HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0345.021 2010-2012NEIL ABERCROMBIE
GOVERNOR OF HAWAII
September 21, 2011
STATE OF HAWAII
DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES
DIVISION OF AQUATIC RESOURCES
74 -380 B Kealakehe Parkway
Kailua -Kona, Hawaii 96740
808 - 327 -6226
darofc @hawaiiantel.net
To: Hawaii County Council
From: Dr. William j. Walsh, Aquatic Biologist
Re: Resolution 13011 & 14011
Dear Council members,
WILLIAM J. AILA, JR.
I IERIM CHAIRPERSON
BOARD OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES
COMMISSION ON WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
GUY KAULUKUKUI
FIRST DEPUTY
WILLIAM M. TAM
DEPUTY DIRECTOR- WATER
AQUATIC RESOURCES
BOATING AND OCEAN RECREATION
BUREAU OF CONVEYANCES
COMMISSION ON WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
CONSERVATION AND COASTAL LANDS
CONSERVATION AND RESOURCES ENFORCEMENT
ENGINEERING
FORESTRY AND WILDLIFE
HISTORIC PRESERVATION
KAHOOLAWE ISLAND RESERVE COMMISSION
LAND
STATE PARRS
I'm sorry I can't be here today to personally testify but I trust Laura will adequately
convey my thoughts to you on these resolutions.
Here we are debating the aquarium issue once again. What I'm particularly concerned
about is the overly broad nature of the resolutions. They are perplexing and
disheartening to all of us who have been involved in efforts over the last decade to
develop a successful model for managing our fisheries. The West Hawai'i aquarium
fishery is by far the most thoroughly researched fishery in the state of Hawai'i and we all
hoped that its effective management would set the stage for similar management of our
other fisheries about which we certainly have concerns as well. As I know you're aware,
just about a year ago you - the Hawai'i County Council - passed a resolution which fully
supported the aquarium management efforts of the West Hawai'i Fisheries Council.
These recommendations include an aquarium `white list' of 4o collectible species where
every other fish, crab, shrimp, mollusk and the like will be off limits to collectors. There
are also bag limits for yellow tang (and now two other fish species as well), an aquarium
closure of Pebble Beach and the future development of a limited entry aquarium fishery.
The draft Hawai'i Administrative Rule containing these measures is presently in the rule
making process.
It's a fact of life (and death) that fishing, whatever the kind, removes fish from their
environment. There is no fundamental reason why aquarium fishing cannot be
sustainably managed. That is what we're trying to do here in West Hawai'i. It takes
effort (and time) to be sure but it is doable if we're allowed to do it. Even in such
environmentally progressive areas as Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, in
which 1/3 of the area is fully no -take, aquarium collecting is not banned, rather it's
managed. If we can't successfully manage the aquarium fishery what hope is there for
management of our other fisheries here in Hawai'i?
I'm sure in the discussions on these resolutions there has been much talk about fish
populations and the effects that aquarium collecting may or not be having on them.
Comm. No. 346.21
Ref. To: Pr •sinows Co
Ref. Date EP
Indeed the resolution bluntly states that the aquatic life of the reefs are being devastated
by collection. This is simply not true. As I noted earlier the West Hawai'i aquarium
fishery is by far the most thoroughly researched fishery in the state of Hawai'i. We have
a pretty good idea of what's going on out there on the reefs although people on both side
of the issue often don't not like to hear the details. The coral reef community is complex
and dynamic and species abundances wax and wane even without human influence.
Due to recent technological advances in coral reef habitat mapping we're now able to
estimate and track the total population sizes of many reef fishes. For example over the
past 12 years the West Hawai'i population of yellow tang in the 30' -60' prime reef
habitat has increased by just over 337,000 fish. Similarly kole populations have
increased by over 1,019,000 fish. These two species make up 91% of the total West
Hawai'i aquarium catch. This is not devastation. There are indeed concerns over some
species to be sure but that is what management is for.
Beyond just the aquarium issue the resolutions strike directly at the heart of the work
done locally over the years by the people of West Hawai'i regarding management of their
marine resources. It's been a long and difficult road to reach the point where issues and
problems can be deliberated and addressed here in West Hawai'i rather than just in
Honolulu. These resolutions would cast all of that aside.
Buried within the resolutions is a provision to ban all gill nets in West Hawai'i - again
throwing aside years of work by the West Hawai'i Fisheries Council and the local
community in developing a reasonable and conservative gill net management plan (with
kapu areas, net identification /registration and limits on size and use, etc.). The West
Hawai'i plan allows limited use of such nets which are a culturally important method of
fishing while ensuring that fish stocks are not overly impacted. This net rule served as a
model for the more recent statewide gill net rules.
Even more disheartening, these resolutions, recommend doing away with current efforts
here in West Hawai'i to establish a portion of the Fish Replenishment Areas (the no
aquarium collecting zones) as fish reserves where fishing of reef fish is prohibited.
Several communities are already working in this direction. In contrast to the aquarium
fishery where 35% of the reefs are off limits to collecting, only a very, very small
percentage of our reefs have full protection from other types of fishing activities. From a
sustainability perspective this is a highly vulnerable situation. Why derail these efforts?
It makes no sense if the supposed objective of the resolutions is to "protect our reefs and
their aquatic life."
I know Brenda Ford is a caring and well - meaning council person but I don't think she
fully grasps the larger implications of her resolutions. Please do the right thing and put
an end to these ill- conceived and onerous resolutions.
Mahalo nui,
William j .Walsh Ph.D.
Hawai'i Division of Aquatic Resources
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