Speakers warn of threat
to marine environment

KAILUA-KONA » The health of the ocean is linked to Hawaii's economic health, a panel of experts reminded a Big Island conference.

Three of five speakers at the Kona Kohala Chamber of Commerce conference on the environment and natural resources last week said the ocean and its finite resources should be protected and treated with respect, and that there is much to be learned from its ecosystems.

Barry Raleigh, a professor with the University of Hawaii's School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, said Hawaii as an island state obviously must be concerned about treatment of the ocean.

To illustrate his point, Raleigh showed two slides -- one of a thriving reef and one of a polluted, ravaged ocean floor.

"These are both right here in Hawaii waters," he said. "One is up in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, and the other is off Maui."

Raleigh said overfishing and overuse can be devastating.

"Our waters are not polluted," he said. "Pearl Harbor is the most polluted in the state, and there's lots of fish there because nobody's allowed to fish there."

Raleigh said gill nets are lethal to the ocean and all marine life, as they scoop up everything in their path and create large balls of deadly rope when lost. He urged the state to do more to restrict gill net fishing around the Hawaiian Islands.

Earlier this week, state and federal officials removed more than five tons of nets and rope from Kaneohe Bay.

Rick Gaffney, co-chairman of the West Hawaii Fisheries Council, noted that West Hawaii has only one staff member dedicated to enforcing the existing laws protecting the ocean. "Just one guy, eight hours a day for five days a week," he said.

But Gaffney praised the Big Island's sport fishing industry, noting that some charter boats out of West Hawaii now are strictly catch-and-release, returning all the blue marlin to the ocean.

Businesses should treat nature as a mentor, and by designing out waste and toxicity, nature and the economy can forge a closer, more symbiotic relationship, said Kyle Datta, of the Colorado-based Rocky Mountain Institute.

Focusing on planning and development creates healthier communities, lower social ills and increases productivity, he said.

Biomimicry is one way to use the ocean to economic advantage. "If you want to glue something underwater," Datta said, "ask a barnacle."