STAND. COM. REP. NO.1470
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2001
RE: H.C.R. No. 182
H.D. 1
Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2001
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Water and Land Use, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 182 entitled:
"HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING A DELAY IN CLOSING THE HAWAII LONGLINE FISHERY ON MARCH 15, 2001, TO ENABLE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN EXPERIMENTAL SWORD FISHERY TO ADOPT ALTERNATIVE TURTLE MITIGATION MEASURES AND AVOID ADVERSE ECONOMIC IMPACT,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this concurrent resolution is to request:
(1) U.S. District Judge David Ezra to delay implementation of his August 2000 order to close the Hawaii longline fishery on March 15, 2001, so as to avoid adverse impact on both Hawaii's longline fishing industry and the State's overall economy; and
(2) Implementation of alternative turtle mitigation measures which would allow year-round operation of the swordfish and tuna fisheries.
In the absence of a required environment impact statement (EIS), the order was placed into effect on March 15, 2001.
On March 30, 2001, the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service released the final Biological Opinion and final EIS on Western Pacific Pelagic Fisheries which proposed permanent closure of the swordfish fishery and a two-month annual closure of a 1.9 million square mile area south of Hawaii to all Hawaii longliners.
With the submission of the completed EIS, Judge Ezra immediately modified his August 2000 order on March 30, 2001, allowing Hawaii longliners to fish for tuna outside the closed areas.
As cited in this measure, your Committee believes it is grossly unfair that Hawaii's 115 longline vessels would be completely banned from swordfish fishing in the north Pacific and from a 1.9 million square mile area for two months while hundreds of domestic and more than 4,000 foreign longline fishing vessels with higher turtle take rates continue to fish in these areas.
The Department of Land and Natural Resources testified in support of the intent of this measure.
Your Committee has amended this concurrent resolution by:
(1) Updating the information about certain actions which have already taken place;
(2) Recognizing Judge Ezra for his immediate action to reopen longline fishing upon release of the final EIS;
(3) Focusing this measure on the adoption of turtle take mitigation measures and the use of turtle-friendly gear and methods which would allow Hawaii's longline vessels to operate year-round;
(4) Changing the title to read: "HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN EXPERIMENTAL SWORDFISH FISHERY TO ADOPT ALTERNATIVE TURTLE MITIGATION MEASURES AND AVOID ADVERSE ECONOMIC IMPACT"; and
(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purpose of consistency.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water and Land Use that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 182, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as H.C.R. No. 182, H.D. 1.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water and Land Use,
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____________________________ EZRA KANOHO, Chair |
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