REPORT TITLE: 
Aquatic Resources; Rulemaking


DESCRIPTION:
Allows the Department of Land and Natural Resources to adopt
administrative rules relating to aquatic resource regulations
that specify bag limits, sales restrictions, seasons, and
regulation on fishing gear.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                            181         
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                     A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO AQUATIC RESOURCES.



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

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that Hawaii may be the
 
 2 only state that requires the management of its fishery resources
 
 3 to be dependent on the enactment of statutes.  Many of these laws
 
 4 are also outdated--some fishing statutes date back to the late
 
 5 1800s and early 1900s and no longer have a sound scientific
 
 6 basis.
 
 7      The legislature further finds that managing the State's
 
 8 fisheries is a year-round job, requiring the attention of
 
 9 fisheries experts and the incorporation of various catch, effort,
 
10 and population data.  Accordingly, it is unrealistic to expect
 
11 the legislature, which is in session for only four months of the
 
12 year, to handle this task, especially when it is faced with a
 
13 multitude of non-fisheries problems to address.  Moreover, given
 
14 the limits of its legislative sessions, it cannot respond quickly
 
15 to crisis situations.
 
16      The legislature further finds that the division of aquatic
 
17 resources of the department of land and natural resources is in a
 
18 far better position to obtain public input on proposed fishing
 
19 rules through its established administrative procedures.  This
 

 
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 1 means that it can hold public hearings in more communities, and
 
 2 reach residents in remote areas of the neighbor islands.
 
 3 Hopefully, increased public input will result in the
 
 4 consideration of innovative management strategies.  This may
 
 5 include traditional konohiki methods that have been utilized
 
 6 successfully for generations
 
 7      The purpose of this Act is to authorize the department of
 
 8 land and natural resources to adopt administrative rules to
 
 9 revise the provisions contained in those statutes relating to
 
10 fishing with firearms, spears, bullpen traps, gill nets and drift
 
11 gill nets, and other prohibitions.
 
12      SECTION 2.  Section 188-44, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
13 amended to read as follows:
 
14      "§188-44  [Mullet, catching prohibited, when; exceptions.]
 
15 Licenses for mullet.  (a)  [It is unlawful for any person to
 
16 wilfully fish for, or attempt to take by any means whatsoever,
 
17 from any of the waters within the jurisdiction of the State, or
 
18 to sell, offer for sale, or have in possession any mullet, known
 
19 as amaama, or anaeholo during the months of December, January, or
 
20 February; provided that] The department may issue a license to
 
21 any owner or operator of a fish pond [may] to lawfully catch the
 
22 young mullet known as pua during the closed season, for the
 
23 purpose of stocking the owner's or operator's pond[;] and
 

 
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 1 [provided further that any owner or operator of a fish pond or
 
 2 any commercial marine dealer may] lawfully sell pond raised
 
 3 mullet during the closed season [after first procuring a license
 
 4 to do so].
 
 5      (b)  [Any commercial marine dealer having more than one
 
 6 market or establishment shall take out a separate license for
 
 7 each market or establishment from which mullet are sold.]  The
 
 8 department may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 necessary for
 
 9 the purpose of this section and to set reasonable fees [for
 
10 selling pond raised mullet during the closed season.
 
11      (c)  All licenses shall expire one year from the date of
 
12 issuance]."
 
13      SECTION 3.  Section 188-45, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
14 amended to read as follows:
 
15      "§188-45  [Nehu and iao, taking prohibited; exceptions.  It
 
16 is unlawful for any person to fish for, catch, or take in or from
 
17 any of the waters within the jurisdiction of the State any nehu
 
18 or iao; provided that any person may lawfully catch nehu for the
 
19 person's family consumption or bait purposes with a net not
 
20 longer than fifty feet; and provided further that the department
 
21 of land and natural resources] Licenses for nehu, iao, and other
 
22 baitfish.  The department may issue to commercial marine
 
23 licensees, as defined in chapter 187A, licenses to take nehu,
 

 
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 1 iao, or any other species [for which an open season may be
 
 2 declared by the department] for use as bait only[; provided that
 
 3 nehu may be taken by any licensed commercial marine licensee only
 
 4 if employed on a live-bait tuna boat and only if the licensee's
 
 5 principal means of livelihood is derived from tuna fishing and
 
 6 the sale of tuna, and the nehu is not sold to others].  The
 
 7 licenses may be issued by the department upon terms and
 
 8 conditions the department may deem necessary to conserve the
 
 9 supply of the fish within state waters.  The license may be
 
10 summarily revoked for a violation of any term or condition
 
11 thereof, and any or all licenses may be revoked summarily
 
12 whenever, in the judgment of the department, the action is
 
13 necessary for the conservation of the fish.
 
14      [Any person whose license has been revoked for violation of
 
15 the terms and conditions of the person's license shall not be
 
16 eligible for another license until the expiration of one year
 
17 from the date of revocation.]"
 
18      SECTION 4.  Section 188-57, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
19 amended to read as follows:
 
20      "§188-57  [Certain crustaceans protected.] Licenses for
 
21 certain crustaceans.  (a)  [It is unlawful for any person to
 
22 take, kill, sell, or offer for sale, or have in possession any
 
23 Kona crabs taken from the waters within the jurisdiction of the
 

 
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 1 State during the months of May, June, July, and August, or spiny
 
 2 lobster (ula), or slipper lobster (ula-papapa), taken from the
 
 3 waters within the jurisdiction of the State during the months of
 
 4 May, June, July, and August.  The possession of any Kona crabs,
 
 5 by any person during the months of May, June, July, and August,
 
 6 and the possession of any spiny lobster, or slipper lobster by
 
 7 any person during the months of May, June, July, and August shall
 
 8 be prima facie evidence that the person is guilty of a violation
 
 9 of this section; provided that any] Any commercial marine dealer
 
10 may sell, or any hotel, restaurant, or other public eating house
 
11 may serve during the closed season Kona crabs or lobsters
 
12 lawfully caught during the open season by first procuring a
 
13 license to do so.
 
14      (b)  [Each licensee shall submit a report to the department
 
15 within five days after the end of each of the months on blanks
 
16 furnished by the department.] The department may adopt rules
 
17 pursuant to chapter 91 necessary for the purpose of this chapter
 
18 and to set fees for selling or serving Kona crab and lobster
 
19 during the closed season.
 
20      [(c)  All licenses shall expire one year from the date of
 
21 issuance.]"
 
22      SECTION 5.  Section 188-68, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
23 amended to read as follows:
 

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

 
 
 
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 1      SECTION 6.  Section 188-25, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 repealed.
 
 3      ["§188-25  Fishing with firearms, spears.(a)  No person
 
 4 shall pursue, take, or kill any turtle, crustacean, mollusk,
 
 5 aquatic mammal, or fish, except tuna and billfish that have been
 
 6 caught and gaffed and sharks, in the State with firearms as
 
 7 defined in section 134-1.
 
 8      (b)  No person shall pursue, take, or kill any crustacean
 
 9 (except introduced freshwater prawns), turtle, or aquatic mammal
 
10 in the State with a spear.
 
11      (c)  Any crustacean, mollusk, aquatic mammal, or fish taken
 
12 or killed or offered for sale in violation of this section shall
 
13 be confiscated and offered as evidence.
 
14      (d)  No person shall take any fish by the use of spears, or
 
15 possess any speared fish which is smaller than the minimum size
 
16 for the fish as specified in section 188-40 and any person
 
17 violating this provision for the first time shall receive a
 
18 citation.  Any subsequent violation shall be punished as provided
 
19 for in section 188-70; provided that the first subsequent
 
20 violation shall be considered a first violation for the purpose
 
21 of section 188-70."]
 
22      SECTION 7.  Section 188-28.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
23 repealed.
 

 
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 1      ["§188-28.5  Bullpen trap; description; prohibitions.(a)
 
 2 For the purpose of this chapter, a "bullpen trap" has a pen and
 
 3 guide or guides of a length or lengths of net or material
 
 4 designed to guide aquatic life into the pen situated to prevent
 
 5 the escape of some or all of the aquatic life entering the pen,
 
 6 whether or not the guide or guides are connected to the pen.
 
 7      (b)  It is unlawful for any person to capture or attempt to
 
 8 capture aquatic life with a bullpen trap which exceeds two
 
 9 thousand feet in total length.  The total length of a bullpen
 
10 trap shall include the length of the guide or guides and pen.
 
11      (c)  It is unlawful for any person engaged in bullpen trap
 
12 fishing to leave the trap in the same place for a period of more
 
13 than sixteen hours.
 
14      (d)  It is unlawful for any person to capture or attempt to
 
15 capture aquatic life with a bullpen trap within one thousand
 
16 yards from the shoreline, except as provided in subsection (e).
 
17      (e)  Notwithstanding subsection (d), it is lawful to capture
 
18 or to attempt to capture aquatic life with a bullpen trap in the
 
19 area seaward from five hundred yards from the shoreline of the
 
20 island of Molokai west of Kaunakakai wharf and in the area
 
21 seaward from two hundred yards from the shoreline of the island
 
22 of Molokai east of Kaunakakai wharf; provided that the department
 
23 may designate other areas of similar characteristics in which the
 

 
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                                     H.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        

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

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

 
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 1           noncommercial purposes only; provided that the net,
 
 2           including any handle and other attachment thereto,
 
 3           shall not exceed three feet in any dimension.
 
 4      (b)  It is unlawful for any person to use any type of trap
 
 5 which is not portable or which is more than ten feet in length or
 
 6 six feet in height or width.  Except for traps of smaller mesh to
 
 7 take shrimp or opae, and for the entrance cone, it shall also be
 
 8 unlawful to use traps:
 
 9      (1)  With netting having a stretched mesh of less than two
 
10           inches; or
 
11      (2)  Made with plastic, wire, coated wire, or any other
 
12           stiff material with a rigid mesh of less than two
 
13           inches long by one inch wide.
 
14      (c)  The department of land and natural resources may,
 
15 pursuant to chapter 91, adopt rules relating to requirements for
 
16 escape openings or devices on any type of nets or traps.  The
 
17 rules shall include provisions describing the type, measurements,
 
18 and locations of escape openings or devices on traps under this
 
19 subsection and become effective three years after
 
20 establishment."]
 
21      SECTION 9.  Section 188-29.1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
22 repealed.
 

 
 
 
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 1      ["[§188-29.1]  Prohibition on disposal of fishing gear.  It
 
 2 is unlawful to discard or otherwise dispose of any fishing net,
 
 3 trap, or gear with netting, or parts thereof, in the waters of
 
 4 the State."]
 
 5      SECTION 10.  Section 188-30, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 6 repealed.
 
 7      ["§188-30  Fine meshed throw nets; possession; sale.(a)
 
 8 It is unlawful for any person who is in the water or on or about
 
 9 the shore where fish can be taken to have in the person's
 
10 possession a throw net with a mesh of less than one and one-half
 
11 inches stretched measure.  After December 31, 1994, it shall be
 
12 unlawful for any person who is in the water or on or about the
 
13 shore where fish can be taken to have in the person's possession
 
14 a throw net with a mesh of less than two inches stretched
 
15 measure.
 
16      (b)  After July 1, 1988, it shall be unlawful for any person
 
17 to sell or to offer for sale any throw net with a mesh of less
 
18 than two inches stretched measure."]
 
19      SECTION 11.  Section 188-30.2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
20 repealed.
 
21      ["§188-30.2  Fishing with gill nets; prohibited.  (a)  It is
 
22 unlawful for any person engaged in gill net fishing to:
 

 
 
 
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 1      (1)  Leave the person's net unattended without visually
 
 2           inspecting the net every two hours and releasing or
 
 3           removing any undersized, illegal, or unwanted catch; or
 
 4      (2)  Leave the net in the water for a period of more than
 
 5           four hours in any twenty-four hour period.
 
 6      (b)  For purposes of this section, "gill net" means a
 
 7 curtainlike net suspended in the water with mesh openings large
 
 8 enough to permit only the heads of the fish to pass through,
 
 9 ensnaring them around the gills when they attempt to escape."]
 
10      SECTION 12.  Section 188-30.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
11 repealed.
 
12      ["[§188-30.5]  Fishing with drift gill net; prohibited.  It
 
13 is unlawful for any person to possess or use any drift gill net
 
14 in the waters of the State."]
 
15      SECTION 13.  Section 188-40, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
16 repealed.
 
17      ["§188-40  Minimum sizes of fish.  It shall be unlawful for
 
18 any person to possess with the intent to sell, or offer for sale,
 
19 any:
 
20      (1)  Aholehole or manini less than five inches in length;
 
21      (2)  Mullet, moi, weke, moana, or kumu less than seven
 
22           inches in length;
 

 
 
 
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 1      (3)  Awa, oio, kala, or opelu kala less than nine inches in
 
 2           length; provided that this section shall not apply to
 
 3           the kala, Naso lituratus;
 
 4      (4)  Opakapaka, onaga, uku, ulua or papio, uhu, or octopus
 
 5           less than one pound in weight;
 
 6      (5)  Kuahonu crab or Kona crab less than four inches in
 
 7           length or in width across or along its back;
 
 8      (6)  Clams less than one and one-half inches measured the
 
 9           long way across or along the shell; or
 
10      (7)  Ahi less than three pounds in weight."]
 
11      SECTION 14.  Section 188-41, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
12 repealed.
 
13      ["§188-41  Dried nehu and iao.  It shall be unlawful for any
 
14 person at any time to sell, offer for sale, or trade, any dried
 
15 or cured nehu or iao taken from the waters within the
 
16 jurisdiction of the State."]
 
17      SECTION 15.  Section 188-46, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
18 repealed.
 
19      ["§188-46  Opelu fishing regulated.  It is unlawful for any
 
20 person at any time, to fish for or take, or be engaged in fishing
 
21 or taking opelu with fish or animal bait within the waters off
 
22 the coast of South Kona, island of Hawaii, between the Kiilae-
 
23 Keokea boundary and the Kapua-Kaulanamauna boundary, except with
 
24 hook and line."]
 

 
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 1      SECTION 16.  Section 188-58, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 repealed.
 
 3      ["§188-58  Crustaceans with eggs.  It is unlawful for any
 
 4 person to catch or take from any bays, harbors, or other waters
 
 5 of the State, or to expose or offer for sale, or to hold in
 
 6 possession with the intent of exposing or offering for sale, or
 
 7 to kill, any crustacean known as spiny lobster or ula, slipper
 
 8 lobster or ula-papapa, kuahonu crab, Samoan crab, or Kona crab
 
 9 while with egg.  If any of the crustaceans be caught, they must
 
10 immediately be returned to the waters from which they were taken.
 
11 The possession of any spiny lobster or ula, slipper lobster or
 
12 ula-papapa, kuahonu crab, Samoan crab, or Kona crab, showing
 
13 indications of the eggs having been scraped or removed therefrom,
 
14 shall be prima facie evidence of the violation of this section."]
 
15      SECTION 17.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
16 New statutory material is underscored.
 
17      SECTION 18.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval;
 
18 provided that each section being amended or repealed shall take
 
19 effect upon the original effective date of the implementing rule
 
20 or rules adopted by the department of land and natural resources
 
21 regulating the taking of aquatic resources and the gears or
 
22 methods to take aquatic resources.
 
23 
 
24                       INTRODUCED BY:  ___________________________
 

 
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