1182
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO AQUATIC RESOURCES.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  Section 188-44, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended to read as follows:
 
 3      "§188-44  [Mullet, catching prohibited, when; exceptions.]
 
 
 5 wilfully fish for, or attempt to take by any means whatsoever,
 
 6 from any of the waters within the jurisdiction of the State, or
 
 7 to sell, offer for sale, or have in possession any mullet, known
 
 8 as amaama, or anaeholo during the months of December, January, or
 
 9 February; provided that]  The department may issue a license to
 
10 any owner or operator of a fish pond [may] to lawfully catch the
 
11 young mullet known as pua during the closed season, for the
 
12 purpose of stocking the owner's or operator's pond[;] and
 
13 [provided further that any owner or operator of a fish pond or
 
14 any commercial marine dealer may] to lawfully sell pond raised
 
15 mullet during the closed season [after first procuring a license
 
16 to do so].
 
17      (b)  [Any commercial marine dealer having more than one
 
18 market or establishment shall take out a separate license for
 
19 each market or establishment from which mullet are sold.]  The
 

 
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 1 department may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 necessary for
 
 2 the purpose of this section [and to set reasonable fees for
 
 3 selling pond raised mullet during the closed season.
 
 4      (c)  All licenses shall expire one year from the date of
 
 5 issuance], including any terms, conditions, qualifications, and
 
 6 fees."
 
 7      SECTION 2.  Section 188-45, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 8 amended to read as follows:
 
 9      "§188-45  [Nehu and iao, taking prohibited; exceptions. It
 
10 is unlawful for any person to fish for, catch, or take in or from
 
11 any of the waters within the jurisdiction of the State any nehu
 
12 or iao; provided that any person may lawfully catch nehu for the
 
13 person's family consumption or bait purposes with a net not
 
14 longer than fifty feet; and provided further that the department
 
15 of land and natural resources] Licenses for nehu, iao, and other
 
16 baitfish.  The department may issue to commercial marine
 
17 licensees, as defined in chapter 187A, licenses to take nehu,
 
18 iao, or any other species [for which an open season may be
 
19 declared by the department] for use as bait only[; provided that
 
20 nehu may be taken by any licensed commercial marine licensee only
 
21 if employed on a live-bait tuna boat and only if the licensee's
 
22 principal means of livelihood is derived from tuna fishing and
 

 
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 1 the sale of tuna, and the nehu is not sold to others]. The
 
 2 licenses may be issued by the department upon terms and
 
 3 conditions the department may deem necessary to conserve the
 
 4 supply of the fish within state waters.  The license may be
 
 5 summarily revoked for a violation of any term or condition
 
 6 thereof, and any or all licenses may be revoked summarily
 
 7 whenever, in the judgment of the department, the action is
 
 8 necessary for the conservation of the fish.  The department may
 
 9 adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 necessary for the purposes of
 
10 this section, including any terms, conditions, qualifications,
 
11 and fees.
 
12      [Any person whose license has been revoked for violation of
 
13 the terms and conditions of the person's license shall not be
 
14 eligible for another license until the expiration of one year
 
15 from the date of revocation.]"
 
16      SECTION 3.  Section 188-57, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
17 amended to read as follows:
 
18      "§188-57  [Certain] Licenses for certain crustaceans
 
19 [protected].(a)  [It is unlawful for any person to take, kill,
 
20 sell, or offer for sale, or have in possession any Kona crabs
 
21 taken from the waters within the jurisdiction of the State during
 
22 the months of May, June, July, and August, or spiny lobster
 

 
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 1 (ula), or slipper lobster (ula-papapa), taken from the waters
 
 2 within the jurisdiction of the State during the months of May,
 
 3 June, July, and August.  The possession of any Kona crabs, by any
 
 4 person during the months of May, June, July, and August, and the
 
 5 possession of any spiny lobster, or slipper lobster by any person
 
 6 during the months of May, June, July, and August shall be prima
 
 7 facie evidence that the person is guilty of a violation of this
 
 8 section; provided that any]  Any commercial marine dealer may
 
 9 sell, or any hotel, restaurant, or other public eating house may
 
10 serve during the closed season Kona crabs or lobsters lawfully
 
11 caught during the open season by first procuring a license to do
 
12 so.
 
13      (b)  [Each licensee shall submit a report to the department
 
14 within five days after the end of each of the months on blanks
 
15 furnished by the department.]  The department may adopt rules
 
16 pursuant to chapter 91 necessary for the purpose of this [chapter
 
17 and to set fees for selling or serving Kona crab and lobster
 
18 during the closed season] section, including any terms,
 
19 conditions, qualifications, and fees.
 
20      [(c)  All licenses shall expire one year from the date of
 
21 issuance.]"
 
22      SECTION 4.  Section 188-29, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 

 
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 1 repealed.
 
 2      ["§188-29  Nets and traps.(a)  It is unlawful for any
 
 3 person to use nets made of or using netting, or bullpen traps
 
 4 with a stretched mesh of less than two inches, except that:
 
 5      (1)  Pond owners or operators who hold a license issued
 
 6           under section 188-44 may use nets of smaller mesh to
 
 7           take young mullet or pua for stocking their fish ponds;
 
 8      (2)  Commercial marine licensees who hold a license issued
 
 9           under section 188-45 may use nets of smaller mesh to
 
10           take nehu, iao, marquesan sardine, or any other species
 
11           for which an open season may be declared by the
 
12           department of land and natural resources for use as
 
13           bait;
 
14      (3)  All persons may use nets of smaller mesh to take shrimp
 
15           or opae, opelu, makiawa, or mikiawa;
 
16      (4)  Aquarium fish collectors with a valid aquarium fish
 
17           permit issued by the department pursuant to section
 
18           188-31 may use nets of smaller mesh, but not throw
 
19           nets, to fish for aquarium fish in conformance with the
 
20           conditions of the permit, provided that noncommercial
 
21           aquarium fish collectors shall be limited to a combined
 
22           total of five fish or aquatic life specimens per person
 

 
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 1           per day;
 
 2      (5)  All persons may use a net with mesh of not less than
 
 3           one and one-half inches to take akule; provided that no
 
 4           akule measuring less than eight and one-half inches in
 
 5           total length from the tip of the snout to the tip of
 
 6           the tail shall be taken with a net during the months of
 
 7           July, August, September, and October;
 
 8      (6)  All persons engaged in surround net fishing with scuba,
 
 9           may use nets with mesh of not less than one and one-
 
10           half inches only to bag and transport the fish captured
 
11           with legal gear to the shore or the boat;
 
12      (7)  All persons engaged in stationary monofilament gill net
 
13           fishing may use monofilament gill netting with a
 
14           stretched mesh of not less than two inches until
 
15           December 31, 1996; thereafter it shall be unlawful for
 
16           any person to use stationary monofilament gill nets
 
17           made of or using monofilament gill netting with a
 
18           stretched mesh of less than two and three-fourths
 
19           inches; and
 
20      (8)  All persons may use hand nets or scoop nets of smaller
 
21           mesh to take fish or other marine life for
 
22           noncommercial purposes only; provided that the net,
 

 
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 1           including any handle and other attachment thereto,
 
 2           shall not exceed three feet in any dimension.
 
 3      (b)  It is unlawful for any person to use any type of trap
 
 4 which is not portable or which is more than ten feet in length or
 
 5 six feet in height or width.  Except for traps of smaller mesh to
 
 6 take shrimp or opae, and for the entrance cone, it shall also be
 
 7 unlawful to use traps:
 
 8      (1)  With netting having a stretched mesh of less than two
 
 9           inches; or
 
10      (2)  Made with plastic, wire, coated wire, or any other
 
11           stiff material with a rigid mesh of less than two
 
12           inches long by one inch wide.
 
13      (c)  The department of land and natural resources may,
 
14 pursuant to chapter 91, adopt rules relating to requirements for
 
15 escape openings or devices on any type of nets or traps.
 
16      The rules shall include provisions describing the type,
 
17 measurements, and locations of escape openings or devices on
 
18 traps under this subsection and become effective three years
 
19 after establishment."]
 
20      SECTION 5.  Section 188-30.2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
21 repealed.
 
22      ["§188-30.2  Fishing with gill nets; prohibited.(a)  It is
 

 
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 1 unlawful for any person engaged in gill net fishing to:
 
 2      (1)  Leave the person's net unattended without visually
 
 3           inspecting the net every two hours and releasing or
 
 4           removing any undersized, illegal, or unwanted catch; or
 
 5      (2)  Leave the net in the water for a period of more than
 
 6           four hours in any twenty-four-hour period.
 
 7      (b)  For purposes of this section, "gill net" means a
 
 8 curtainlike net suspended in the water with mesh openings large
 
 9 enough to permit only the heads of the fish to pass through,
 
10 ensnaring them around the gills when they attempt to escape."]
 
11      SECTION 6.  Section 188-40, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
12 repealed.
 
13      ["§188-40  Minimum sizes of fish.  It shall be unlawful for
 
14 any person to possess with the intent to sell, or offer for sale,
 
15 any:
 
16      (1)  Aholehole or manini less than five inches in length;
 
17      (2)  Mullet, moi, weke, moana, or kumu less than seven
 
18           inches in length;
 
19      (3)  Awa, oio, kala, or opelu kala less than nine inches in
 
20           length; provided that this section shall not apply to
 
21           the kala, Naso lituratus;
 
22      (4)  Opakapaka, onaga, uku, ulua or papio, uhu, or octopus
 

 
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 1           less than one pound in weight;
 
 2      (5)  Kuahonu crab or Kona crab less than four inches in
 
 3           length or in width across or along its back;
 
 4      (6)  Clams less than one and one-half inches measured the
 
 5           long way across or along the shell; or
 
 6      (7)  Ahi less than three pounds in weight."]
 
 7      SECTION 7.  Section 188-58, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 8 repealed.
 
 9      ["§188-58  Crustaceans with eggs.  It is unlawful for any
 
10 person to catch or take from any bays, harbors, or other waters
 
11 of the State, or to expose or offer for sale, or to hold in
 
12 possession with the intent of exposing or offering for sale, or
 
13 to kill, any crustacean known as spiny lobster or ula, slipper
 
14 lobster or ula-papapa, kuahonu crab, Samoan crab, or Kona crab
 
15 while with egg.  If any of the crustaceans be caught, they must
 
16 immediately be returned to the waters from which they were taken.
 
17 The possession of any spiny lobster or ula, slipper lobster or
 
18 ula-papapa, kuahonu crab, Samoan crab, or Kona crab, showing
 
19 indications of the eggs having been scraped or removed therefrom,
 
20 shall be prima facie evidence of the violation of this section."]
 
21      SECTION 8.  Section 188-68, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
22 repealed.
 

 
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 1      ["§188-68  Stony coral; rock with marine life attached;
 
 2 taking and selling prohibited.(a)  The intentional taking,
 
 3 breaking, or damaging with crowbar, chisel, or any other
 
 4 implement of any rock or coral to which marine life is visibly
 
 5 attached or affixed, or live stony coral of the taxonomic order,
 
 6 Madreporaria, including the Fungidae or Pocilloporidae families,
 
 7 is prohibited except with a permit authorized under section 187A-
 
 8 6 or chapter 183C or by the department under rules adopted
 
 9 pursuant to chapter 91 necessary for collecting marine life
 
10 visibly attached to rocks placed in the water for a commercial
 
11 purpose.
 
12      (b)  No person shall sell or offer for sale as souvenirs any
 
13 stony coral of the taxonomic order, Madreporaria, of the species
 
14 Montipora verrucosa, Fungia scutaria, Pocillopora damicornis,
 
15 Pocillopora meandrina, Pocillopora eydouxi, Porites compressa,
 
16 Porites lobata, and Tubastraea coccinea, provided that stony
 
17 coral souvenirs shall not include coral rubble pieces or
 
18 fragments imported for the manufacture and sale of coral jewelry
 
19 or obtained through dredging operations in Hawaii for
 
20 agricultural or other industrial uses."]
 
21      SECTION 9.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
22 New statutory material is underscored.
 

 
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 1      SECTION 10.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
 2 
 
 3                           INTRODUCED BY: ________________________
 

 
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