(1) The State of Hawaii is the most isolated archipelago in the world and has one of the highest proportions of marine species that exist nowhere else on earth and many valuable and unique coral reef resources. The replenishment and preservation of these rare resources are of vital economic, environmental, cultural, and social importance to the people of Hawaii to preserve the islands’ marine heritage for residents, visitors, and future generations;

(2) Using the wisdom passed down by kupuna for generations, traditional Hawaiian stewardship practices carefully managed the nearshore resources of ahupua`a and sustained their abundance, imposing wise limitations on harvest, such as prohibiting fishing during spawning seasons or in species’ nursery areas. Today, many Hawaiian communities are revitalizing and implementing traditional marine stewardship practices by using the knowledge of cultural practitioners and experienced fishers to engage in sustainable subsistence harvest of marine resources;

(3) Dramatic declines in the size, number, distribution, and quality of a wide variety of important and desirable native marine species and habitats have been observed by many members of Hawaii’s fishing communities and other ocean users. This decline has also been documented by agencies and scientists. Those who depend on healthy marine ecosystems share a common long-term interest in the vigorous replenishment of fish and other marine species;

(4) Hawaii’s existing highly protected marine areas are important conservation tools, but encompass less than one per cent of Hawaii’s valuable coral reef resources. Hawaii's fishing rules and small patchwork of marine resource management areas have proven insufficient to protect Hawaii’s marine ecosystems and should be reviewed and incorporated into a comprehensive, integrated, and sustainable statewide network of marine reserves;

(5) Hawaii’s marine waters and resources, from the lagoons and estuaries to the seaward limits of the State’s jurisdiction, are part of the State’s public trust resources and must be managed to restore abundance and to maintain long-term sustainability;

(6) Marine reserves are geographically defined areas designated for the lasting protection of natural and cultural resources and managed to promote high biological productivity, biodiversity, and ecosystem integrity. Marine reserves are nationally and internationally recognized as a vital complement to nonspatial management tools for marine conservation;

(7) Marine reserves have benefited fishing communities through improved fish stocks and catch in Australia, Belize, Chile, Ecuador, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, the United States, Guam, and elsewhere. Recent research indicates that coordinated and integrated networks of reserves of sufficient size, habitat diversity, and geographic area are necessary to ensure adequate long-term sustainability of marine resources;

(8) According to the American Association for the Advancement of the Sciences’ Scientific Consensus Statement on Marine Reserves, the benefits of coordinated networks of marine reserves include:

(9) Many communities and marine resource user groups are interested, willing, and able to advise the State in developing an appropriate and effective network of reserves and to take an active stewardship role in partnership with the State to create and manage new and existing marine reserves. Regional and local involvement in the designation and management of nearshore marine resources, such as the west Hawaii regional fishery management area, is one of many effective approaches to involving communities and user groups in replenishing Hawaii’s marine resources;

(10) To sustain abundant marine resources, many diverse governmental, conservation, scientific, and user groups support a national goal of creating marine reserves that will fully protect a minimum of twenty per cent of U.S. coastal waters;

(11) Damage to marine resources is often not well documented or understood until irreversible or severe damage occurs, but damage can be prevented by proactive stewardship. The precautionary principle and the State’s public trust responsibilities require the creation of a network of marine reserves in the main Hawaiian islands;

(12) Similar to the creation of the Hawaii forest reserve system one hundred years ago that permanently protected about thirty per cent of all state lands to preserve vital supplies of freshwater, the creation of a statewide network of marine reserves in a minimum of twenty per cent of the marine waters of the main Hawaiian islands will provide significant benefits in perpetuity for the people of Hawaii;

(13) The economic value of the coral reef areas in state waters around the main Hawaiian islands is estimated at ten billion dollars. Hanauma Bay alone as an asset to the State is valued at over one billion dollars. Tourists and residents spend five hundred forty-five million dollars each year on dive and snorkel trips to visit coral reefs in Hawaii. Marine reserves can enhance fishing opportunities and support a diversity of local businesses, including ecotourism, snorkeling, diving, photography, and environmental education; and

(14) This Act formalizes the on-going efforts of the department of land and natural resources in developing a public process to discuss and receive input on a framework to categorize marine managed areas in Hawaii with a range of possible management actions from the most to least regulated and protected based on specific management goals. This proposed framework is consistent with the national initiative underway to define a system of marine protected areas and was developed to be used as a tool to better manage our current sites and assess potential new sites. Different categories and different criteria for marine protected and marine managed areas will be considered under this framework. Examples of sites to be discussed under this framework category include marine reserves, marine parks, marine life conservation districts, fishery management areas, and public fishing areas.

(1) Facilitating substantial consultation with communities and user groups; and

(2) Proposing new sources of funding to support the statewide designation process and management, staffing, and monitoring of the marine managed areas system.

(1) A description of the process that shall be followed to implement this chapter;

(2) A proposal for the creation of a process for community input and consultation with the public on each of the main Hawaiian islands, starting with a pilot program on Kauai;

(3) A proposal for alternative approaches to proceeding with the creation of the marine managed areas system in the event that the department is unable to obtain adequate funding, or sufficient community interest; and

(4) A proposal for obtaining new long-term funding sources for the department to support the costs associated with the designation, management, assessment, and monitoring of the marine reserves system.

(1) Ensure that the designation, management, assessment, and monitoring of each marine managed area is based on the best available scientific, social, and economic information, on the knowledge of traditional practitioners, ocean users, and fishers, and other pertinent information;

(2) Consult communities and user groups through a coordinated public process;

(3) Specify goals, objectives, and designation criteria for the system based on the proposed marine managed areas framework;

(4) Establish and manage the marine managed area system in the context of other marine resource management tools intended to enhance fishing or to reduce conflicts between user groups;

(5) Regulate activities within the marine managed areas that impact marine resources within the limits of the department's authority to do so; and

(6) Consider appropriate opportunities for collaboration with local communities and organizations interested in management activities, including monitoring, education, restoration, maintenance, and enforcement.

(1) Includes participants who are drawn from a diverse range of the interested user and conservation groups, affected island communities, scientific researchers, any other interested parties, and governmental agencies;

(2) Is advisory only; and

(3) Provides factual information in an unbiased manner on the benefits and limitations of marine managed areas to enable the participants to engage in an educated and meaningful discussion.

(1) Specific areas to be included in the marine managed area system, the criteria considered in recommending these sites, and the activities to be allowed, approved, or prohibited;

(2) Management, education, assessment, monitoring, and enforcement programs and potential collaborators or sources of funding; and

(3) Any other recommendations related to enhancing the island systems, including: