Saving Seafood

Hawaii’s Longline Fishermen Hit Bigeye Tuna Limit Early

July 21, 2016 — For the second year in a row, Hawai‘i longline fishermen are on course to hit their annual limit for bigeye tuna. And again, it’s much earlier than expected. The island’s longline fleet will close in Western and Central pacific waters this Friday, and larger vessels in the Eastern region will also be halted a few days later. HPR’s Molly Solomon has more.

Starting Friday, the productive fishing grounds west of the Hawaiian Islands will be off limits for Hawai‘i’s longline fishing fleet. That’s more than three weeks earlier than fishery officials had predicted.

Sean Martin is president of the Hawai‘i Longline Association. They represent the 140 vessels that will be affected by the closure.

“Having less area to explore and trying to find an area of productive fishing becomes more complicated because a large swath of the ocean is no longer available,” said Martin.

Read and listen to the full story at Hawaii Public Radio

Proposal would expand marine conservation area in Northwest Hawaiian islands

June 17, 2016 — U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz is proposing to expand one of the world’s largest marine conservation areas in a way that preserves some fishing grounds for local fishermen.

The proposal submitted to President Barack Obama today would make the monument near Hawaii the largest protected marine area in the world.

It reflects a smaller protected area than what was originally sought by Native Hawaiians, who consider the remote islands, atolls and coral reefs found within the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument sacred.

“I think it’s a really good compromise to help alleviate some of the concerns that were raised on Kauai by the fishing community about their access to the waters that are surrounding Papahanaumokuakea,” said Sol Kahoohalahla, a member of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Native Hawaiian Cultural Working Group, which pushed for expansion.

Even so, important fishing grounds would still be lost, said Sean Martin, president of the Hawaii Longline Association, which includes about 140 vessels. About 8 to 12 percent of the fish caught by Hawaii longline fishermen comes from waters in the proposed protected area, he said.

“We’ve been operating there for many, many decades and the place is still pristine,” Martin said. “I’m sorry but I don’t get it.”

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser