ENVIRONMENTAL
NEWS
Honolulu Advertiser
January 7, 2008
Hawai‘i nature reserve predators targeted
by Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser North Shore Writer
State and federal wildlife officials want to erect a predator-proof fence through one of the most unspoiled spots on O‘ahu to create a haven for endangered and protected seabirds and plants.
Ka‘ena Point Natural Area Reserve has seen dramatic recovery since becoming a protected area 24 years ago, and today the remote area is home to one of the largest seabird colonies in the Hawaiian Islands.
Among the 13 species of seabirds commonly seen there are the wedge-tailed shearwater and Laysan albatross, both of which are under protected status.
But as much as 15 percent of the shearwater chick population was killed in 2006 by dogs, cats or mongooses because the seabirds nest on the ground, making them easy prey. Last year 13 percent of the albatross chicks were destroyed, according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
To help protect the birds, the Wildlife Society Hawai‘i Chapter, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the DLNR propose to build a 500-yard predator-proof fence that would stretch across the peninsula along the base of the Wai‘anae Range to the high-tide line at either end.
In all, some 59 acres would be protected.

The fence would have several entry points and would not impede hikers, bicyclists or fishermen, officials said. A double-door system would allow them to pass through while making sure predators don‘t get in.
The protected status of the area has allowed the bird population to grow, but further measures are needed to ensure the birds‘ survival well into the future, said Lindsay Young, project coordinator.
In as little as an afternoon, "it would take (just) one dog ... to eliminate them," Young said. "That‘s part of the reason we hope the fence will be approved because it provides that insurance policy to protect that colony of birds."
The DLNR‘s Division of Forestry and Wildlife has prepared a draft environmental assessment for the estimated $200,000 project, which is funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through the Wildlife Society.
The assessment was submitted to the Office of Environmental Control and released to the public in its Dec. 23 bulletin. People will have until Jan. 22 to comment. The assessment is also posted on the DLNR Web page www.dofaw.net.
As part of the assessment process, personnel have been presenting the project to community groups on the North Shore and in Wai‘anae to obtain feedback. And residents are encouraged to contact the state for information and to voice concerns.
DLNR officials said the response has been generally positive, with concerns raised regarding the fence style, access to the area and impact on cultural sites.
Cynthia Rezentes, vice chairwoman of the Wai‘anae Coast Neighborhood Board, deplored the idea of placing a fence in the area and blamed irresponsible people for taking dogs there and dumping cats.
But she said it is a worthwhile proposal, especially at this time of year when the wildlife gathered there is like no other place on O‘ahu.
"This is a little bit of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands for people who will never get there," Rezentes said. "This time of the year, you can see all the ground-nesting birds, maybe whales, dolphins, monk seals and turtles all at once."
A SPECIAL PLACE
Young, who has studied the area for five years and is a doctoral student at the University of Hawai‘i, said Ka‘ena was chosen because of the bird population, the site‘s isolation and the native plants found there.
"We got the plants, the animals, and the ecosystem is protected," she said. "We got the best of both worlds."
Young said although the project seems costly, it will save money in the long run because the predator protection program now operating will be reduced.
The system now includes trapping cats and mongooses, and setting bait stations for rats, all of which are of limited effectiveness, said Christen Mitchell, a planner with the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife. When dogs are reported, a person is sent to try to resolve the problem.
Gege Kawelo, president of the Wai‘anae Hawaiian Civic Club, said she was briefed on the fence project and her sense was the state was looking for people to help monitor the area after the fence is installed.
"We‘re for preserving these indigenous birds, and that‘s a good thing. However, the monitoring and the clubs helping ... we need more information," she said.
Mitchell said she doesn‘t know of any group that has "adopted" the area, but it would be helpful in protecting it.
"The hope is to cultivate more volunteers and to have something organized, because it is unique," Mitchell said.
FENCE PROVED EFFECTIVE
The predator-proof fence has been widely used in New Zealand and tested on a small project on the Big Island with great success, she said.
Its use at Ka‘ena Point would be the first such permanent project of this scale in Hawai‘i.
The fine mesh will stop something as small as a 2-day-old mouse from entering along with cats, dogs and mongooses, Mitchell said. A roof over the top of the 6 1/2-foot-tall fence will prevent animals from climbing it.
The fence will also protect ‘ohai, an endangered plant that lives only at Ka‘ena and whose seeds are eaten by mice and rats, she said. Other native plants including ‘akoko, naio, ‘ilima and naupaka also are expected to thrive behind the fence.
An added benefit is also expected for the monk seal, Mitchell said.
"Many of the diseases they are susceptible to are carried by the predators this fence will exclude," she said.
TRADITION HEEDED
A concern of some residents is the "soul‘s leap" or leina a ka ‘uhane, a cultural site where, according to Hawaiian culture, departing souls pass into the spirit realm, Mitchell said.
Some residents believed that the original alignment of the fence would block access to that site, so a second alignment has been proposed, she said.
Now that the draft environmental assessment has been completed, project organizers must apply for several permits, including a special management area permit that is subject to City Council approval. If all goes smoothly, the project would begin construction when the birds are not nesting, in either July/August or October/November.
The earliest it could be completed is October 2008, Mitchell said.
Jeff Alameida, who grew up in Mokule‘ia and is a member of the North Shore Neighborhood Board, said placing the fence at Ka‘ena would benefit the entire island.
"It‘s a gorgeous part of the island," Alameida said. "It can serve as an opportunity to find ways to reduce predators on the island or around the state."
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com
View Article
Honolulu Advertiser
September 17, 2007
Captive-raised rare native birds released on Big Island
Associated Press
KAILUA, Hawai‘i — High in a Big Island forested oasis surrounded by lava, scientists have made their first releases of endangered Hawai‘i creepers.
Four of the birds raised under a San Diego Zoo conservation program were placed Friday into Kipuka 21, a fenced island of vegetation along Saddle Road, which cuts between the peaks of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. The first two creepers were taken to the area two days earlier.
During the week‘s "soft release," the creepers were placed in a aviary high on a scaffold in Kipuka 21. Provided with water and food, the creepers will get a chance to become familiar with their surroundings before they are set loose, said David Leonard, wildlife biologist with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
Within three weeks, the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program expects to release 11 ‘akepa, one of the smallest species of creeper.
The ‘akepa will be set free in family groups, including a youngster hatched this spring and believed to be the smallest bird ever hatched in captivity, weighing less than a gram, or 1/30 of an ounce.
"That little guy will go out with a pseudo-family group. After we finished rearing it, we fostered it into a family," said Alan Lieberman, the Zoological Society of San Diego‘s program manager for the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program.
Scientists hope the birds will stay in the area, bringing the total number of native bird species at Kipuka 21 to seven.
The newly released birds were raised at the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center.
The Hawai‘i creeper is olive-green with a white throat and a dark gray raccoonlike mask. An active rain forest bird, it feeds primarily on insects gleaned from branches and tree trunks, and also on nectar. The Hawai‘i creeper travels in family groups and sometimes flocks with other native birds.
The male ‘akepa is bright red-orange; the female has a greenish top and yellow belly. They gather in small flocks and nest in tree cavities. Their diet consists primarily of insects and spiders.
They use their odd-shaped bills to pry open ‘ohi‘a buds, small seed pods, and galls in search of food. They have been known to drink nectar from ‘ohi‘a and other flowers. Their "kee-wit" calls are quiet and their songs are a short, warbling trill.
The Hawai‘i creeper was listed as an endangered species in September 1975 under the Federal Endangered Species Act. The ‘akepa and Hawai‘i creepers are endangered because they exist only on the Big Island, in a narrow band of forest between 4,000 and 6,000 feet elevation.
Kipuka 21 is ideal for releasing such birds, and for bird watchers to catch a glimpse of them. Natural lava flows allow visitors to stand level with the forest canopy. The area has been the subject of focus by the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife, where volunteer-aided efforts have created trails and fenced out rooting feral pigs. Plans are also in the works to purge the area of invasive predators, such as feral cats and mongooses.
"The kipuka is a very special place where several species of rare Hawaiian forest birds can be seen regularly," said Scott Fretz, wildlife program manager for the Division of Forestry and Wildlife.
"It‘s right off Saddle Road, so it is very accessible," Fretz said. "We are in the process of developing a nature trail, overlook and parking area so that residents, visitors and schoolchildren can experience a unique Hawaiian rain forest and learn about Hawai‘i‘s wildlife and habitats. The site is not yet open to the public, but we expect it to be in a year or so."
Leonard, the wildlife biologist with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, said scientists hope the creeper and ‘akepa will stay in the area, allowing visitors to view the seven native species in their natural environment.
"That‘s really exciting," Leonard said. "This project has a lot of potential to make our jobs easier."
Biologists believe the birds were native to the area in the past, but they haven‘t been spotted there for several years. Invasive predators have taken a toll on the species, but scientists believe the birds will thrive in the protected area.
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070917/NEWS11/709170329/1021/NEWS11
U.S. Geological Survey
Fact Sheet 2007-3047
Version 1.0
Hawaiian Duck’s Future Threatened by Feral Mallards
By Kimberly J. Uyehara, Andrew Engilis, Jr., and Michelle Reynolds 2007

The greatest threat to the future of the Koloa maoli as a unique species is cross-breeding with the introduced Mallard duck (A. platyrhynchos). This photograph shows feral Mallards, including “barnyard ducks,” at Wailoa River State Park on Hawai‘i. (Photograph by K. Uyehara.)
Nearly 70 percent of Hawai‘i’s native bird species are found nowhere else on Earth, and many of these species are declining or in danger of extinction. Although the Hawaiian Islands were once home to a remarkable diversity of waterfowl, only three species remain—the Hawaiian Goose (Nēnē), Laysan Duck, and Hawaiian Duck (Koloa maoli)—all Federally endangered. The Koloa maoli is the only Hawaiian bird threatened by “genetic extinction” from hybridization with an invasive species—feral Mallard ducks. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) biologists in Hawai‘i are working to find the causes of bird endangerment and ways to prevent extinction of the Koloa maoli and other threatened birds.
For the complete four-page report, go to:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2007/3047/fs2007-3047.pdf
This report is also available in print from:
USGS Information Services, Box 25286,
Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225
telephone: 888-ASK-USGS;
e-mail:infoservices@usgs.gov
The Honolulu
Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, June 8, 2007
By Jan TenBruggencate
Seal‘s
death leads to citation

An adult female monk seal, left, lay for hours next to a dead
adult male seal that had drowned after being entangled in a
gill net on May 27.
ADVERTISER LIBRARY PHOTO | May 29, 2007 |
CONTACT
INFORMATION
DLNR hot line for natural resource violations: 643-3567.
NOAA Fisheries hot line for marine-related violations or seal
entanglements: (888) 256-9840.
Hawai‘i natural resource information: www.hawaii.gov/dlnr/Welcome.html
|
The state Department
of Land and Natural Resources has cited a man who allegedly set
the gill net that trapped and drowned an adult male Hawaiian monk
seal at Makua Beach May 27.
John P. Kahalekii, 52, of Wai‘anae, was cited for deploying a net
that was longer than the state‘s 125-foot maximum length, for failing
to register the net with the state and for failing to visually inspect
the net as required by law.
The DLNR, in a news release, said Kahalekii was identified to officers
at the beach on the day of the seal‘s death. State and federal charges
are also possible.
The possible
maximum penalty for the DLNR citations is a fine up to $5,000 and
30 days in jail, plus a $10,000 fine for the killing an animal of
an endangered species, the DLNR said.
Kahalekii is cooperating with the investigation, the DLNR said.
The investigation into the seal‘s death was conducted initially
by the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement,
with help later from the NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement.
In new information
released yesterday, the department said a state conservation enforcement
agent on a routine patrol visited Makua Beach about 4 p.m. May 27,
and was told by a beachgoer that a seal was caught in a net off
the beach, and that a second seal in the area might also be entangled.
The officer, who was not named, swam roughly 100 feet from shore
and found one seal in about 20 feet of water. Its head was down
and the animal was tightly wrapped in netting. The officer cut it
free and hauled it onto the beach with the help of two bystanders.
A necropsy
later determined that the animal probably had drowned, the DLNR
said.
The conservation officer‘s action may have saved two other seals
that were near the net that day, said interim land department chairman
Allan Smith.
Beachgoers
that day said a second seal, a female, came up on the beach once
the dead animal had been hauled ashore. The female seal appeared
to be trying to guard the dead seal. Two seals believed to be the
female and the dead seal had been photographed nuzzling a few days
earlier on nearby beaches.
A third seal was spotted swimming near the shore while the dead
male and the female were on Makua Beach May 27.
"We commend and thank the witnesses who were on scene, for
their prompt action and assistance. ... I would also like to commend
our Conservation and Resources Enforcement officer who tried to
save the seal," Smith said in a news release. "We are
saddened by the tragic death of this rare endangered Hawaiian monk
seal."
Another monk
seal drowned in a gill net off Makai Pier at Makapu‘u Oct. 16, but
the May 27 case was the first since the state enacted strict new
lay gill net regulations, which limit where and when they can be
used, how long nets can be and which require all nets be registered
with the state and tagged with identifying markers.
"Continued violations of this type can put the state in a difficult
position in terms of compliance with the Endangered Species Act,
and it would be very unfortunate if the actions of a few individuals
were to compromise the future use of nets by fishers statewide,"
said Dan Polhemus, administrator of the state Division of Aquatic
Resources.
Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070608/NEWS14/706080369/1001/NEWS
U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service
June 8, 2007
News Release
LANA‘I
WATERSHED PROTECTION BENEFITS
DISCOVERED POPULATION OF HAWAIIAN PETRELS
HONOLULU --
Wildlife biologists from the Department of Land and Natural Resources,
University of Hawai‘i and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
working in collaboration with Castle and Cooke, have reported the
discovery of a large population of endangered Hawaiian Petrel, or
‘ua‘u in the remote mountains of Lana‘i.
The birds have
been found to be nesting in the upper watershed areas of Lana‘i
where Castle and Cooke has been implementing a watershed protection
program.
The discovery
of the population was made last year and DLNR has deployed a team
of biologists to the island to learn more about the birds and their
conservation needs.
“Castle
and Cooke’s work to protect the watershed is a great benefit
not just for the water resources it provides to the community but
clearly for Hawaiian wildlife as well,” said Allan Smith,
DLNR interim chairperson. “We’re pleased to partner
with Castle and Cooke and are working with them to develop new phases
of the work that will protect larger areas of the watershed.”
“We appreciate
this collaboration between Castle and Cooke, and DLNR, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, and University of Hawai‘i, that is allowing
biologists to conduct surveys across the watershed to determine
the extent of the birds’ breeding colony,” said Smith.
“They have also begun to control introduced predators that
could kill the young nestlings in their burrows before they are
able to fly,” he said.
“The Lana‘i
Hale watershed had not been surveyed for petrels since the 1980’s
so we didn’t know what to expect,” Scott Fretz, DLNR
wildlife program manager, said. “We assumed there would be
few, if any, birds remaining on Lana‘i, but once we started
the surveys we immediately realized that we had found something
special.”
“We don’t
yet know the total number of birds on Lana‘i but there appear
to be hundreds, if not more, which would make this one of the biggest
populations known in the state,” Fretz said. “This discovery
indicates that the population there has grown significantly in the
last 20 years.”
‘Ua‘u
spend most of their lives at sea, returning to land only part of
the year to breed and fledge their young. Even then, the birds only
return to the upland nesting areas after dark and in the morning
they fly to sea to feed before dawn. They are an elusive species
to study and biologists employ special methods such as thermal imagers,
night vision technology, and marine radar to gather the information
needed to develop conservation programs to protect the birds.
‘Ua‘u
were once common throughout the Hawaiian Islands but were decimated
by the introduction of predators such as cats, rats, and barn owls,
and loss of native habitats that the birds depend on for nesting.
The petrels
were common on Lana‘i in historical times but had all but
disappeared by the 1980’s because of habitat destruction and
predators.
Castle and Cooke
is planning additional work that will protect larger areas of the
watershed and assist efforts to protect ‘ua‘u and other
wildlife.
The Honolulu
Advertiser
April 16, 2007
By Jan TenBruggencate
Hawaii’s
Environment
Protecting resources in Palau
For Hōkūlea
crew member and The Nature Conservancy of Hawai‘i staffer Eric Co,
there was a very satisfying balance between the gift the voyaging
canoe brought to Palau, and what Palau gave the Hawaiian members
of the canoe crew.
"We‘re
helping reinvigorate traditional navigation in Palau, and they‘re
helping us with conservation," said Co, who crewed on the canoe
roundtrip from Yap to Palau.
The island nation has an active conservation program that sets aside
marine areas as reserves with the specific goal of improving fishing
success immediately, and protecting the resource for the future.
Hawai‘i folks were impressed by Palau‘s ethic of marine conservation,
and that it seems to be driven by the communities, rather than by
the national government.
"It doesn‘t
work from the top down," said filmmaker and veteran Hōkūlea
sailor Na‘alehu Anthony. The villages have pushed for their own
marine reserves and fishing restrictions, and it seems to work,
he said.
"Now everybody is screaming for conservation, because it means
they get more fish. That‘s been their experience," Anthony
said.
Palau folks
took the canoe voyagers on tours of the famed Rock Islands and discussed
their fishery management techniques.
"The people are seeing the resources coming back. They see
it working," said Nature Conservancy official Pauline Sato,
who also sailed there on the canoe. She said Palau communities recognize
the need to protect their fishery resources for future generations,
and they have used both cultural knowledge and modern marine science
to develop the most effective management techniques.
"They
have no problem finding balance between traditional knowledge and
science. It is the village chiefs who seek out the scientists,"
Co said. Palau president Tommy Esang Remengesau Jr. sailed the Yap-to-Palau
leg, and Sato said the other crew members were impressed by his
understanding of and commitment to conservation.
"To have
the president of a country say the things we want to hear was so
impressive," Sato said. "I had a glimpse of what they‘re
doing here, conservation-wise. We have some of this in Hawai‘i but
nowhere near the extent to which they have executed it here."
One key to
Palau‘s success is the communities that live around the marine ecosystems
are demanding the protection of those areas and supporting active
monitoring of the progress. "They know they have a treasured
resource," Sato said.
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Apr/16/ln/FP704160343.html
Star Bulletin
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Opinion Editorial
Don’t
get snagged by smelly fishing bill
THE ISSUE
Legislation that would have checked the state‘s authority to manage
ocean resources has been amended.
AN ill-conceived
bill that would have effectively blocked a state agency from carrying
out its responsibility to protect Hawaii‘s ocean resources has been
heavily amended, but the possibility that its original provisions
will be restored remain as long as the measure is alive.
As it now stands, the bill‘s small benefits are outweighed by the
encumbrances it places on the ability of the Department of Land
and Natural Resources to manage fish populations and other marine
life. Lawmakers would do better to reject the legislation completely.
The chief aim of the earlier bill was to require the department
to present data virtually impossible to obtain before it could restrict
fishing or set regulations for taking marine life from Hawaii waters.
Framed thinly as a way to promote traditional Hawaiian practices,
the measure was really a ploy to stymie the agency‘s ability to
control overfishing.
Though the measure called for "science based" management,
the outrageous data requirements would have forced the department
to track individual species throughout their ranges -- which in
some cases could include the entire northern Pacific Ocean and beyond
-- assess their numbers and submit proof that overfishing was the
cause of species decline outside of other environmental factors
such as pollution or other ocean conditions.
Moreover, before regulations could be imposed, they would have to
be approved by a task force, whose membership would heavily tilt
toward commercial fishing interests, setting aside the current rule-making
process open to the wider public.
In its current version, the bill would allow community groups to
participate in fishery management and give them state funds to help
monitor habitats. While community involvement could be beneficial,
funds would better be used to increase the department‘s staff.
Legislators should be commended for gutting the original measure,
which would have gutted the state‘s authority for ocean conservation.
http://starbulletin.com/2007/03/25/editorial/editorial02.html
Honolulu Advertiser
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Gill net fishers get new rules
By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Science Writer
The
state has enacted a new set of lay gill net regulations that ban
such fishing in some areas and severely restrict it everywhere else.
"It‘s basically an outright ban. You can‘t really use this
gear under these rules. The gear is not effective in daylight, and
with the short lengths of net, you‘re not going to catch very much,"
said recreational gill net fisherman Scott Moncrief of Kailua.
State officials said scientific studies of net impacts on local
fish, along with the support of a large portion of the fishing community,
led to aggressive regulations, which were developed by the state
Department of Land and Natural Resources and have been signed by
Gov. Linda Lingle.
They are now in effect, and establish total gill net bans on Maui
and in three regions of O‘ahu, and set strict limits on their use
in other areas. The rules require all nets to carry identification
tags, ban setting at night, and require nets never be left unattended
for more than half an hour.
The image of green sea turtles drowned in unattended or abandoned
gill nets helped galvanize public opposition to the fishing technique.
"Fishing is part of our island lifestyle and depends on maintaining
a healthy ocean. Lay gill nets threaten our way of life because
they take too many fish from the sea at once, regardless of size
or season, and can drown protected species such as Hawaiian monk
seals and sea turtles," said Kim Hum, director of the marine
program at The Nature Conservancy of Hawai‘i, in a statement.
The state‘s path to regulation has been nearly a decade long, starting
with a statewide gill net task force formed in 1998, and statewide
community meetings by both the land department and the Office of
Hawaiian Affairs. The DLNR in a news release said that during the
agency‘s nine public hearings on the rules, 86 percent of 1,239
oral and written testimonies favored the regulations.
"DLNR has taken these steps to protect Hawai‘i‘s nearshore
marine resources by instituting requirements for more responsible
and appropriate fishing practices," said land board director
Peter Young. "We approach marine resource protection from a
wide variety of perspectives, but without a change in the management
of near shore reef fisheries, there is no reason to expect the marine
resource decline to stop. We will continue to fight to reduce sedimentation,
invasive species and other impacts to near shore waters."
Moncrief argued that there are only a few commercial gill net fishing
interests today, and that their impact on fisheries is comparatively
small, but others disagree.
"Frankly, lay gill nets should have been banned 20 years ago.
I‘ve fished in Hawai‘i for more than 40 years and I‘ve seen with
my own eyes how the resources have diminished. We don‘t have the
right to deplete these resources. It‘s really our responsibility
to preserve them for the future generations," said Douglas
"McD" Philpotts, a fisherman and woodworker, in a news
release issued by the pro-regulation group Fair Catch Hawai‘i.
If anything, the regulations do not go far enough, said John Randall,
senior fish scientist at Bishop Museum.
"This is a landmark decision for Hawai‘i‘s nearshore resources.
Our reef fish populations are in serious decline, and it‘s time
for us to stop fishing in indiscriminate, wasteful ways. Restrictions
on lay gill nets are long overdue, and I would support us going
further to a complete statewide ban," Randall said.
Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Mar/08/ln/FP703080362.html
Star Bulletin
November 21, 2006
Editorial
New
rules help ensure that we will have fish in the future
THE ISSUE
A state board has approved restrictions on lay gillnet fishing.
RESTRICTIONS
on a fishing method that indiscriminately kills marine life will
help to protect Hawaii‘s ocean ecosystem at a time when research
and studies show that curbs are increasingly crucial to healthy
fish stock and coral reefs.
The state Board of Land and Natural Resources‘ approval of the lay
gillnet limitations should be followed quickly by authorization
from the attorney general and Gov. Linda Lingle.
In addition, the administration and lawmakers should draw up proposals
for the legislative session next year to fund more conservation
officers so that the new regulations can be properly enforced. Without
enforcement, the restrictions will be meaningless.
The rules ban lay gillnets from waters around Maui and off Windward
and East Oahu areas, adding to existing no-fish zones off West Hawaii.
In areas the nets can be used, the rules set a four-hour maximum
time limit and require nets be checked every 30 minutes to avoid
snagging unwanted or protected marine life. Lay gillnets of requisite
sizes also must have owner identification tags to aid in enforcement.
Nets left untended can be confiscated.
The regulations became necessary after the introduction of cheaply
manufactured monofilament lay gillnets that spurred a destructive
force not seen when nets made by hand were valued possessions. Irresponsible
fishers stretched their nets over wide areas and left them for long
periods of time. The nets trapped everything that swam into them,
killing desirable and unwanted sea life indiscriminately. Moreover,
the nets often were abandoned, damaging coral reefs and entangling
endangered species like the young monk seal found dead off Waimanalo
last month, wrapped in a gillnet.
The restrictions were supported by a majority of residents, fishers
and Hawaiians, according to an independent poll conducted during
the summer. More and more, people are recognizing that the species
the ocean holds are finite and need protection. California will
institute next year the first of a chain of refuges along its coastlines,
banning fishing in 200 square miles from Half Moon Bay to Santa
Barbara.
Some in the commercial and recreational fishing industries aren‘t
pleased, and some Hawaiian groups have objected to limits, saying
they take food off the tables of subsistence fishers. However, the
rules don‘t bar them from fishing responsibly; in fact, those who
fish for food should welcome practices that are more likely to ensure
that they will have fish to catch in the years to come.
The restrictions are the culmination of months of public hearings
and years of debate and study. They respect a traditional method
of fishing in Hawaii while safeguarding the marine environment.
http://starbulletin.com/2006/11/21/editorial/editorial01.html
Star Bulletin
November 18, 2006
Panel
lays down gillnet regulations
DLNR will curtail "curtains of death," as critics call
them
By Diana Leone
dleone@starbulletin.com
Lay
gillnet fishing will be prohibited around Maui and portions of Oahu‘s
coast, a state board decided yesterday.
Where permitted, the nets cannot be used at night or left in place
longer than four hours, and they must be checked every 30 minutes
for air-breathing animals such as sea turtles and Hawaiian monk
seals, according to new Board of Land and Natural Resources rules
approved yesterday.
Gillnets also must not be longer than 125 feet and must have owner
identification tags and buoys to help conservation enforcement officers
catch offenders. The rules take effect after final review by the
attorney general‘s and governor‘s offices.
Department of Land and Natural Resources Director Peter Young hailed
the rules as properly curbing what "can be a wasteful fishing
technique if not used responsibly."
"It‘s about time," said Louie "The Fish" Denolfo,
a fisher and snorkeler from Maui who says he is depressed by the
lack of fish in Hawaii nearshore waters.
But Tony Costa, a spokesman for the group Hawaii Nearshore Fishermen,
said the regulations are akin to "closing the freeway to deal
with some speeders."
And Toni Lee, president of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs,
said the decision will "make criminals of" Hawaiian fishers
who use the technique to feed their families.
The fishing method involves nets that are suspended in the water
like a curtain, with floats on the top and weights on the bottom.
Fish that swim into the nets are caught by the gills and cannot
get back out.
Detractors of the method have referred to it as "a curtain
of death" and have pointed to the recent tangling death of
an endangered Hawaiian monk seal pup in a gillnet off Waimanalo
as a demonstration of the nickname.
The Land Board‘s move yesterday was hailed by a number of conservation
groups that have been pushing for greater restrictions on the nets,
including KAHEA (the Hawaiian Environmental Alliance), the Hawaii
Audubon Society and the Nature Conservancy.
Sam Gon III, a Land Board member who works for the Nature Conservancy,
recused himself from voting on the rules. Remaining members of the
board voted unanimously to approve new lay gillnet guidelines.
After more than three hours of testimony yesterday, the Land Board
also approved sending out additional changes to the gillnet rules
for public hearings. Those include:
» Allowing the island of Molokai to have larger nets and longer
set times, in keeping with its current self-governing practices.
» Having the new rules "sunset," or end, in five
years, unless continued or modified by the board.
» Allowing use of gillnets halfway across stream mouths.
"No matter what the outcome of the meeting today, I was committed
to continuing to talk with fishers, the Hawaiian community and others"
about further adjustments to the rules, the DLNR‘s Young said.
http://starbulletin.com/2006/11/18/news/story09.html
Honolulu
Advertiser
October 18, 2006
Seal found tangled and dead in gill net
By Tara Godvin
Associated Press
Wildlife officials have found a 5-month-old Hawaiian monk seal pup
tangled and dead in a gill net near Waimanalo.
The news came as rare twin Hawaiian monk seal pups rescued on Midway
Atoll five months ago flew home on board a Coast Guard plane after
recovering on O‘ahu.
Each birth among the endangered Hawaiian monk seals is seen as critical
for their continued existence. And new pups are closely monitored
by volunteers and wildlife officials.
Numbering just about 1,200, the seals continue to struggle for survival
despite efforts to protect their main habitat in the Northwestern
Hawaiian Islands.
The dead female pup had been born on O‘ahu‘s North Shore and was
relocated to Rabbit Island, where there is a resident population
of the seals, said Deborah Ward, spokeswoman for the state Department
of Land and Natural Resources.
The animal was found Monday in 12 feet of water after officials
responded to a call from a diver, she said.
The department is seeking any information from the public on the
possible owner of the net.
Proposed restrictions on gill net fishing — including bans
in the nearshore waters off Maui, the west side of the Big Island
and parts of O‘ahu — are being reviewed by the department
before receiving final approval from Gov. Linda Lingle.
Some conservationists called yesterday for the state to expedite
the approval process.
"The unfortunate death of this young pup demonstrates how indiscriminate
gill net fishing can be," Kim Hum, director of the marine program
at The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii, a partner in the Fair Catch
campaign, said in a statement. "We urge the state to move swiftly
to restrict the use of lay gill nets and to consider a statewide
ban."
The twin seals taken to Midway had weighed just 65 pounds and 79
pounds when they arrived at the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science
Center at Kewalo Basin. They grew to 113 pounds and 131 pounds but
are still about 40 pounds below normal weight and will continue
to be fed at their new home.
Their 30-by-80-foot shoreline pen at Midway will be partly on the
beach and partly in the water.
When the twins are released into the wild, researchers will place
tracking devices on them to monitor their location and diving behavior
to see if they are feeding well.
Star Bulletin
October 18, 2006
Monk seal Penelope drowns in gillnet
By Diana Leone
dleone@starbulletin.com
A Hawaiian monk seal that was born earlier this year at Turtle Bay
on Oahu was found drowned in a gillnet Monday.
Conservation enforcement officers for the Department of Land and
Natural Resources were called to a location near Rabbit Island,
the islet east of Makapuu Point, said DLNR Director Peter Young.
"To say it is a disappointment is an extreme understatement,"
Young said. "This is why we want to further manage lay gillnets,
because of the indiscriminate killing -- not only of fish, but endangered
species like the monk seal."
The seal was positively identified as the same animal that was born
in early June on the North Shore, Young said. The animal was nicknamed
Penelope by volunteers who had assisted with keeping curious onlookers
away from it while it was nursing from its mother, he said.
Wildlife officials relocated the seal to Rabbit Island after it
weaned, in an attempt to help it find a more secluded area, Young
said.
The seal‘s body was reported at 11 a.m. Monday near the Makai Research
Pier at the Oceanic Institute, Young said.
It had been the first Hawaiian monk seal born on Oahu in eight years.
State and federal wildlife authorities will investigate the death,
Young said.
DLNR Press
Release
DLNR
Launches New 24-Hour Enforcement Call System
The Department
of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) has established a new statewide
enforcement telephone number and launched a new 24-hour enforcement
call system that will allow the public to report violations of state
natural and cultural resources laws.
This live answering system will help improve the receiving, reviewing
and referring of enforcement calls.
“We appreciate the hundreds of residents who take the time
to report potential violations or illegal activity on state lands
or in our oceans,” said Peter Young, DLNR chairperson.
“This new statewide telephone number and the 24-hour enforcement
call system will enhance our ability to continue to work with the
public to protect our natural and cultural resources. This new system
will allow DLNR to obtain more accurate and timely information that
will help us identify where illegal activity may be taking place
and where our limited enforcement resources could be better concentrated.”
Effective immediately, the DLNR enforcement phone number is 643-DLNR
(643-3567). This is an easy-to-remember, single statewide toll-free
number that can be called from regular phones, as well as cell phones.
In addition, DLNR initiated a 24-hour live answer enforcement calling
system. During working hours, (Monday – Friday 7:45 am - 4:30
pm), calls to the enforcement number (643-DLNR) will ring at the
respective district office for the County where the call is placed.
After hours, weekends and holidays, calls will be directed to a
central O’ahu-based answering service.
Callers will be prompted to provide as much detailed information
as possible to assist enforcement response.
In human emergency situations callers should always immediately
call 911 to seek emergency assistance.
As part of the initial stage of this program, all calls received
by the O’ahu-based answering service will be transmitted to
the appropriate DLNR-Enforcement island office at the start of business
the next day.
This new system will make DLNR-enforcement more accessible to receiving
public reports of violations.
DLNR is also in the process of assessing the feasibility and cost
of having enforcement officers on the job 24-hours a day on each
island.
The Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE)
is responsible for enforcement activities of the DLNR. In 2006,
the division consists of 100 regular conservation resource enforcement
officers (CREO) and 20 volunteers.
The division, with full police powers, enforces all state laws and
rules involving state lands, state parks, state small boat harbors
and ramps, historical sites, forest reserves, aquatic life and wildlife
areas, coastal zones, conservation districts, state shores, as well
as county ordinances involving county parks. The division also enforces
laws relating to firearms, ammunition and dangerous weapons.
DOCARE receives emergency calls from county police and fire departments,
to assist in search and rescue operations and various other incidents.
Kaiser
High Educator Receives Living Reef Award
Mālama
Hawai‘i salutes Michelle Kapana-Baird, teacher at Kaiser High
School on O’ahu, for her receipt of the Education award of
Hawaii’s Living Reef Program. She received the award on September
20, 2006 in Honolulu, along with a $250 check. Michelle was nominated
because of her work at Maunalua Bay with her students, focusing
on studying and controlling the invasive alien algae problem. Michelle
has been active with Mālama Maunalua, in which Mālama
Hawai‘i is an integral member.
The goal of the Living Reef Awards Program is to honor groups and
individuals that promote a healthy reef ecosystem and go above and
beyond in their action to make a difference in preserving our reefs,
appropriate to their resources and ability. The awards honored and
recognize organizations, groups or individuals that do the most
to preserve Hawaii’s reef ecosystem. This award program is
coordinated by the Coral Reef Outreach Network (CRON). http://www.hawaiireef.org/
 |
 |
Hawai‘i
Fishing News has dedicated six pages of its September 2006 issue to
the lay gill net issue. Please click
here (download) to see the compelling articles.
Read
recent articles on the feral pig problem in Hawai‘i.
Part 1 http://starbulletin.com/2006/08/06/editorial/special.html
Part 2 http://starbulletin.com/2006/08/13/editorial/special.html
Posted
on: Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Honolulu Advertiser
Group
aims to protect fish stock
By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Science Writer
A new Hawai‘i
marine conservation initiative, Fair Catch, will operate under the
slogan, "Take what you need, not what you can."
The collaboration
of The Nature Conservancy of Hawai‘i, Malama Hawai‘i and the Washington,
D.C.-based ocean conservation group SeaWeb is designed to support
measures to restore the productivity of nearshore waters in the
Islands and to encourage sustainable activities along the coastline.
Fair Catch is
launching itself by leaping into the issue of lay net fishing around
the main Hawaiian Islands. It has released an extensive poll of
Hawai‘i residents that indicates overwhelming support for restrictions
on fishing with these nets, with a significant majority favoring
a total ban on the use of the nets.
The organization
timed its formation to coincide with a series of statewide hearings
by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources on proposed
new regulations on the nets. The state‘s proposal would ban the
nets in some parts of the Islands, and add new restrictions in others,
including limiting the length of time nets can be in the water,
how long they can remain unattended and how many nets can be used
in a given area.
Fair Catch hired
the research firm QMark to conduct a statewide poll on fishing issues.
The telephone survey reached 1,022 Hawai‘i residents, and the firm
calculated that the poll has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage
points.
The poll found
that two-thirds of residents feel the condition of the ocean around
Hawai‘i has gotten worse in recent years, and between eight and
nine out of 10 believe pollution is responsible. Three-quarters
believe fishing is also a threat, with more blaming commercial than
recreational fishing.
Only about half
said they are knowledgeable about lay nets, but once the nets were
explained, roughly three-quarters said they support restrictions
on net use. The lay nets commonly used in the Islands are found
in stretches 125 feet long and 7 feet high, with a row of weights
at the bottom and floats at the top.
Three-quarters
of all residents said they support restrictions, and about two-thirds
support an outright statewide ban on the nets.
Fair Catch also
released a scientific report on nets that was produced by veteran
fish and reef scientists John Randall, Charles Birkeland, Richard
Pyle and Randall Kosaki, in which they support a total ban. Traditional
Hawaiian gillnets were handmade, valuable, fragile and carefully
used. But cheap modern monofilament gillnets have led to nets being
left overnight, and being abandoned when they were too badly tangled
in the reef, and taking large numbers of unintended catch like turtles,
sharks and fish that aren‘t taken for eating, the authors said.
Recreational
fisherman Bruce Blankenfeld of Niu Valley said strong restrictions
are needed.
"I‘ve seen
10 nets linked for more than a thousand feet, draped like curtains
inside the reef. That violates our values of taking only what you
need and leaving some for tomorrow," he said. "We just
may have to stop laying net for a while to give our fish a chance
to recover."
Fair Catch will
work for expanded scientific study off the nearshore biological
resources, involving citizens in monitoring the coastlines and improved
enforcement of fishery regulations, the organization said in a prepared
statement.
Reach Jan
TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.
Posted:
June 15, 2006
Honolulu Star Bulletin
Bush to create huge isle monument
The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands will immediately receive
maximum protection
By Diana Leone
dleone@starbulletin.com
President Bush is expected to announce in Washington today that
he wants to make the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands a national monument.
In doing so, Bush would establish permanent protection for the 1,400-mile-long,
100-mile-wide section of the Hawaiian archipelago and coral reefs,
a move that environmental groups, native Hawaiians and others have
been seeking for years.
"Building on all the work that was done in the last five years
under the marine sanctuary process, the president has decided to
elevate the designation of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands area
to national monument status," said a statement released yesterday
by the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
"This means the area will get immediate protection rather than
having to wait another year" for completion of the ongoing
national marine sanctuary designation process, the release said.
A senior administration official said the president‘s decision will
ensure maximum protection for the islands, including a phase-out
over five years of all commercial fishing.
Disputes over whether to allow fishing in the proposed sanctuary
had been a point of contention between conservationists and the
Western Pacific Fisheries Management Council, a quasi-governmental
advisory group that sets fishing policy for federal waters in Hawaii.
Establishing a national marine sanctuary requires consideration
of commercial fishermen.
As recently as yesterday morning, officials with the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration‘s National Marine Sanctuary Program
were expecting Bush to announce that the waters around the Northwestern
Hawaiian islands would become the 14th national marine sanctuary.
They were surprised to hear yesterday of Bush‘s plans to instead
declare it a national monument, bypassing the remainder of the designation
process, including the release of a draft environmental impact study
and a round of public hearings.
Even government and environmental insiders who have been working
on the proposed designation of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
as a sanctuary said yesterday they were surprised at the president‘s
change in tactics.
There was speculation that NOAA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
might share jurisdiction over such a national monument, but representatives
of both agencies said they would not comment until after Bush‘s
announcement today.
"What I‘m thinking is that the worst monument is better than
the best sanctuary," said Cha Smith, executive director of
the Kahea Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance, a group that has promoted
making the islands a "place of refuge."
The monument status prevents "extractive uses" -- such
as fishing or mining -- and will afford more protection than a sanctuary,
Smith said. However, she cautioned that her group will monitor management
plans for the monument "to make sure that destructive practices
are not allowed under the guise of ‘research‘ or ‘education.‘"
NOAA Administrator Conrad Lautenbacher called protecting the area
"the single largest act of ocean conservation in history. It‘s
a large milestone."
The state Sierra Club, Hawaii Fishing and Boating Association, Polynesian
Voyaging Society and Hawaii Audubon Society all released expressions
of support yesterday.
The isles and atolls are home to more than 7,000 marine species,
one-quarter of which are found only in the Hawaiian archipelago.
The area is key for the endangered Hawaiian monk seal and the threatened
green sea turtle.
Gov. Linda Lingle signed new state rules in September that ban fishing
and sharply limit public access to state waters of the Northwestern
Islands, which are from any land to three miles at sea.
The high, rocky islands of Nihoa and Mokumanamana have great cultural
importance to native Hawaiians.
The new monument will be given a native Hawaiian name, using suggestions
from state residents, the administration official said.
NOAA will develop regulations for managing the monument. Last month,
state and federal officials signed an agreement to manage the pristine
islands jointly.
Administration officials say their intent is to preserve zoned access
for native Hawaiian activities, educational and scientific expeditions.
Recreational and tourist visits that are no more harmful than scuba
diving or photography could be allowed, although permits will be
required for all activities.
The private Pew Charitable Trusts, which has pushed for the sanctuary
for eight years, is looking at providing some financial relief to
people losing their fishing permits in the area.
http://starbulletin.com/2006/06/15/news/story01.html
Posted:
Thursday, June 15, 2006
The Honolulu Advertiser
Bush establishes Northwestern Islands monument
Advertiser Staff
President George
Bush this morning, with Gov. Linda Lingle and other Hawai‘i officials
standing by, signed documents establishing a national monument in
the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
It would be the largest marine reserve in the nation, and the largest
marine protected area in the world in which no fishing or other
taking of marine life is permitted.
"Having visited the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands with Jean-Michel
Cousteau, I can attest that this is a special place worthy of the
highest levels of protection," Lingle said. She was accompanied
by Peter Young, director of the state Department of Land and Natural
Resources, and Sen. Fred Hemmings, R-25th (Kailua-Hawai‘i Kai).
Lingle herself established a no-fishing preserve in state waters
in the region last year, and said the state will work closely with
the federal government to ensure the joint management of the adjacent
areas.
"This seamless partnership between the state and federal government,
environmental conservationists, and Native Hawaiian organizations
will preserve this special chain of atolls and reefs as a natural
and cultural legacy. Together, we are proud to continue our commitment
to preserve Hawai‘i‘s natural resources for future generations."
U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie added his support to the designation.
"Today‘s Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument designation
is a huge victory for those of us who have been fighting for more
than a decade to protect this unique ecosystem. It is part and parcel
of our efforts to protect Hawai‘i‘s unique marine ecosystems, notably
including the establishment of the Humpback Whale Marine Sanctuary,"
he said.
"I will be looking at legislative options to strengthen protection
for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, assuring their permanency
and guaranteeing a funding stream for the agencies responsible for
enforcement and protection. One option is to overlay the National
Monument designation with an additional layer of protective status.
"It‘s important that we not sit back and think this is the
end of the story. There‘s still a lot of work to be done before
the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands have protection fully in place.
I remain committed to building on today‘s progress until we achieve
that goal," Abercrombie said.
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Jun/15/br/br05p.html/?print=on
May 1,
2006
Pacific Business News (Honolulu)
OHA provides $50,000 for fishpond project
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has made a $50,000 grant to help
revitalize the He‘eia Fishpond, an 88-acre project in Kāne‘ohe
Bay that aims to combine ancient Hawaiian practices with modern
commercial aquaculture techniques.
Using the OHA funding, Oceanic Institute, an affiliate of Hawai‘i
Pacific University, will provide about 1,000 moi fingerlings in
quarterly batches for the fishpond. The moi are tagged to allow
for their release and future identification.
Oceanic Institute will also assist with training of 10 members of
the staff of Paepae O He‘eia, which oversees the fishpond.
The institute will also help the group develop a business plan for
selling the fishpond products.
The National Marine Fisheries Service is also providing a one-year
$130,000 grant to Paepae O He‘eia for the project.
News Release,
April 10, 2006
The Nature Conservancy
Researchers
Unveil ‘Super Sucker‘ – New Alien Algae Removal Machine
Marine
researchers in Hawai‘i have a new weapon in the battle against
alien algae. They call it the “super sucker,”
and it acts as an underwater vacuum cleaner to take invasive algae
off the reef. Initials tests show it can remove up to 800 pounds
in a single hour.
“The super
sucker is potentially the difference between watching our reefs
slowly succumb to alien algae and returning them to healthy productive
ecosystems,” said Celia Smith, a professor and seaweed specialist
in the University of Hawaii‘s Botany Department. “We’ve
field tested this device and worked out the kinks, and I think we‘ve
established it’s a viable tool that can help us get a handle
on the alien algae problem."
The new mechanical
removal device has been fabricated and piloted in Kāne‘ohe
Bay, where it is operated by a small group of trained crewmembers
from various partner agencies. The University of Hawai‘i,
The Nature Conservancy, and the State Department of Land and Natural
Resources / Division of Aquatic Resources are leading the effort.
The pilot project
is one component of a larger strategy that includes community-based
volunteer clean ups, the use of algae-eating native sea urchins,
and the out planting of native algae to repopulate the reef. Local
farmers are also involved, recycling the alien algae for use as
a fertilizer to grow taro.
Alien algae
are a serious threat to Hawaii’s coral reefs. They already
dominate large regions of Kāne‘ohe
Bay and Oahu’s south shore, and are also abundant on the south
shores of Maui and Moloka‘i. In Kāne‘ohe
Bay, where the super sucker has been developed and tested, it is
helping to fight Gracilaria salicornia, a particularly
destructive alga that forms thick, tangled mats that smoother and
kill coral. According to Cynthia Hunter, an assistant professor
in the UH Manoa Biology Program, Gracilaria fills in the
reef and takes away habitat for fish. “It takes a very complex
habitat with nooks and crevices and flattens it,” she said.
“The coral can only recover if you get the alien algae off
of it.”
Community based volunteer efforts to remove Gracilaria
began in earnest three years ago in Waikiki and have since spread
to other parts of O‘ahu. In total, 20 events involving 2,000
volunteers have removed more than 100 tons of the invasive seaweed.
“The volunteer clean ups have been a tremendous success in
educating the public and will continue to be an important educational
compliment to the super sucker,” said Tony Montgomery, an
aquatic biologist with the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources. “But
the problem is so pervasive, and the urgency so great, that we need
additional tools.”
The idea for
the super sucker came out of planning meetings with DLNR, botany
and biology researchers, and was taken from concept to machine by
The Nature Conservancy. Eric Co, the Conservancy’s marine
coordinator, researched and developed the device, which is essentially
a modified gold dredger that has been outfitted with a 40-horsepower
diesel engine and runs on bio-diesel fuel. "It‘s a Venturi
system, which means there are no fans or blades that the collected
algae pass through,” Co said. “This is important for
two reasons: One, any marine life that is inadvertently collected
can be returned. Two, alien algae can reproduce by fragmentation,
so the fewer fragments we are collecting during the process, the
better."
The super sucker
is deployed from a 13 x 25-foot covered barge that is docked at
the Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology and was specifically
designed for the project. The entire operation is accomplished with
a five-person crew. Two divers, equipped with a four-inch round,
100-foot hose, descend below the surface, where they stuff the alien
algae into the suction hose. Aboard the barge, algae and seawater
are deposited onto a large porous bin, where sorters separate the
by-catch and pack the algae in burlap sacks. The sacks are then
delivered to local taro farmers Paul and Charlie Reppun, who have
found the algae to be a superior fertilizer.
According to
Brian Parscal, the UH operations supervisor for the project, the
800 pounds of alien algae the super sucker removes in an hour is
equivalent to the effort generated by 150 volunteers and 10 divers.
“The other great advantage of the super sucker is that it‘s
portable,” he said. “It can be deployed in critical
areas that are more remote, where manual removal efforts would be
impractical or impossible.”
But cleaning
the reef of alien algae is only half the battle. Gracilaria
can quickly return and spreads at a rate of 250 to 300 meters a
year. To prevent any new growth, researchers plan to release native
sea urchins that feed on the alien algae, and out plant native algae
in the cleaned areas. “In small-scale experiments, the urchins
have flat out stopped the alien algae from growing back,”
said Eric Conklin, a graduate student in Zoology at the Hawai‘i
Institute of Marine Biology. “What we don’t know yet
is how successful the urchins will be at the scale of cleaning entire
reefs. And to some extent, how effective the program will be long
term may depend on that. Can you clean an area with the super sucker
and walk away, or do you need to keep coming back to keep up with
the problem?”
Researchers
said if the program can be shown to work over large areas, it could
pave the way for funding to build additional super suckers. “At
that point, we would be in a position to attack the problem at the
scale that’s really needed,” Conklin said.
Initial funding
for the super sucker has been provided by: The National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Hawai‘i Community Foundation,
Tesoro, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, The Nature Conservancy,
Hawai‘i Invasive Species Council, and the National Sea Grant
Program through the support of Hawai‘i Senator Daniel K. Inouye.
Posted
on March 10, 2006
The Honolulu Advertiser
Nurseries
take a hit to protect environment
By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer
It may cost thousands of dollars in lost revenue, but a small band
of O‘ahu nursery owners has become the first group to sign a pact
against selling imported plants that can overrun native ones in
the Islands.
The members of the O‘ahu Nursery Growers Association believed that
their decision in October was as much to protect their business
interests as well as Hawai‘i‘s environment.
"We love plants more than anybody in Hawai‘i. It‘s been my
whole life," said Bill Durston, the owner of Leilani Nursery
in Waimanalo. "We want to help out — and keep in business.
The nursery industry has to lead the way, not be led. We‘re trying
to take care of Hawai‘i while getting ahead of (potential) regulations."
Among other things, the eight companies agreed to stop selling seven
of the more popular and problematic plants — the Australian
tree fern, rubbervine, smokebush, butterfly bush, pampas grass,
mule‘s foot fern and glorybush.
The voluntary ban comes with a price: At Durston‘s Leilani Nursery,
the Australian tree fern alone accounts for about $42,000 worth
of his annual sales.
"Eliminating the Australian tree fern, especially, is a sacrifice
for them," said Carter Smith, weed risk assessment liaison
with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources‘ Kaulunani
Urban Forestry Program. "That‘s a very significant step on
their part."
But Christy Martin, spokeswoman for the state Coordinating Group
on Alien Pest Species, said, "a lot of people want to do what‘s
right and what‘s good for the environment. We hope it doesn‘t cost
them too much because many of us started out running small businesses."
Last year, Martin approached Durston with the idea of getting the
O‘ahu Nursery Growers Association to adopt a voluntary code of conduct
similar to the one that came out of a 2001 workshop at the Missouri
Botanical Garden.
While each island has various nursery, growers and landscapers associations,
Martin focused first on Durston and his membership with the O‘ahu
Nursery Growers Association.
"The ONGA group has always been very open to these sorts of
ideas about protecting Hawai‘i," she said. "And Bill is
an important person in the industry. He supplies Costco, Home Depot
... His nursery products are everywhere. I thought, ‘Let‘s get a
very well respected and organized group on board and see where we
can go from there.‘ "
It took little effort to get each member to sign the agreement.
"We‘re a pretty close-knit group and we understood what is
going on," said Richard Nii of R&S Nii Nursery in Hawai‘i
Kai, who is the president of the O‘ahu Nursery Growers Association.
"We understand, as nursery people, that our job is to sell
plants. But we have to be careful that the seeds don‘t germinate
all over the place and create a big problem."
Like the other members, Nii has since begun phasing out his inventory
of the newly banned plants. Instead, he will encourage customers
to buy different varieties that look just as nice but won‘t spread
and harm Hawai‘i‘s fragile environment.
Eventually, Nii hopes to replace any lost revenue with new sales
of different plants.
And that‘s the point that Martin hopes other groups see as they
might consider adopting similar codes of conduct.
"The Australian tree fern is one of the biggest sellers because
people like that tropical look, but they don‘t realize the spores
blow into the wind and are definitely spreading into the forest,"
Martin said. "If it costs the same for an Australian tree fern
or a giant ‘ape (giant dryland taro), I have faith in people to
take care of the environment."
Nii has heard different thoughts on whether other groups will follow
the example of the O‘ahu Nursery Growers Association.
It is, after all, a voluntary pact.
"We can‘t twist their arms," Nii said. "We can only
hope."
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060310/BUSINESS11/603100333/1071
WAIMEA
VALLEY Q&A
Q. Why is Waimea Valley important?
A. The 1,875-acre North Shore valley is noted for its
scenic beauty, cultural and archaeological significance,
rare and endangered plants and unspoiled ocean-to-mountain
environment.
Q. What is the fight about?
A. Land ownership. The city in 2001 moved to acquire the
entire valley via condemnation. Landowner Christian Wolffer
proposed a settlement in which the city would own the
valley’s lower 300 acres and he would own the rest,
prompting concerns that Wolffer would seek to develop
the upper portion of the valley.
Q. What happened yesterday?
A. The City Council voted 9-0 to reject the proposed settlement,
reversing a 5-4 vote on Nov. 21 in which the council gave
preliminary approval to the settlement.
Q. What changed from Nov. 21?
A. The National Audubon Center yesterday told council
members that it is committed to preservation of the valley,
and is working with the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs
and other partners to pull together the needed money to
help buy the land. Several OHA trustees testified in favor
as well.
Q. What’s next?
A. The city prepares to go to trial the week of Feb. 13.
The court would determine the fair market value of the
valley. |
Posted on:
Thursday, December 8, 2005
The Honolulu Advertiser
Council votes 9-0 to kill Waimea deal
By Will Hoover
Advertiser Staff Writer
In a stunning example of people power, five Honolulu City Council
members changed their minds yesterday and voted against an agreement
to split Waimea Valley between the city and New York investor
Christian Wolffer.
Although the vote was unanimous, 9-0, the decision really went
to the parade of more than six dozen speakers who told the council
in no uncertain terms that the community was ready to take its
chances in court.
The speakers were backed up by the Audubon Society and the Office
of Hawaiian Affairs, which pledged to come up with the money
needed to match whatever price a court ruling decrees. The rejection
of the deal yesterday means the next move is a February court
date.
Not one person who spoke yesterday at Honolulu Hale was in favor
of accepting the Wolffer deal, which they feared could lead
to development of the 1,875-acre valley.
"Don‘t settle, don‘t settle, don‘t settle," Nancy
John of the North Shore Outdoor Circle told the council.
"This is what the people want."
North Shore resident Linda Bard added, "I would like you
to listen to what is being said today."
State Department of Land and Natural Resources director Peter
Young also offered his agency‘s assistance. Young pointed out
that come what may, the DLNR would have the final say on what
can be done with Waimea Valley, which is zoned conservation
land.
"With the overwhelming opposition that‘s been expressed
here, it would be difficult for the Land Board to even consider
issuing a permit for any use in the back of the valley,"
he said.
FATEFUL DATE
Amid the outpouring of public sentiment, Councilman Nestor Garcia
— one of the four who voted against the preliminary settlement
agreement last month — said O‘ahu now had another reason
to remember Dec. 7.
Garcia said Dec. 7, 2005, would be remembered as a day when
people came together to make their will known, and put their
trust in elected officials to make the right choice.
"By showing up and expressing your opinion on this issue
so important to, not just yourself, not just for the people
of Hawai‘i, but for those future generations not yet born, you
have made a difference," Garcia said. "And I applaud
you."
Councilman Charles Djou had led the effort to accept the settlement,
saying it would lead to arbitration and the city‘s best option,
considering its weak financial position. He said the events
of the past few days made him change his mind.
"I have long been concerned over the finances of making
the numbers work on this," he said. "We have long
been looking for a white knight, and I think we have found it
in the Audubon Society."
"I still have concerns that there are a number of unknowns
as to how the Audubon Society is going to make the financial
numbers work."
But he said that the Audubon Society‘s commitment, coupled with
the financially flush Office of Hawaiian Affairs‘ pledge to
back any effort to purchase and protect the valley, won him
over.
‘CITY CAN‘T LOSE ON THIS‘
"I think William McCorriston, Wolffer‘s attorney, has run
circles around the city‘s legal counsel," said attorney
James Case, who had done pro bono work for the Stewards of Waimea
Valley, a group that has fought for years to keep the valley
intact.
"But the city can‘t lose on this. It has a good hand, and
they should play it in court."
McCorriston, spokesman for Wolffer, had been silent until yesterday
because of a gag order preventing him from discussing the case.
But he had plenty to say after the outcome.
"Our primary objective right now is to prepare for trial,"
McCorriston said.
He said he planned to contact Mayor Mufi Hannemann, whom he
praised as having acted fairly and honorably throughout all
negotiations.
McCorriston reserved his ire for National Audubon Society President
John Flicker, whose testimony McCorriston watched on television.
Flicker flew in from New York last week on short notice to try
to broker a way for his organization to facilitate a financial
package in concert with other public and nonprofit agencies
and organizations interested in protecting the valley.
"This resolution could open the door to development in
the valley. We don‘t want any possibility of that happening,"
Flicker said. "This settlement should be voted down, which
would give all of us time to come together and negotiate a settlement
price that‘s acceptable."
McCorriston seemed most upset by Flicker‘s statement to the
council that Wolffer‘s claims for legal damages were groundless
and that, in fact, the investor had stood to make a windfall
off the settlement deal.
As for his client, McCorriston said Wolffer‘s reaction to the
news was one of relief.
"He had a lot of seller‘s remorse about making that (settlement)
proposal. So he is actually quite comfortable with the decision,"
McCorriston said.
"He‘s always felt, and I agree with him, that he has a
strong hand of cards to play at the trial, and that his ultimate
wish is to have the land back."
ACQUIRED LAND IN 1996
Wolffer acquired the valley in 1996 when he became principal
owner of Attractions Hawai‘i, which owned the valley and Sea
Life Park. Wolffer sold Sea Life Park, but kept the valley,
promising to leave it intact.
He tried to sell it four years later as a private residence,
but environmental groups argued that the valley is a precious
cultural treasure that had been occupied by ancient Hawaiians
for hundreds of years.
Much of the valley‘s lower 300 acres — which would have
gone to the city — are marked by ancient cultural sites.
However, none of the 1,575 acres that would have gone to Wolffer
under the agreement have been surveyed.
To ensure the valley would remain undeveloped, the city initiated
condemnation proceedings. It put $5.1 million, the valley‘s
assessed value in 2001, in escrow; Wolffer has indicated that
he considers the valley to be worth at least $18 million.
Waimea park seller Attractions Hawaii, headed by Wolffer, filed
for bankruptcy in 2001 to prevent Bank of Hawaii from foreclosing
on the property and selling it at auction. The bankruptcy has
since been terminated. |
Sea
Debris
Cleanup efforts on the Big Island and Northwestern Hawaiian Isles
mark progress against stray nets and plastic that threaten ocean
life
Posted Monday, November 28, 2005
By Diana
Leone
dleone@starbulletin.com
International law prohibits dumping plastics in the ocean. But you
couldn‘t tell that from the items volunteer Kathy Frost found during
a marine debris cleanup Nov. 19 on the Big Island: laundry baskets,
dish soap bottles, pieces of plastic buoys, nets, ropes, fish traps
from California, packing crates from Japan.
Frost and 23 others hauled all this and more off the rocky coast
between Kaalualu Bay and the green-sand beach. It was the first
of four scheduled cleanups for the area that continue one day a
month through February.
"It really makes you think about how casually we use plastic
and how we dispose of it," Frost said, a semiretired marine
mammal researcher.
Whether washing up on the main islands or snaring the endangered
monk seals of the Northwestern Islands, marine debris is a major
concern for all of the Hawaiian archipelago. In recent years the
uninhabited Northwestern Islands, which stretch northwest 1,200
miles beyond Kauai, have been the site of intense cleanup efforts
-- and it is starting to pay off.
Thomas O‘Brien, a boatswain‘s mate for the Coast Guard, spent three
weeks in August and September as a recovery diver in the Northwestern
Hawaiian Islands.
Every net he and co-workers cut from a reef and loaded onto the
Coast Guard cutter Walnut was a net that would not trap and kill
an endangered Hawaiian monk seal or a threatened green sea turtle.
"I know we did good. We took a whole lot of net off the reefs,"
O‘Brien said. "And I saw a whole lot of turtles and monk seals."
There has been a lot of progress in removing marine debris from
the ocean around Hawaii during the past decade, said Rusty Brainard,
chief of the coral reef ecosystem division of the Pacific Islands
Fishery Science Center.
More than 540 tons of derelict nets and rope have been removed from
the coral reefs and atolls of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands,
a remote area that is protected as a NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve,
as well as by state and U.S. Fish and Wildlife refuges.
Getting marine debris out of the Northwestern Islands began as a
cooperative project among the Coast Guard, the University of Hawaii
Sea Grant College Program and Brainard‘s employer, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration‘s Fisheries Service.
A key issue was helping the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, of which
there are fewer than 1,300 remaining in the world.
Bud Antonelis,
chief of the NOAA Fisheries‘ Pacific Islands Fishery Science Center
protected-species division, recalls that in 1996 workers in the
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands noticed two instances of monk seals
entangled in debris stuck on coral reefs.
His division looked underwater, "and we were astounded at the
amount of marine debris" they found, Antonelis said.
"We came back and started talking about it," Antonelis
said. "Everybody realized that this (marine debris removal)
was the right thing to do."
In 1996 and 1997, using existing budgets and available staff from
the three lead agencies, with help from 14 other government and
nongovernment conservation agencies, nearly five tons of debris
were removed from the Northwestern Islands. In 1998 more than eight
tons were removed.
Then the effort took off.
With increasing interest in protecting coral reefs nationally and
internationally, NOAA earmarked $3 million a year for 2001-2003,
Brainard said. Hiring charter boats increased the amount of time
committed to marine debris removal, and numbers climbed past 100
tons per year for 2002-2004.
Honolulu‘s HPOWER waste-to-energy plant was enlisted to burn the
net and ropes to produce electricity.
Things have gone so well that Brainard expects annual trips to the
Northwestern Islands to slow to a "maintenance" level
starting next year, even though the grounding of a charter vessel
did cause a setback.
"We feel like we have removed the bulk of the debris that had
accumulated over the last 40 years," Brainard said, "but
we know it‘s continuing to accumulate."
The charter ship Casitas was grounded July 2 at Pearl and Hermes
Atoll when it had barely begun removing marine debris for NOAA and
had to be scuttled at sea a month later, after fuel and equipment
were removed. A Coast Guard investigation into the cause of the
grounding is ongoing.
A replacement charter vessel, the Freebird, and Coast Guard cutters
Kukui and Walnut were able to collect almost 60 tons of material,
Brainard said.
Even if people worldwide stopped throwing debris in the ocean today,
it still would take years for what is already out there to come
to shore, Brainard said.
It is estimated that 45 to 60 tons a year of marine debris lands
on the Northwestern Islands alone, he said.
So, there are no plans to stop the Northwestern Islands program,
Brainard said. In addition:
- NOAA is
funding the four land-based cleanups on the Big Island this winter,
which are being coordinated by the Hawaii Wildlife Fund.
- NOAA is
providing $300,000 for aerial surveys of the coastlines of the
Big Island and Kauai, which should cover some boat-based cleanups
of areas with problems.
- The Hawaii
sea grant program and the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council
expect to designate a trash bin at Honolulu Harbor for marine
debris brought to shore by fishermen.
There are more
high-tech ideas for ridding the oceans of debris, Brainard said,
including the possible use of unmanned aerial vehicles to search
out floating masses of net and report them back to a ship that could
pick them up before they snag in coral.
Antonelis noted that in 1999 there were 25 reports of monk seals
entangled in nets. Since then, annual reports have gone as low as
five a year and never higher than 16 a year, he said.
"It‘s just a huge success," Antonelis said. "I‘m
real proud of what we‘ve done."
Ocean Opala
Marine debris removal from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands:
Year |
Weight
(tons) |
1996/97 |
4.8 |
1998 |
8.3 |
1999 |
28.0 |
2000 |
24.7 |
2001 |
67.9 |
2002 |
107.2 |
2003 |
118.5 |
2004 |
125.6 |
2005 |
| |