Bringing back the fish

State officials will consider
marine managed areas

CORRECTION Wednesday, August 3, 2005 » Brian Schatz is vice chairman of the Legislature's Water, Land and Ocean Resources Committee. A story on Page A3 in yesterday's morning edition incorrectly listed his first name as Mark. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at corrections@starbulletin.com.

Fishermen, environmentalists, aquatic resource managers and scientific researchers all agree: There are not as many fish in Hawaii's nearshore waters as there used to be.

What to do about it is the subject of a series of meetings being conducted this summer by the state Legislature's Water, Land and Ocean Resources Committee and the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

"The purpose of these meetings is to listen to what the broader community thinks will work, to make sure there are enough 'fish for the future,'" said Mark Schatz, vice chairman of the committee.

"Fish for the future" is the slogan that the DLNR has adopted to describe its objective and help people understand that managing marine resources does not mean stopping fishing, Schatz said.

"We're not trying to protect fish for some abstract reason or so everybody can view them through their mask and snorkel," Schatz said. "We're trying to have more fish for people to catch and to eat. ... It's a long-term economic sustainability issue."

---

More information about marine managed areas can be seen at the state Division of Aquatic Resources Web site at www.hawaii.gov/dlnr/dar/pubs/MPApub.pdf

---

Meetings were held in June and early July at Kahului, Lahaina, Waimea and Kapaa on Kauai, and on Molokai and Lanai. This week, they continue on Oahu, beginning with a meeting tonight in Haleiwa. They conclude with meetings later this month in Hana and on the Big Island.

Schatz said at the end of the listening tour, the Water, Land and Ocean Resources Committee will draft a bill for next year's Legislature, based on what members have heard from the public.

In the past, Schatz said, "the government, without listening to the community, has laid down edicts, and as a result we have a system of fishing regulations that's unenforceable because there's no buy-in."

"It's hard for the average fisherman to have respect for regulations so thick you'd need a lawyer to interpret them," Schatz said.

At the meetings, committee Chairman Ezra Kanoho will review past bills that attempted to establish marine protected areas. Then Division of Aquatic Resources fisheries biologist Alton Miyasaka will make a presentation.

Miyasaka said he will show how marine resources are declining and explain the different threats to fish, and the management tools available to address them.

Those tools, Miyasaka said, include zones, or management areas, bag limits, size limits, alien species management, education and enforcement.

The term "marine managed area" generally draws a bad reaction from fishermen, Miyasaka said. "It hasn't been defined very well. They think it means a no-take area, where fishing is prohibited."

But it can mean anything from forbidding all human access to allowing fishing under certain circumstances, he said.

Other places that have used protected areas have found that prohibiting fishing in some areas can help restore the quantity of fish in nearby areas where fishing is allowed, Miyasaka said.

Hawaii has 70 marine managed areas now, ranging from marine life conservation districts like Hanauma Bay to areas where fishing is allowed.

"I think of it as like zoning for the ocean," Schatz said.

Marine management meetings Informational meetings on the marine managed areas are being held on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island. All meetings start at 6 p.m. OAHU » Today, Haleiwa Surf Center, 66-167 Haleiwa Road » Tomorrow, Waianae Public Library, 85-625 Farrington Highway » Thursday, Kawananakoa Middle School cafeteria, 49 Funchal St. MAUI » Aug. 23, Hana School cafeteria, 4111 Hana Highway BIG ISLAND » Aug. 30, Hilo High School, 556 Waianuenue Ave. » Aug. 31, Kealakehe High School, 74-5000 Puohulihuli St., Kailua-Kona