point to a point 100 yards offshore, then southerly to the most seaward exposed rock of the Wananapaoa Islets on the south side of Waimea Bay (including the islets), then due southeast to shore.
The only type of fishing now allowed in the conservation district is hook-and-line fishing from the shore of Waimea Bay. Anglers are allowed two poles per person, with one line per pole. Each line may have no more than two hooks, and akule may not be snagged.
Hand harvesting of limu kohu and limu lipeepee is allowed in the conservation district, but the limu's holdfast must be left in place. There is a daily bag limit of two pounds of limu (squeezed dry) per person.
Any other fishing for or taking of marine life is prohibited. Possession of a knife for personal safety is allowed, but no other form of fishing gear or device for removing any type of marine life is permitted, including those who are passing through the waters of the conservation district for deeper water.
The new rules are the result of a lengthy process of public input initiated by Sen. Robert Bunda and the Division of Aquatic Resources in early 1999 and the Pupukea Task Force.
They represent a compromise among interest groups, including commercial and recreational divers, commercial and recreational fishers, boaters, scientists, the North Shore Neighborhood Board, the native Hawaiian community, the local community and conservationists.