REPORT TITLE:
Fish Breeding; Molokai


DESCRIPTION:
Appropriates funds for the department of land and natural
resources to work with the Oceanic Institute to provide for the
development of a fish breeding program on the island of Molokai.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        3147
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT
RELATING TO FISHERIES.



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

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that there is a need to
 
 2 encourage the development of a fish breeding program on the
 
 3 island of Molokai.
 
 4      The legislature finds that increased commercial and
 
 5 recreational fishing of nearshore waters off of the island of
 
 6 Molokai has led to the depletion of reef fish and other fish
 
 7 populations.  The establishment of a fish breeding program will
 
 8 help to reestablish fish populations in this area.
 
 9      In addition, the legislature finds that Molokai has one of
 
10 the highest unemployment rates in the State and is in need of new
 
11 areas for economic development.  The development of a fish
 
12 breeding program on that island will provide an environmentally
 
13 friendly, low impact way to boost employment and encourage
 
14 greater self-sufficiency among island residents.
 
15      The legislature further finds that a fish breeding program
 
16 for Molokai should be developed by the Oceanic Institute, which
 
17 is located on Makapuu Point, Waimanalo, on the island of Oahu.
 
18 The Oceanic Institute is a private nonprofit applied research
 
19 organization dedicated to the development and transfer of
 
20 practical aquaculture, fisheries, and environmental science
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        


 1 technologies to the public and commercial sectors worldwide.  The
 
 2 goals of the Institute are to develop technologies that expand
 
 3 the world's food supply through development of hatchery
 
 4 technologies, off-shore and on-shore growout strategies, stock
 
 5 enhancement of marine finfish, and aquatic feeds, and to promote
 
 6 sustainability of the ocean environment through marine resource
 
 7 conservation, habitat restoration, and coastal zone management.
 
 8      The Oceanic Institute provides a number of technical and
 
 9 managerial services to the private and public sectors, including
 
10 the development of complete production systems for marine finfish
 
11 and marine shrimp aquaculture; aquatic feeds and ingredient
 
12 testing, formulation, and evaluation; aquatic feeds formulation,
 
13 processing, and equipment consulting; and feasibility studies for
 
14 stock enhancement and environmental conservation programs.  The
 
15 Institute's fish breeding programs include the marine finfish
 
16 program, the Hawaiian fisheries development project, and the
 
17 stock enhancement of marine fish program.
 
18      The marine finfish program focuses on developing reliable
 
19 techniques for raising multiple species of fish for both culture
 
20 and enhancement applications.  The Institute's expertise includes
 
21 the reproduction, spawning, larval rearing, and growout of
 
22 milkfish, mullet, mahimahi, Pacific threadfin, bluefin trevally,
 
23 amberjack, and other species of commercial importance.  The
 

 
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 1 Institute has also developed efficient, flexible hatchery systems
 
 2 that have been applied as far away as Indonesia and Egypt.
 
 3 Current research also involves open-ocean cage aquaculture as
 
 4 well as applied proprietary research for commercial entities.
 
 5      The Oceanic Institute also conducts the Hawaiian fisheries
 
 6 development project, which is funded by the National Oceanic and
 
 7 Atmospheric Administration.  The goal of this project is to
 
 8 provide a model of marine finfish aquaculture for the
 
 9 establishment of state, federal, and private hatchery and growout
 
10 facilities across the United States.  The program is developing a
 
11 comprehensive technology that will be applicable to multiple
 
12 species of selected marine finfish of economic importance.
 
13      The legislature further finds that Hawaii's coastal
 
14 fisheries have declined by an estimated eighty per cent since the
 
15 turn of the century, a trend that is being echoed worldwide.  In
 
16 1988, in response to this fundamental change in marine resources,
 
17 the Institute established stock enhancement of marine fish in the
 
18 State of Hawaii ("SEMFISH") to examine the feasibility of
 
19 enhancing coastal fish populations through stocking programs.
 
20 SEMFISH research is funded largely by the National Marine
 
21 Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
 
22 Administration.  The state division of aquatic resources of the
 
23 department of land and natural resources has become an active
 
24 collaborator in the SEMFISH program, and is funding the transfer
 

 
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 1 of SEMFISH technology to the State.
 
 2      Oceanic Institute research scientists have also taken
 
 3 advantage of recent breakthroughs in marine aquaculture to
 
 4 develop a marine stock enhancement technology.  The SEMFISH goal
 
 5 is to apply aquaculture technology to the enhancement of depleted
 
 6 nearshore fish populations.  SEMFISH has demonstrated
 
 7 conclusively that depleted stocks of striped mullet (Mugil
 
 8 cephalus), a highly valued fish in Hawaii, can be replenished,
 
 9 and now the program is conducting research into other species of
 
10 importance.
 
11      The purpose of this Act is to provide for the department of
 
12 land and natural resources to work with the Oceanic Institute to
 
13 provide for the development of a fish breeding program for the
 
14 island of Molokai.
 
15      SECTION 2.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
16 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $          , or so
 
17 much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2000-2001, for
 
18 the department of land and natural resources to work with the
 
19 Oceanic Institute of Waimanalo, to provide for the development of
 
20 a fish breeding program on the island of Molokai.
 
21      SECTION 3.  The sum appropriated shall be expended by the
 
22 department of land and natural resources for the purposes of this
 

 
 
 
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                                     S.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        


 1 Act.
 
 2      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2000.
 
 3 
 
 4                              INTRODUCED BY:______________________