HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	251
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

URGING Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Aquatic resources, to consult and confer with licensed specialized fishing practitioners prior to implementing revised or new regulations affecting these styles of  near-shore commercial fishing and to seek advice from and work collaboratively with them on any and all future regulations relating to commercial fishing.

WHEREAS, Hawaii is special because of its past and many traditions, cultures, values, and most importantly, its people; and

 WHEREAS, as islands in the center of an ocean, the people of Hawaii have and continue to rely on its natural resources as a means for sustenance, health, culture and being; and

WHEREAS, the social, cultural and economic value of Hawaii’s natural resources have always been and will continue to be immeasurable, unquantifiable and priceless; and

WHEREAS, whether facing times of economic challenge or prosperity, food from the land and ocean fill a constant and growing demand from locals of and visitors to our state; and

WHEREAS, specialized cultural practitioners, unique to Hawaii, with intrinsic and learned knowledge passed down through countless generations, trained, skilled, and proficient in numerous techniques of fishing, including surround bag/gill net fishing, fish trapping, and aqua lung and free dive spear fishing, continue to demonstrate responsible use of and caring for the bounties of the ocean by studying, nurturing, cultivating, and managing these resources on a daily basis for perpetual use; and

WHEREAS, these specialized cultural practitioners, the only providers of locally-caught fresh seafood to our State, are regulated by nature, the community, and the State, and accept their kuleana and responsibility to provide the Department of Land and Natural Resources with the only measurable and consistent source of data to record, interpret and analyze, and utilize as the best-available science in determining the condition of the resource; and

WHEREAS, as responsible experts of their trade and providers to our communities, these specialized cultural practitioners depend on the fair management of our resources for their livelihood and perpetuation; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature, of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session 2009, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Aquatic Resources, is urged to consult and confer with these licensed specialized fishing  practitioners prior to implementing revised or new regulations affecting these styles of near-shore commercial fishing and to seek advice from and work collaboratively with them on any and all future regulations relating to commercial fishing; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor and Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Relating to Commercial Fisheries industries.