Volume 24, Number 2 August 2013

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Fishery Council Members Are Unfazed Let Them Eat Fishcake By Reported Declines in Tuna Catches hat? Me worry? W That was the Alfredeneumanian one of the council members seemed -induced reductions in an ecosystem’s response of the appointed federal fishery Nparticularly bothered by what pre-emi- trophic structure. managers to the sobering report that the nent marine scientist Jeffrey Polovina just Now, 40 percent of the catch by Hawai‘i- Hawai‘i-based longline fishery is already told them — that there is clear evidence based vessels targeting tuna is composed of seeing ecosystem effects from the ever- longline fishers in Hawaiian waters are “fish- unmarketable species, such as escolar (a.k.a. increasing catch — both here and abroad ing down the food web.” The term refers to the laxative fish), the fanged noodle known — of apex predators for the last two as snake mackerel, or decades. the watery-muscled With market prices for bigeye lancetfish (edible if you remaining high, none of the members of don’t mind a squishy the Western Pacific Fishery Management bite). About 16 years Council seemed bothered by ominous ago, those fish ac- signs that major changes are occurring in counted for no more the food web deep below the sea surface. than 30 percent of the The council’s solution? A call for more catch. studies (of course). When given the Our report on the most recent Wespac chance to question meeting leads off this issue, followed by a Polovina after his wrap-up of environmental bills that made presentation at the June

it into law this past legislative session. OST NMFS NOAA SHIMADA, ALLEN PHOTO: meeting of the Western Completing the issue is Teresa Dawson’s Pacific Lancetfish (Alepisaurus ferox) to page 3 regular column on recent actions of the Board of Land and Natural Resources and Robert Cabin’s response to our review of his book. (Spoiler alert: he did PLDC RIP, SPRBs, and SWACs: not like it.) A Wrap-Up of the 2013 Legislature IN THIS ISSUE hen it comes to environmental issues The closure was effected by Act 38 (House Waddressed by the 2013 Legislature, re- Bill 1133, Senate Draft 2). So unpopular had 2 peal of the Public Land Development Cor- the agency become that even its original spon- New & Noteworthy: Queen’s Treasure, TAUs, poration grabbed headlines. That agency, sors voted to give it the axe. And an Albizia Lawsuit established by the Legislature just two short The bill’s preamble is probably about as years ago and signed into law as Act 55 of the close to an apology as the Legislature has ever 3 2011 session, never was so loved by the public come: The exemptions granted to the PLDC, NMFS Overrides Congress as it was by its creators (chiefly Senators it says, “coupled with the manner in which Act 6 Donovan DelaCruz and Malama Solomon). 55 was passed, have led to distrust and uncer- Author of Restoring Paradise Following last year’s elections, with both tainty of the public land development Responds to Review incumbents and challengers hearing an earful corporation’s intentions and development 9 from constituents – outraged over the PLDC’s plans. Despite efforts to allay concerns, many Board Talk: Scuba Ban, exemption from so many environmental and individuals and organizations, particularly Maui and Lana‘i Rules, and More zoning regulations and angry over its lack of environmental and native Hawaiian organi- transparency – the agency was shut down. to page 7 Page 2 Environment Hawai‘i August 2013

Volume 24, No. 2 August 2013

NEW AND NOTEWORTHY

Sailing On: “Ahoy rrrr ye mateys! The Queen’s more, the rules require catamaran permittees to Treasure be sailin again!” read the June 28 be selected from a waiting list (and KTL was not message to followers of Queen’s Treasure’s at the top of that list when it acquired its Facebook page. permit). For about the last year and a half, Ka‘anapali KTL sued in U.S. District Court and lost. Tours, LLC (KTL), which owns the 65-foot Although the company’s monohull/multihull luxury catamaran, has been fighting in federal permit expired last year, KTL appealed to the court for the right to operate the vessel along 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Maui’s Ka‘anapali coast. However, in May, attorneys for KTL and the In September 2011, the state Department of state filed a motion asking that the case be Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Boat- dismissed with prejudice. According to ing and Ocean Recreation prevented the com- DOBOR administrator Ed Underwood, KTL pany from sailing Queen’s Treasure under its recently entered into an agreement with the one-of-a-kind permit that purported to allow owner of Fun Charters, Inc., which has a valid the use of either a monohull or a multihull catamaran permit for Ka‘anapali. Essentially, vessel. Fun Charters is leasing Queen’s Treasure from DOBOR argued that the permit should KTL, he says. He adds that KTL’s owner is still never have been granted because its rules for on the wait list for a permit. The albizia tree on Punahele Street in Hilo. Ka‘anapali don’t allow for such a permit. What’s For more on this, read our February 2012 cover story and our March 2012 and February taken by January 21. On January 29, yet a third 2013 New & Noteworthy items, all available at NOV was issued, with corrective action to be http://www.environment-hawaii.org. made by March 4. All three NOVs indicated Environment Hawai‘i that fines of $1,000 a day would be imposed if 72 Kapi‘olani Street Albizia Update: The county of Hawai‘i is Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720 : the deadline were not met. suing a family that owns a vacant lot in Hilo The county’s complaint asks for damages of Patricia Tummons, Editor over its failure to trim back an albizia tree that $1,000 a day, starting only on March 4. By June Teresa Dawson, Staff Writer is hanging over Punahele Street, just a few 25, when the complaint was lodged with the Environment Hawai‘i is published monthly by Environment blocks from downtown. The huge, heavy court, the fines would have amounted to Hawai‘i, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. limbs create “a known hazard to motorists, $113,000. The county is also seeking to recover Subscriptions are $65 individual; $100 non-profits, libraries; $130 corporate. Send subscription inquiries, address changes, pedestrians, residents and users of Punahele its attorneys’ fees, interest, and other costs. and all other correspondence to Environment Hawai‘i, Street,” the county’s complaint states. Even if the county prevails in court, its ability 72 Kapi‘olani Street, Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720. The county’s Department of Public Works to collect damages from the owners is not a sure Telephone: 808 934-0115. Toll-free: 877-934-0130. E-mail:[email protected] first attempted to get the landowners — heirs of thing. Property tax records show they last paid Web page: http://www.environment-hawaii.org Harold Spencer — to remove the tree last taxes in 2011. Twitter: Envhawaii September, when it issued a notice of violation Environment Hawai‘i is available in microform through and order that required removal of the hazard TAUs Are Tossed: Federal Judge Leslie University Microfilms’ Alternative Press collection (300 by November 6. An identical NOV was issued Kobayashi has ruled that a Kaua‘i law limiting North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106-1346). November 21, demanding corrective action be construction of new transient accommodation Production: For Color Publishing units (TAUs) is invalid. In doing so, she agreed Copyright © 2013 Environment Hawai‘i, Inc. ISSN 1050-3285 with the argument of Kaua‘i Beach Villas— Phase II that the law, the result of a ballot A publication of Quote of the Month referendum, was in conflict with the Hawai‘i Environment Hawai‘i, Inc. Supreme Court’s decision in Kaiser Hawai‘i Kai Officers Directors “No one is trying to make the fish go Development Co. v. City & County of Hono- Patricia Tummons Kathy Baldwin away, but it’s happening.” lulu, better known as the Sandy Beach case. President and Deborah Chang Treasurer Mary Evanson — Chad Wiggins, Environment Hawai‘i published details of Ron Terry Mina Morita The Nature Conservancy the lawsuit in our October 2012 issue. For more Vice President information and to see the judge’s decision, see Teresa Dawson the EH-Xtra item on our website, http:// Secretary www.environment-hawaii.org. August 2013 Environment Hawai‘i Page 3

NMFS Ignores Letter of the Law For Further Reading To learn more about the law giving Hawai‘i In Extending Bigeye Quota Exemption longliners the ability to catch more bigeye tuna than the Western and Central Pacific hen does a law not mean what it says? Commission. They would either Fisheries Commission has allotted them, W Apparently, whenever the National Ma- have to stop fishing for bigeye or fish in the see our January 2012 cover article, “Federal rine Fisheries Service decides Congress must more distant waters of the Eastern Pacific, he Law Gives Hawai‘i Longliners Free Rein have made a mistake. responded – unless the Western Pacific Fish- to Ignore International Quota.” That is what has happened in the case of the ery Management Council could amend its Commerce Appropriations Act that was passed management plan for pelagic fish to address unlimited quota by virtue of a loophole cre- in March. One part of the measure seems to the issue. ated by appropriations riders,” she wrote. have been intended to extend for one year (up When the proposed rule was published in “We request that NMFS end to December 31, 2013) the congressional au- June, Tosatto was asked again about the and set catch limits for all fishing within U.S. thority allowing Hawai‘i longliners to get problem that the law that claims to authorize jurisdiction, including vessels in the longline around international limits on their bigeye the rule in fact does no such thing. He replied fisheries of American Samoa, Guam, and the tuna catches by entering into agreements with that NMFS lawyers had given his office the CNMI. At its meeting concluding June 28, the U.S.-flagged territories in the Pacific green light to act as though Congress had 2013, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery (American Samoa, Guam, and Common- indeed re-authorized the 2012 law. Management Council recommended that wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) that In its comments, the Hawai‘i Longline the Pelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plan be allowed part of the territorial catches to be Association was generally supportive of the amended to include a 2,000 metric ton bigeye assigned to the Hawai‘i fleet. proposed regulations, “insofar as they con- tuna longlime limit for the U.S. Territories… But the final version of the law does not tinue to confirm and implement agreements” There is no reason not to implement this achieve that. Instead of referring to the pro- authorized by the 2012 legislation. recommendation now via the proposed rule.” vision in the previous year’s act that autho- Its letter, from HLA attorney Jeffrey Leppo, Citing the recent work of Jeffrey Polovina rized this scheme, the 2013 Commerce Ap- also put NMFS on notice that in addition to and Phoebe Woodworth-Jefcoats, Kilduff propriations Act refers to a different having the previous agreement to take part of wrote, “Catch limits for all vessels are impera- paragraph having nothing whatsoever to do the American Samoa bigeye quota, the asso- tive given the recent science showing that with the longliners’ arrangements with the ciation “will be entering into another qualify- increases in fishing in the past 16 years have territorial governments. ing … arrangement with American Samoa, altered the Pacific Ocean ecosystem, perhaps That did not prevent the National Marine Guam, or CNMI in substantially the same irreversibly…. Current fishing levels are un- Fisheries Service from going ahead and asking form.” sustainable and NMFS has a legal and moral for public comment on a rule that would “Insofar as HLA is able to discern, the mandate to reduce bigeye tuna mortality extend the arrangement through the end of proposed rule does not alter in any way the immediately.” 2013. The rule makes no mention of the applicable criteria for a qualifying Section Finally, Kilduff stated that should the problem with the current appropriations act, 113(a) arrangement. If NMFS intends any- proposed rule take effect, NMFS “must citing as authority Section 113(a) of the original thing different, HLA hereby objects (because reinitiate consultation on the activity’s effects legislation. In fact, it goes so far as to claim that such an intent would conflict with applicable on endangered species such as the sea birds, the earlier law was “continued by” the current law and because fair notice of a different intent sea turtles, and endangered marine mam- appropriations act, despite the problem with is not given in the proposed rule).” mals. The most recent biological opinions do the language. not include fishing effort data from 2011 or After the 2013 law was signed, Environment Reinitiated Consultation? 2012 — years in which there have been no Hawai‘i asked Mike Tosatto, head of the The only other substantive comments were bigeye tuna limits — and thus this is new Pacific Islands Regional Office of the National from Catherine Kilduff, the staff attorney for information triggering reinitiation because Marine Fisheries Service, what would happen the Center for Biological Diversity. the effects of the agency action may affect if Congress didn’t fix its mistake by the time “The practical effect [of the proposed rule] listed species in a manner or to an extent not the Hawai‘i longliners reached the quota allot- is to allow unlimited bigeye tuna fishing considered in prior biological opinions.” ted them by the Western and Central Pacific through agreements transferring territories’ — P.T.

The Hawai‘i longline industry has seen that detracts from the value of the fishery Wespac continued from page 1 only an increase in value across the board, itself. It’s more an anomaly than anything to Pacific Fishery Management Council, no Goto said. And as far the continued increase see an abundance of one species, then a one did, at first. Council member Ed Ebisui in unmarketable bycatch goes, Hawai‘i is decline, then a reappearance.” just grinned for a while. Finally, council “probably not going to see any significant Polovina pointed out that once smaller member and fish auction representative Mike effect on the fishery itself, in my opinion,” species become more abundant than apex Goto piped up, mainly to say that Hawai‘i because large tunas will always retain their predators, “you’re going to see a lot of fluctua- fishermen are still making good money value, he said. tion.” catching tuna, so the fact that they’re catching Goto admitted that the fishery does have To Goto’s comments that the fishery is large batches of undesirables isn’t really periods where it catches vast numbers of non- still doing well economically, Polovina anything more than a curiosity. target species, but “it’s really not something stressed that he and his Pacific Islands Fisher- Page 4 Environment Hawai‘i August 2013 ies Science Center (PIFSC) colleague Phoebe the tuna catch in the North Pacific, the In their study, Polovina and Woodword- Woodworth-Jefcoats are trying to point out a number of sets in the Hawai‘i-based fishery Jefcoats found that the sharks are declining in change in the structure of the whole North has also grown exponentially, tripling over the North Pacific at a rate of 6.9 percent a year. Pacific ecosystem. the past decade and a half. The number of Pelagic stingrays, however, are generally Overall prices for tuna are increasing sub- hooks has quadrupled. thought to be one of two species of elasmo- stantially and the fishery can still turn a profit, “Moving forward, climate is going to be an branchs (which include sharks, rays, and skates) so the industry is not concerned it’s seeing issue,” Polovina added. He recently modeled facing a low extinction risk due to their life more escolar? Polovina asked Goto. the impacts of climate change on commer- history characteristics, Polovina and “It’s always something we’ve been inter- cially targeted pelagic stocks and found that Woodworth-Jefcoats wrote. However, they ested in,” Goto said. “Your presentation may toward the end of this century, they will added, their data suggest “this may not be the explain why. ... If the trend is also showing a decline significantly. case.” decrease in apex species, we want to correlate “The combined impacts of increased fish- One might expect that a decrease in apex it with effort versus climate change. ... In the ing effort and future climate change are pro- predators — which eat stingrays — would present, [tuna are] a very viable resource across jected to be additive and accelerate a shift of result in an increase in the stingray population. the board,” Goto replied. ecosystem size structure to smaller sizes,” he It hasn’t. In fact, catch rates of pelagic stingrays Polovina, however, suggested that the fish- wrote in a April 2013 Plos One paper he co- have steadily decreased, suggesting that fishing ery might want start finding markets for authored with Woodworth-Jefcoats (“Fish- may be killing more stingrays than their natu- lancetfish and snake mackerel. ery-Induced Changes in the Subtropical Pe- ral predators kill, they wrote. lagic Ecosystem Size Strucutre: Observations “While this paper has focused on changes A New Regime and Theory”). in ecosystem structure, it is clear that with “We joke it’s no longer the longline fishery for “Many of these small fishes have faster increases in escolar and snake mackerel [catch bigeye. It’s the longline fishery for lancetfish,” growth rates and shorter life spans than the rates] of 12 and 15 percent per year respectively Polovina said. In 1996, he said, large apex larger fishes and hence may be more respon- and declines in pelagic stingray and oceanic predators like tuna and swordfish represented sive to inter-annual environmental changes,” white-tip [catch rates] of 5.4 and 6.9 percent 70 percent of observed catches. By 2012, they they wrote. per year respectively, we are also seeing changes represented only 40 percent. To head off or at least minimize the likeli- in the ecosystem composition with potential What now makes up most of the catch? hood of such a future, Polovina suggested significant impacts on ecosystem function,” Mainly, it’s been mahimahi, escolar, that international fishing organizations, per- they wrote. lancetfish, snake mackerel, and sickle pomfret. haps the Western and Central Pacific Fisher- Lancetfish now has a higher catch rate than ies Commission, pursue a multi-species fish- ! ! ! bigeye tuna in the longline fishery, he said. ing quota, rather than the current regime of According to Polovina, it’s not easy to having maximum sustainable yields (MSY) Council Team of Experts dislodge apex species (such as blue shark, set for each individual species. Finds Pelagic FKW bigeye and albacore tunas, swordfish, and Wespac staffer Eric Kingma asked whether Population is Growing striped marlin) from their place in the ecosys- the Pacific Island Center, an tem. agency of the National Marine Fisheries Ser- n the eyes of Wespac, one of the biggest “One of the things interesting about the vice, had the ability to develop a multi-species Ithreats, if not the biggest threat, to the [North Pacific] pelagic food web is there’s a MSY on its own. No, Polovina responded. To Hawai‘i longline fishery is its interaction with lot of duplication, replication [in] the food do this would require international catch- endangered false killer whales. If it kills or web. Many of these apex species have very and-effort information, which the PIFSC seriously injures even a small number of whales similar diets, so if you remove one or two of lacks, he said. in a short time frame, a huge swath of fishing them, the others would just fill in that void In the end, the council approved a recom- ground gets closed off until the National and the ecosystem wouldn’t change much,” mendation of its staff calling for the PIFSC to Marine Fisheries Service decides to reopen it. he said. model changes in the abundance of North During Wespac’s meetings and those of its But if you substantially reduce the top Pacific pelagic fish and how this is influenced Scientific and Statistical Committee, the true group, you will see changes. And judging by by fishing pressure, climate change, and abundance of the animals and the methods the results of recent ecosystem modeling of oceanographic factors. The council also asked used to calculate it often comes into question. the longline fishery’s impact on the food web the center to consider the development of a Scientists with NOAA’s protected species divi- and years of fishery data, Polovina said the multi-species MSY. sion, however, have stood by their estimate ecosystem probably has changed. that there are some 1,500 false killer whales in His model didn’t make a lot of assump- So Long, Stingray? pelagic waters around the main Hawaiian tions — mainly just that large fish eat small Polovina’s talk and the resulting discussion islands. fish and the longliners go after a certain size of centered mainly on the decline of commer- Unsatisfied, the council recently convened fish. But it confirmed that the substantial cially targeted species. The Plos One paper, its own group of experts, including some of its removal of large fish from an ecosystem results however, also points out that pelagic stingrays SSC members, to produce a new abundance in an increase of smaller fish. In the case of and oceanic white-tip sharks are in big trouble. estimate. No scientists from NOAA’s Pacific waters around Hawai‘i, longlining is not im- The sharp decline in their populations “pre- Islands Fisheries Science Center attended the pacting the food web down to the primary sents concern of collapse for these species,” March workshop as they were, coincidentally, productivity level, but it is affecting species they wrote. at another meeting the days the Wespac group composition “orders of magnitude down,” Oceanic white-tips are already recognized met. Polovina said. as vulnerable to over-exploitation and are Using an age-structured population model While foreign vessels account for most of critically endangered in parts of the Atlantic. developed by fisheries scientist Ray Hilborn, August 2013 Environment Hawai‘i Page 5 the group determined that even with cur- impact, as well as a four-page-long document shelved proposal to temporarily translocate rent levels of take by the longline fishery, on how to reduce and prevent fishery interac- young seals from the NWHI to the MHI. Hawai‘i’s pelagic false killer whale popula- tions, he said. “It’s pretty clear some people thought trans- tion is likely growing at a rate of about two “We need to simplify those messages, make location was happening all this time. ... That percent a year. them more accessible,” he continued. misconception needs to be better explained,” “Eighty-five percent of the time, there’s a “If there was one message I could get out to she said. chance the pelagic population is either stable fishermen, or anybody: please do not feed Walters admitted that when his agency or growing,” Wespac’s Asuka Ishizaki told monk seals,” Walters said. He’s heard of some announced it would postpone that program, it the council at its June meeting. spearfishers giving a monk seal a fish or two got into the O‘ahu newspapers, but not those “In 2010, this model predicts a median while they’re spearfishing so the seal will leave on the outer islands. population of 1,858, with a mean of 2,023,” them alone. Walters said NOAA plans to expand its compared to NOAA’s current estimate of critter cam research 1,503, she said. to Moloka‘i, Kaua‘i, The group also developed a framework and O‘ahu and will for a risk analysis for false killer whales that continue to study fe- Ishisake said could be easily adapted to the cal DNA and fisheries insular and Northwestern Hawaiian Islands interactions. populations of false killer whales, which are A draft plan for even smaller than the pelagic population. management of seals Ishizaki said the model “will not replace in the MHI is ex- getting out into the field and getting data.” pected to be issued NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office later this year and the director Mike Tosatto asked what the coun- monk seal recovery cil intends to do with the modeling results. team, which has been “I don’t know what your goal is,” he said. dormant for some

Ishizaki responded that the council is NOAA PHOTO: time, is expected to looking into asking Hilborn to publish the An endangered Hawaiian monk seal entangled in fishing gear. reconvene in Octo- results in a peer-reviewed journal. She also ber, he said. said that if NOAA knows with a level of “That’s the worst thing you could do,” The two-stage translocation program has certainty that the stock is increasing rather Walters said, adding that it only habituates the been postponed until more management than decreasing, perhaps it could factor that seals to being fed by humans. tools are developed in the MHI, he said. For into its abundance calculations. “Seal behavior modification is a growing one thing, NOAA wants to be able to track concern for us,” he said. He added that NOAA any translocated seals to keep them out of ! ! ! is compiling “problem seal” histories of seals trouble. that have been fed by or otherwise interact with In the meantime, NOAA has filed a permit Monk Seal Update humans and may need to be captured. application with the Papahanaumokuakea Council member McGrew Rice said some Marine National Monument to allow it to he 200 or so endangered Hawaiian fishermen may not be reporting monk seal take MHI seals to the Northwestern Hawaiian Tmonk seals living in the Main Hawai- interactions out of fear of being more strictly Islands to see how they fare. ian Islands probably eat a tiny percentage of regulated. State and federal agencies have also dis- the fish biomass here, according to a recent “[Seals] learn how to pull the bottomfish off cussed the possibility of establishing a pro- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad- the line ... they get used to it. They do it tected area around Ni‘ihau. That effort is ministration assessment. But they do inter- regularly. ... The fishermen are going to be the “largely in the hands of the [National Marine] act regularly with fishermen and their gear. ones regulated because the monk seal decided Sanctuary program,” said NMFS Pacific Is- And Jeff Walters, NOAA’s Hawaiian monk to get smart. ... That’s my fear,” he said. land Regional Office director Mike Tosatto. seal recovery coordinator, wants fishermen Walters said he was aware of only three “There are a lot of moving parts regarding to report those interactions so his agency can instances of monk seals taking bottomfish off Ni‘ihau. ... Do they affect each other? Sure,” start building case files on “trouble” seals lines and that his records show that fishermen he said. that may require management, including who report interactions are not being pros- Council member Alton Miyasaka, a biolo- relocation. ecuted. gist with of the state Department of Land and During his update to the council at its “My point is, get the information so we can Natural Resources’ Division of Aquatic Re- June meeting, Walters noted that six seals start documenting. We have to find a way to sources, said his director, William Aila, “would had been hooked on Kaua‘i since January, coexist,” Walters said. like to see some monitoring of resources in the an average of one a month. Ed Wespac executive director Kitty Simonds area to base his decision on whether or not it Watamura later testified that a trap fisher- recommended that Walters work with should be included in the sanctuary.” man he knows has documented a seal re- Watamura on reaching out to fishermen. peatedly turning over his traps. Seals have “Ed talks to the fishermen on every is- ! ! ! also been found caught in abandoned nets. land,” she said of Watamura, who chairs the To prevent an increase in such interac- council’s advisory panel. Dettling, Cabos Lawsuit tions, Walters says he’s made outreach his Council member Julie Leialoha suggested main priority. NOAA has a new paper on that Walters continue outreach on the Big few months ago, the U.S. District Court how much monk seals really eat and their Island, particularly regarding NOAA’s now- Adismissed without prejudice a case Page 6 Environment Hawai‘i August 2013

ers suggested various reforms that they be- lieved would help make this science more Author Robert Cabin Responds relevant. Still others said that science is only one of many different ways of knowing, and to ‘Restoring Paradise’ Review argued that the larger conservation move- ment needed to show more respect for other appreciated Patricia Tummons reviewing Because to date no other writers have told knowledge and value systems. In this sec- Imy book Restoring Paradise: Rethinking the kinds of stories that I think need to be told. tion, and throughout the book as a whole, and Rebuilding Nature in Hawai‘i in the July Why did I devote most of Restoring Paradise I worked hard to present the perspectives of issue of Environment Hawai‘i, but was sur- to the most successful ecological restoration each of the different “camps” on such divi- prised by her strong negative reaction to this programs in the islands? As I stated in the sive issues in an accurate, even-handed, and and my previous book, Intelligent Tinkering. introduction, in part “…because these suc- non-judgmental manner. I also found her overall hostility ironic, be- cess stories demonstrate that at least some of Tummons repeatedly accuses me of be- cause a central theme in both my books is the Hawai‘i’s remaining native can ing disrespectful and unappreciative of sci- urgent need for more mutual respect, toler- be preserved and restored, I hope they will ence and scientists. I respectfully disagree. ance, and pluralism in conservation. In other inspire us to do more before it really does In fact, I would maintain that I have bent words, we’ve got to stop circling the wagons become too late.” Whenever possible, I tried over backwards in my books and other and shooting at each other. to tell these stories through the unfiltered eyes writings to make it clear that these are One of the most informative things I and mouths of the people responsible for their neither my intentions nor my beliefs. I have ever done was interview a swath of success. must say that it has been extremely gratify- Hawai‘i’s broader environmental commu- I also strived to analyze and present my 72.5 ing for me that the larger expert community nity. Despite all their differences, many of hours of taped oral interviews as objectively as has appreciated and commended me for these people similarly lamented that rather possible. For example, one of the questions I these efforts. I am also proud of the fact that than engaging in constructive debate and, asked everyone was “What role does science excerpts from both of my books have been when necessary, respectfully disagreeing and presently play in guiding ecological restora- published in leading scientific and environ- moving on, too often we myopically obsess tion in Hawai‘i, and what if any changes mental magazines, and that these books on the relatively few things that divide us. I would you like to see in the future?” As I noted have received such exceptionally kind and have certainly been guilty of falling into this in Restoring Paradise, “This question pro- complimentary reviews (examples of these trap myself. This is partly why I have be- voked the most passionate responses from are available on my Amazon pages). come increasingly passionate about the need almost all my interviewees.” Some people I hope that people who read Restoring for those of us who love Hawai‘i to put aside “emphatically stated that science and scien- Paradise will gain a greater understanding, our often petty differences and unite around tists were of obvious fundamental impor- appreciation, and respect for other people the many things we virtually all agree can tance” and “stressed the critical importance of who may have fundamentally different per- and should be done. carefully recording, monitoring, and assess- spectives on environmental issues and the Tummons correctly assumed that I don’t ing our management activities.” Others dis- complex and ever-evolving relationship be- do this kind of writing for the money. At cussed what they perceived as the extreme tween humans, nature, and science. More- least for me, it’s damn hard work that pro- tensions between scientists and resource over, I hope that this pluralism will ulti- vides essentially zero fame or fortune in managers, and how “scientists and resource mately help catalyze more and better science return. I also agree that there are many other managers come from and live within two and more and better conservation within people who are more qualified to write distinct worlds.” Some questioned the prac- and beyond the Hawaiian islands. about Hawai‘i than I am. So why do I do it? tical relevance of conservation science; oth- — Robert Cabin

brought against NOAA by Hawai‘i monument area and thus were entitled to federally permitted lobster fishermen who fishermen Joe Dettling and Robert Cabos. compensation. Neither had obtained a fed- had their quotas set at zero approximately The two alleged that they lost their fishing eral fishing permit, although they fished in 15 years prior and who had already grounds with the establishment of the federal waters. previously received compensation for Papahanaumokuakea Marine National “Indeed, plaintiffs’ factual allegations being displaced,” they attorneys wrote in Monument and the Pacific Remote Island appear to show that plaintiffs were not their amended complaint. “NOAA Areas monument. What’s more, they eligible for compensation,” Kay wrote in his employees initially told both Dettling and argued that they should have been decision. Cabos that they were accidentally excluded compensated along with federally Kay also found that Dettling and Cabos when they disbursed the compensation permitted NWHI bottomfish and lobster failed to exhaust their administrative funds [and] assured both Dettling and fishers who benefitted from not one but remedies. Cabos, however, that they would ask two rounds of congressional appropriations The two had until June 30 to file an Congress to allocate additional funds to totaling several million dollars. amended complaint, which they did. In it, compensate Plaintiffs.” Dettling sought $1.2 million in compen- Dettling is seeking the same amount of (For more background on this story, see sation; Cabos sought $900,000. compensation, but Cabos now wants our August 2012 cover story, “Fishermen On May 31, U.S. District Judge Alan $1,260,000. Seek Belated Compensation for Exclusion Kay found that the men failed to show that “$6.7 million dollars of Congressional from Marine Monuments.”) they were entitled to fish in the NWHI funds were used to ... compensate the — Teresa Dawson August 2013 Environment Hawai‘i Page 7

“Andy” Anderson, has been involved in project in 2009, the necessary federal EIS has Legislature from page 1 several business ventures, including a fore- not been completed. In 2011, a draft federal zations, have expressed support for legislation to closed-upon effort to renovate the iconic EIS was panned by the Environmental Protec- repeal Act 55…. While the optimization of the Ilikai hotel in Waikiki. He has also run afoul tion Agency. use of public lands is a meritorious goal … of the Board of Land and Natural Resources A source at HSWAC told Environment achieving this goal requires a greater respect for for the way he has managed state-owned Hawai‘i that the company had submitted a existing laws and procedures….” (For more on land in the village of Kailua-Kona. Ander- revised environmental impact statement to the manner in which Act 55 moved through the son, by the way, is a member of the Hono- the Army Corps of Engineers “recently… Legislature and its final provisions, see the cover lulu Planning Commission. within the last three months.” Earlier this year, article in the August 2011 issue of Environment In his testimony, Anderson said his plans a spokeswoman for the company told Pacific Hawai‘i.) included “leveraging” unused capacity in an Business News that the final EIS would prob- But aside from the PLDC’s repeal, the envi- existing 55-inch pipeline at NELHA. There ably be available for public comment in May ronmental measures passed by the 2013 Legisla- was no testimony from NELHA to indicate with a record of decision in July. At that time, ture, for better or worse, generally flew under the whether such capacity exists. start of construction on the $250 million radar. Here are some of those that perhaps Anderson’s company, he said, is a subsid- project was anticipated by the year’s end. should have received more attention than they iary of Kaiuli Energy, whose management did: team, he said, “is comprised of Hawai‘i ! ! ! business leaders with the necessary experi- ! ! ! ence critical to the project’s success.” Among Shrimp Farm SPRBs SPRBs for SWACs them are Ray Soon, former head of the To Fund Retreat from Shore Department of Hawaiian Homelands, and eawater air-conditioning has captured the Darryl Nakamoto, former chief financial limate change and sea-level rise did not Slegislators’ collective imagination. Act 238 of officer of the bankrupt alternative-energy Cget a lot of legislative attention this year. the 2013 session authorizes the state to issue up to company Hoku Corporation. (Hoku, by Two bills, both introduced by Rep. Cynthia $40 million in special purpose revenue bonds for the way, was also a SPRB beneficiary. As of Thielen, would have set up a Climate Change a project that says it will cool the Keahole airport mid-July, its stock was selling at 1.66 cents a Roundtable (HB 460 and HB 1058) but they and the nearby Natural Energy Laboratory of share.) failed to get so much as a single hearing. Hawai‘i Authority. Act 129 authorizes up to The lone discouraging word came from Still, whether they knew it or not, lawmak- $200 million in SPRBs for a similar Waikiki Henry Curtis, executive director of Life of ers did come face-to-face with the issue in project. the Land. He pointed out that the request by House Bill 1388. Its formal title was “relating to SPRBs are not direct grants or loans from the Kona SWAC for as much as $40 million in the issuance of special purpose revenue bonds state. Rather, when a company receives permis- SPRBs (Senate Bill 1280) “was filed before to assist a processing enterprise,” but a more sion to issue the bonds – after approval from the the company registered” with the Depart- appropriate description might be, “helping a state Department of Budget and Finance – ment of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. company adapt to rising sea levels.” buyers are attracted by the fact that they pay no (It finally registered on February 5 of this The bill, which became Act 128 upon the federal income tax on the interest those bonds year; the DCCA website shows that its sole governor’s signature, authorizes the Depart- yield. The bondholders benefit in this manner, member is Kaiuli Energy, LLC.) ment of Budget and Finance to issue up to $1.3 so, as a general rule, the companies issuing the “Neither company has a working million in Special Purpose Revenue Bonds to bonds get a break on the interest that they have website,” Curtis said in his testimony. “Nei- help Sunrise Capital, Inc., move its shrimp to pay. The full faith and credit of the state is not ther company has any public information farm operations on Kaua‘i to higher ground. at risk, but the state is limited in the total amount about their skill sets, knowledge of SWAC or According to testimony from James of SPRBs it may issue. Consequently, approval ability to deliver. In the interest of open Sweeney, president of the company, the “slow of SPRBs is one way the Legislature has of government, sunshine, and community par- but relentless” erosion of the coast poses a providing indirect support to companies that ticipation, we believe their requests for SPRBs serious challenge to its operations. lawmakers think will benefit the state economi- are not ripe and should be deferred until the “Over the last year,” Sweeney said in cally, environmentally, or socially. public has had adequate time to evaluate written testimony, “the entire west side Testimony in support of the two measures their proposals and to offer meaningful com- shoreline of Kekaha, Kaua‘i, has experi- was not plentiful, but it was generally enthusias- ments to this committee.” enced heavy erosion due to unusually high tic. Jeff Mikulina of the Blue Planet Foundation The Waikiki project will save 106,000 waves. The increased wave erosion has cre- (formerly director of the Sierra Club, Hawai‘i barrels of oil a year, according to Nakamoto, ated a potential public safety hazard next to Chapter) praised seawater air-conditioning as a identified in his testimony as a partner in the Kaumuali‘i Highway, which has re- means of achieving substantial reductions in Kaiuli Energy. Nakamoto also claimed it quired emergency action by Kaua‘i County fossil fuel consumption. would reduce potable water use by 157 mil- to shore up the highway to keep the highway Cord Anderson, a partner in Kona SWAC, lion gallons a year and reduce sewage dis- from collapsing. The heavy wave erosion, LLC (the entity proposing to build the Keahole charge by 69 million gallons a year. which is threatening the Kaumuali‘i High- facility), claimed his project would replace 23,000 Since 2005, the Legislature has autho- way embankment, is occurring approxi- barrels of oil a year, reduce potable water use by rized up to $145 million in SPRBs for yet a mately 100 feet further inland than the 35 million gallons a year, reduce sewage dis- third seawater air-conditioning project in- oceanside boundary of our hatchery prop- charge by 15.4 million gallons a year, and reduce tended to cool downtown Honolulu build- erty. The erosion we are experiencing has “harmful gas emissions of approximately 11,100 ings. Although Honolulu Seawater Air Con- completely undermined over 150 feet of tons/year.” ditioning, LLC, prepared a state chain-link security fencing and has com- Anderson, a grandson of politician D.G. environmental impact statement for the pletely taken down five, 50-foot tall iron- Page 8 Environment Hawai‘i August 2013 wood trees. The erosion … is currently less commercial harbor purposes.” The affected ranchers, however, claimed than 20 feet from the edge of our packing The Chamber of Commerce noted that that they were owed more than a simple facility and salt-water well.” even with the exemption, the DOT would still reduction in rent. They say they still had to The bonds, he continued, will allow the be subject to the requirements of the U.S. pay taxes and insurance on the withdrawn company to “immediately protect our facility Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental land, and that they also suffered by having and in the long term, plan for the relocation of Protection Agency, and the Department of to sell off part of their herds at fire-sale the vital infrastructure which will keep our Health. “As such,” the Chamber said in its prices. Also, per the “Findings” section of company solvent.” written testimony, “it is unclear … why the SB 5, “lessees cannot mitigate the long- Conservation District Use Application pro- term, fixed costs associated with operating ! ! ! cess has been singled out by the Department a ranch in the way they anticipated when New Law Exempts for an exemption.” the lease was negotiated. Thus, the lessees Kimberly Tiger Mills, the DLNR employee, have experienced financial hardship for an DOT Harbors From testified that the Conservation District Use extended period of time that is not suffi- Conservation District Rules Application process was already streamlined, ciently mitigated by a reduction in their requiring a decision be made within 180 days lease rent.” sually, if the Chamber of Commerce of the application being accepted. “Harbor The new law sets up a system for deter- Uand the Building Industry Association- improvements,” she noted, “are exempt from mining the losses that a lessee experiences Hawai‘i support a bill, you’ll find the Sierra County SMA requirements, therefore the (whether they involve crops, trees, or live- Club and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs on Conservation District Use Application pro- stock). In the case of livestock, “the [Board the other side of the fence. cess may be the only local opportunity in of Land and Natural Resources] shall pay to But not in the case of Senate Bill 1207, one which traditional, cultural, and customary the lessee the difference between the ap- of the measures in the governor’s package. It uses may be vetted.” praised breeding value and the salvage value, may rank as one of the tersest bills heard this “For newly designated areas or harbor ex- including the cost of transportation to a year – except for the blank, so-called “short pansion within the Conservation District, market.” Also, the lessee “shall be entitled form” bills – but in terms of its potential DOT Harbors should not be exempt from the to compensation for costs attributable to impact, it could be one of the big contenders. CDUA process,” she continued. “Submerged, the diminished use of the leased land.” It consists of just one sentence: “Notwith- unencumbered public trust lands are used for Land Board chair William Aila noted in standing any law to the contrary all work fishing, gathering, canoe paddling, ocean rec- his testimony that the bill, introduced by involving submerged lands used for state com- reation and other activities. I believe there Clayton Hee, “represents a compromise mercial harbor purposes shall be exempt from needs to be oversight for sustainable use of the position between the Legislature and the any permitting and site plan approval require- natural resources.” [DLNR] reached last session, and, as such, ments established for lands in a conservation Passage of the measure was not a slam- the Department has no objection to its district.” dunk. Four senators opposed it on the final reintroduction this session.” Now that it has become law, as Act 86 of the vote: Josh Green, Les Ihara, Laura Thielen, He went on, however, to note that “the 2013 Legislature, the state Department of and Russell Ruderman. In the House, 13 “no” concept behind these measures had the po- Transportation is free to ignore any and all votes were recorded. Casting them were Mele tential to impede the state’s flexibility to set- Conservation District rules that otherwise Carroll, Lauren Cheape, , aside portions of state lands for state public would apply to submerged lands. Testifying in Kaniela Ing, , Chris Lee, purposes. Implementation of this measure favor of the measure was the Department of , , Marcus will potentially result in the department hav- Transportation and one member of the public Oshiro, Karl Rhoads, , Gene ing to pay additional costs to pasture and (in an email that indicated his support, but Ward, and . agricultural lessees when lands are withdrawn gave no reason). Opposed were not just OHA, … Additional expenses include appraisal costs the Sierra Club, the Chamber, and the BIA-H, ! ! ! to determine value of breeding livestock, but also the Maui Nui Marine Resource Coun- paying the difference between appraised value cil and other members of the public including Increasing Compensation and salvage value of such livestock, and reim- one employee of the Department of Land and For Lease Withdrawals bursing lessees for insurance and real property Natural Resources’ Office of Conservation tax expenditures on lands made subject to and Coastal Lands, which administers Con- he third time (at least) is the charm for easements.” servation District rules. (She was testifying as Tthis bill, which increases the amount of a private citizen.) compensation that the state may pay to ranch- ! ! ! The BIA-H was not against the idea of ers on state land when part of the land they exempting improvements to existing com- lease is removed before the lease term ends. And Also Worth Noting… mercial harbors from Conservation District The origin of the measure, which was incar- requirements, since this “will enable the Har- nated this year as Senate Bill 5 and became Act Act 120, Lateral Beach Access: This measure bors Division to more efficiently implement 234, goes back more than a decade to construc- (House Bill 17) limits the amount of sand an needed projects to meet the growing needs of tion of the realigned Saddle Road on the Big individual can take from the beach to pretty the maritime industry.” Island. To mitigate for the loss of palila habi- much what sticks to their feet and their “However,” the BIA-H testimony contin- tat, the state withdrew land high on Mauna clothes. It also makes permanent a law passed ued, “the language in the bill does not appear Kea from several large pasture leases. Under in 2010 that prevents landowners from ob- to limit the exemption to ‘existing commercial terms of the leases, the land can be withdrawn structing public lateral access along the shore- harbor system,’” but instead applies to “all for any purpose, with the rent being reduced line and requires the Department of Land work involving submerged lands used for state proportionately. and Natural Resources to enforce this. August 2013 Environment Hawai‘i Page 9

since the at least the early 1900s, Hawai‘i BOARD TALK residents have been complaining that there aren’t as many fish as there used to be and that fishers are using wasteful methods or are DLNR Proposes Strict Size, Bag Limits simply overfishing. More recently, in 1998, 57 percent of fishers surveyed by the state felt On Fish Catches Around Maui, Lana‘i that Hawai‘i’s fisheries are in terrible or poor shape, Sparks said, adding that catch data n June 12, the state Board of Land and several jack and trevally species), to five a day, suggest that their feelings are justified. ONatural Resources approved a request no more than two of which can be greater In the 1900s, coastal commercial catches by the state Division of Aquatic Resources to than two feet in length. The current bag limit were as high as four million pounds a year. By hold public hearings on some rather restric- for ulua is 20 fish. the 1950s, they were a third or fourth of that, tive size and bag limits proposed for several The highest proposed caps — 20 a day — he said. fish species around Maui and Lana‘i. Al- are for aholehole, kole, manini, and u‘u. The most rapid decline occurred in the late though DAR’s Alton Miyasaka told the board ‘Aweoweo, moi, and paku‘iku‘i catches would he was aware that a number of commercial be limited to five a day. The limit for moano fishermen opposed the bag limits, the only kea, munu, and mu would be two a day. public testimony that day came from Melva Moi currently has a bag limit of 15 per day; Aila, wife of Land Board chair William Aila. there is no bag limit for most of the rest of the As a part-time commercial fisher, she said, listed species. she felt commercial fishermen will not be able Under the proposed rules, no one would to survive under the proposed rules. be able to possess more than the daily bag For the highly prized uhu, or parrotfish, limits of any of the fish at any one time. only two of the four species of uhu found in Why the drastic measures? Simply put, those waters could be harvested. And of those, fish stocks in the Main Hawaiian Islands are a catch of no more than two a day would be in trouble. allowed. Currently, there is no uhu bag limit. During a May 23 briefing to the Land Uhu, pictured here, are essential to healthy reefs but are DAR proposes to cap catches of another Board on the proposed rule changes, Maui declining in nearshore waters. popular species, ulua (a group that includes DAR biologist Russell Sparks reported that

Act 233, Graywater Use: This measure (SB gave qualified support to the measure: “The senting about 80 termite control companies, 454) encourages the use of graywater (from department supports acquisition,” stated Alexander & Baldwin and its subsidiary, showers, laundry, dishwashing – anything Land Board chair William Aila, “provided Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar, the Hawai‘i except toilets) for landscaping and garden- that the designated management program Cattlemen’s Council, the Hawai‘i Crop Im- ing purposes. It also requires graywater sys- has the capacity to manage the property for provement Association, representing most of tems to conform to the state plumbing its cultural and recreational values.” the biotech companies, and the Hawai‘i Farm code. Bureau Federation. Act 105, Pesticide Reporting: House Bill The director of the Department of Agri- Act 241, Lipoa Point Acquisition: Honolua 673 began life as a pretty gutsy measure. It culture, Russell Kokubun, said the bill may Bay and Lipoa Point, on the northwestern would have required the state Department have been well intended, but was “unwork- coast of Maui, have great scenic and natural of Agriculture to develop a pesticide-use able, given present staffing and resources.” resource value. A couple of years ago, the reporting system and to publish annually a He noted that the only state in the union Maui County Council considered putting report on pesticide use by geographic area. that has a pesticide reporting requirement is Lipoa Point into protective zoning. That It would also be required to summarize California, whose reports are some three prompted the owner, Maui Land & Pine- health complaints from pesticide use, re- years in arrears. apple, to begin to talk of selling it off for port on results of investigations done by the By the time the bill made it out of both development into luxury house lots. The Department of Health on such complaints chambers, it had been watered down sig- land, the company said, had been pledged as (the DOH would also be required to do nificantly. As Act 105, it requires the DOA security for workers’ pensions; if it were these investigations), analyze trends in pesti- to publish on its website “the public infor- downzoned, it would lose value – and re- cide use, assess the accuracy of reported pesti- mation contained in all restricted use pesti- tired workers might well be thrown onto the cide information, and provide an accounting cide records, reports, or forms submitted to public dole, the company argued. of the amount and type of pesticides im- the department,” except those relating to House Bill 1424 called on the Depart- ported and used in the state. All pesticides pesticides used “for structural pest control” ment of Land and Natural Resources to except those deemed to be of minimal health (not just termite tenting, but also other work with the private Hawaiian Islands risk by the federal government would be kinds of fumigation) or which are legiti- Land Trust to attempt to negotiate the sale included in the reporting system. mately withheld from disclosure under the of Lipoa Point so that both the land and the Several dozen individuals submitted sup- state’s public records law. It also calls for the pension fund can be protected. Hundreds portive testimony, criticizing the bill only for Legislative Reference Bureau to provide the of individuals testified in support, as did its exemption of the “minimal risk” pesti- 2014 Legislature with a report on how other members of the Maui County Council. The cides. But testifying in strong opposition were states account for pesticide use. Department of Land and Natural Resources the Hawai‘i Pest Control Association, repre- — Patricia Tummons Page 10 Environment Hawai‘i August 2013

1960s and early 1970s and catch rates have asked him whether he had thought about What’s more, Big Island Land Board mem- stayed about the same since then, despite how the fishing effort will shift if the Land ber Rob Pacheco just couldn’t get past the technological advances (i.e., scuba, fish find- Board adopts the proposed rules. discrepancy in some of the testimony in ers, global positioning systems) that make it “There’s still a lot of fish that could be opposition to the ban: One fishermen said easier to catch fish, he continued. harvested. Kala, a lot of weke. So I imagine banning scuba spear-fishing would put him Still, according to a study comparing re- those will continue. The uhu and some of the out of business, although he said later that productive health in the Northwestern Ha- other fish, like the large goatfish ... I don’t scuba spear-fishing accounted for only five waiian Islands to that in the MHI, it’s unlikely know,” Sparks replied. “Fishermen said they percent of his catch. fish stocks in the MHI will improve without can no longer do what they’re doing [under After public testimony ended, Pacheco aggressive management. Fish larger than 22 the proposed rules]. They may stop [fishing] moved to approve a recommendation by the inches are the main egg producers, and in the or go pelagic. ... There might be a little more Department of Land and Natural Resources’ MHI, fish that size account for only 3.4 effort on fish that don’t have bag limits.” Division of Aquatic Resources that it accept a percent of the biomass, he said. He said that if fisheries improve after the rule package drafted by the West Hawai‘i “The implications [on] reproductive out- rules are imposed, maybe the rules can be Fishery Advisory Council, which included put are huge,” Sparks said. “Basically, it means relaxed. Also, if DAR notices big shifts in the scuba spear-fishing ban, to prevent over- no projected output.” Most of the proposed effort to other species, it might have to come fishing. size limit changes are to protect sexually back to the Land Board to adjust the rules Outgoing Maui member Jerry Edlao, out- mature fish. again. going O‘ahu member John Morgan, and at- The large parrotfish, in particular, need large member Sam Gon joined Pacheco in protection. ! ! ! supporting the motion. Land Board chair “Uhus ... have an important role in coral William Aila and at-large member David reef ecosystems, the way they graze and stimu- Land Board Approves Goode did not. late coralline algae. We need to have large West Hawai‘i Fishing Rules Nearly a month later, the status of those parrotfish in shallow reef environments,” he rules — whether they had been sent to the said. fter hearing hours of testimony lasting state Department of Attorney General for The decline in uhu numbers in nearshore Ainto the early evening of June 28, the state review before going to the governor’s office waters coincides with changes in fishing meth- Board of Land and Natural Resources nar- for signing — was a mystery to members of ods, he continued. rowly approved a ban on scuba spearfishing the public, as well as DAR staff. DLNR public “Right around the late 1970s and early in West Hawai‘i. Afterward, a small cadre of information officer Deborah Ward did not 1980s, spear fishing came into the mix. Prior fishermen, most of them from O‘ahu, respond to an inquiry by press time. to that, it was illegal to sell speared fish. Once huddled outside the Kalanimoku building, A number of people have been asking that started, the catch went up dramatically,” where the Land Board met, to discuss what about the status of the rule package because he said, adding that today, 58 percent of uhu had just happened. the most controversial part — the scuba are caught by spear. Worried that such a ban would spread to spear-fishing ban — nearly didn’t make it Where parrotfish are scarce, as they are in other islands, they had presented the board to the Land Board. Aila, who is also DLNR Makena and Kahekili on Maui, invasive algae with video showing large schools of a variety director, had initially pulled it. Although move in, he said. of fish in waters off West Hawai‘i, suggesting the rules were the product of more than a Continuing the gloomy picture, Sparks that fish stocks aren’t as bad as state aquatic decade of work by the West Hawai‘i Fisher- said that modeling by University of Hawai‘i biologist William Walsh says they are. Maybe ies Council and DAR staff, Aila was not convinced there was enough data to sup- “It’s about as bad as you can get.” port a scuba spear-fishing ban. — Russell Sparks, DAR When Walsh briefed the Land Board on the rules package on May 23, Aila announced marine scientist Alan Friedlander shows that researchers had just surveyed a bad patch of the ban would not be part of the package that overfishing is occurring in the omilu fishery. reef, they suggested. came to the board in June. (He also did not “It’s about as bad as you can get. This is a Commercial fisherman Carl Jellings of allow the public to testify on the matter that fish (a kind of ulua) we have a fair amount of Nanakuli, former Western Pacific Fishery day, in apparent violation of the state Sun- data for,” he said. Management Council chair Frank Farm, Aha shine Law. The state Office of Information The proposed caps would affect a rela- Moku council head for O‘ahu’s Kona district Practices is investigating.) However, after a tively small number of commercial fisher- Makani Christensen, and Phil Fernandez of number of Land Board members expressed men, Sparks contended. Based on commer- the newly formed Hawai‘i Fishermen’s Alli- their discomfort with Aila’s decision, he cial marine license (CML) data from the past ance for Conservation and Tradition, Inc., changed his mind. four years, he found that most holders don’t among others, all testified against the ban. When the rules finally did come to the sell reef fish. Most CMLs are for pelagic or But the Land Board also received informa- board, commercial fishermen attacked them bottomfish. tion from Walsh that fish stocks in the area, for not being based on local data. They However, 412 fishermen statewide re- across the board, have seen dramatic declines argued that scuba spear-fishing is one of the ported reef fish sales of less than $1,000. over the past few decades — as much as 94 most selective methods of fishing and that Thirteen had sales greater than $20,000. For percent for some species. And while no stud- those who use the gear don’t try to take every Maui, nine fishers reported sales in excess of ies have been done linking the decline to fish off the reef. They also said scuba divers $1,000 and about how three fishermen had scuba spear-fishing, the practice has proved need to be able to have spears with them to sales in excess of $10,000, he said. devastating in other parts of the world and is ward off aggressive eels or sharks. After Sparks’ presentation, William Aila by and large banned throughout the Pacific. The Nature Conservancy’s Chad Wiggins August 2013 Environment Hawai‘i Page 11 said that while there are areas of healthy fish it so we can’t fish anymore,” he said. Given in public testimony, the Land Board could populations in West Hawai‘i, overall, they’re that scuba spear-fishing allows divers to go not add one in without taking the rule back declining. deeper and stay underwater longer, “they can out to public hearings, deputy attorney gen- “There was a time when you could fish all go out and do some serious damage to a reef eral Linda Chow said. day and make a living fishing off Kona. population,” he added, pointing to Wiggins’ When it came time to vote on the ban, it Somebody said nobody is going to take every comment about a fisherman taking two and passed, 4-2. fish off the reef. We tried, with roi [an intro- a half coolers worth of fish in one dive, as well duced species]. ... We used scuba spear-fish- as evidence from around the world. ! ! ! ing. It was very effective. In 11 days, our dive “Something is missing there for me in the team — who is not half as good as the people testimony. This is as pretty potent way for Board Approves Removal in this room — we were able to catch 95 people to remove fish,” he said. Of Hanapepe Trespassers percent of the roi on that reef,” he said. “No To Aila’s suggestion of developing a spear- one is trying to make the fish go away, but it’s fishing permit, Walsh said that already, many ehabilitating old taro lands is generally a happening.” of the people who have permits are not Rgood thing, but the DLNR and the Com- mission on Water Resource Management “Something is missing there for me in the testimony” would prefer that those undertaking such — Robert Pacheco, Land Board work abide by state laws. Ku‘i Palama hasn’t done that. He recalled how one scuba spear-fisher- reporting their catches. A recent study com- A few years ago, Palama restored a num- man he met at Puako had filled two and a half paring coral-reef dealer reports with catch ber of taro patches on unencumbered state coolers with fish in just one day. reports from commercial license holders land and on land owned by Alexander & Wiggins added, “If anyone leaves this (CML) found that for the year studied, CML Baldwin in Hanapepe, Kaua‘i. He also di- meeting thinking a spear is a good way to stop holders reported catching 71,000 pounds of verted Hanapepe River without permission a shark, that would be a dangerous thing. uhu, while dealers reported purchasing from the Water Commission, and graded There are documented events of people being 191,000 pounds. That’s more than 100,000 and grubbed and installed a cesspool in the [injured] after spearing a shark.” pounds of unreported catch, Walsh said. Conservation District without a Conserva- Concerned about the impact of a com- “That’s the kind of issue you’re going to face tion District Use Permit. plete ban on scuba spear-fishing, board mem- with a permit … and that’s just uhu.” An agent with the Land Division on ber Morgan asked whether a two-year ban “I personally think we need to have some Kaua‘i initially offered to work with Palama would be long enough to provide data on its data. Whatever we have in place, you’re not on getting him a revocable permit for the 23 effect. going to [see results for 10 years] we might as acres of state land, but Palama claimed he At-large board member David Goode well know what they’re catching,” Aila re- already owned the property. asked Walsh how long he would need to sponded. Last October, the Water Commission or- gather enough data to determine the impact In any case, because a sunset date on the dered Palama to cease his water diversion, but of the ban. proposed scuba spear-fishing ban had not “Palama claims Kanaka Maoli rights and Walsh said that some species don’t reach been discussed during any public meetings or refutes the state’s authority over him in the sexual maturity until they are several years old and it may take another several years for populations to build. Based on that, he pro- posed a 10-year ban, at minimum. In any case, he added, his division needs to have a better ability to know what’s being caught. “We can’t inspect coolers. Unless that subscribe aspect is addressed, you can see changes, but Sign me up for a new renewal subscription at the can you link it to spear-fishing,” he said. individual ($65) non-profits, libraries ($100) Aila suggested that instead of imposing a corporations ($130) economic downturn ($40) ban, DAR develop a permit for anybody in I wish to make a onetime donation of $ . West Hawai‘i who spear-fishes. That way, (Fill out form below; minimum amount is $10 a month) “we know who they are and what they catch. To charge by phone, call toll free: 1-877-934-0130 I’m very concerned about unintended conse- For credit card payments: VISA or MC quences. I would much prefer seeing what is Account No.: Exp. Date: going on,” he said. Subscription Payment: $ One-time donation: $ Monthly authorization: $ Pacheco, however, already seemed con- Phone No.: (expires after 12 months) vinced that scuba spear-fishing had at least Signature of account holder the potential to devastate West Hawai‘i’s name Mail form to: address Environment Hawai‘i reefs. 72 Kapi‘olani Street city, state, zip code “It struck me as curious ... the fishermen, Hilo, HI 96720 they all seemed to downplay the amount of Give us your email address and we’ll sign you up for online access to our extensive archive of past issues. fish being taken through scuba with spear- fishing. In one area, they’re saying it’s not that We are a 501(c)(3) organization. All donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. big a take, then they say this is going to make Page 12 Environment Hawai‘i August 2013 Non-Profit Organization 72 Kapi‘olani Street U.S. Postage Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720 PAID Permit No. 208 Honolulu, HI Address Service Requested

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matter,” a Land Division report states. It adds that the state abstractor found that “at no time in the past did Mr. Ku‘i Palama or his family appear to have an ownership interest Save the Date: August 23. in the property.” So on May 24, the Land Board approved n that date, William Aila will be the a recommendation by the DLNR’s Land featured speaker at the annual fund- Division to fine him $5,000 for unauthorized O use and trespassing on public land, tempo- raising dinner for Environment Hawai‘i. Aila rarily close the land off to public access, and is the chairman of the Board of Land and remove all encroachments, nuisances, and Natural Resources. trespassers. The dinner and silent auction will be held ! ! ! at the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hilo. Forest Protection Ramps Up Tickets are $60 per person, which includes a $20 tax-deductible donation to Environ- Under Watershed Initiative ment Hawai‘i. A table of eight may be re- William Aila ince its launch in 2011, the DLNR’s ‘The served for $500. SRain Follows the Forest’ watershed pro- tection initiative has vastly increased the amount of land protected from destructive To make reservations, call our office at 808 934-0115. feral ungulates. What’s more, it’s already Seating is limited; please reserve early. yielding visible results. While flying over south Moloka‘i re- cently, “for the very first time, I saw huge And the program is continuing to grow. watershed partnerships, invasive species amounts of recovery of native grass and This past session, the Legislature approved committees, or other entities for funding. flowers,” at-large Land Board member Sam $11 million to be spread over the next two “We know from multiple government Gon said at the board’s July 12 meeting. “I fiscal years. Also, the Land Board has re- sources that based on climatic changes, the can’t believe how well the vegetation is cently approved a memorandum of agree- next 30 to 50 years are going to become recovering in that area.” ment with the Honolulu Board of Water drier. This is trying to be proactive ... to That recovery is due, in some part, to Supply to allow the latter agency to contrib- produce as much water as we can [and] to aerial shooting by the department, said ute funds so the DLNR can carry out water- protect against the intense storms to come. Natural Area Reserves System (NARS) plan- shed protection activities on county-owned It’s really a recognition that times are chang- ner Emma Yuen. property. ing,” said Land Board chair and DLNR Over the last two years, with several mil- Still, Yuen said the DLNR hopes to se- director William Aila. lion dollars from the Natural Area Reserves cure dedicated funding sources. According to Yuen, it’s also helped inspire System fund and capital improvement project Yuen expects that with the Legislature’s natural resource managers. allocations, some 26,000 acres have been most recent appropriations, the DLNR will “I want to let you know how incredibly protected, Yuen said. That’s nearly a third of be able to protect at least another 40,000 meaningful it is for staff to have such an the initiative’s 10-year goal of protecting acres. The Manuka NAR alone, on the Big initiative. The staff having the knowledge 90,000 additional acres of forest. Island, will account for 25,000 of that total, that this is really engaging the top members of “This is a vast acceleration of what we she said. our state is extremely good for morale,” she were previously able to do,” she said, add- Under the program, an evaluation com- said. “It’s really a great time for watershed ing that program funding has been used to mittee of hydrologists and resource manag- protection.” — T.D. help manage more than 160,000 acres over ers choose the best projects submitted by the last year.