Read the full stored bill text
HB360
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
H.B. NO.
360
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII
A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating
to oahu coral reef resilience enhancement
.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
����
SECTION 1.
�
The legislature finds that coral reefs
provide extremely valuable goods and services for the State and its residents,
including coastal protection from erosion due to increasing sea levels and
larger ocean swells as the ocean warms, sand production that replenishes
beaches, as well as fisheries, recreation, tourism, and spiritual connection.
�
Many reefs around the island of Oahu are
widely known to be among the most degraded in Hawaii, due to poor land use
practices that buried corals with silt run-off and smothered corals with seaweeds
fertilized by leaching sewage and fertilizer run-off.
�
Increasing ocean warming is now causing more
frequent and severe coral bleaching events that kill corals and are predicted
to be annual events by about 2040.
�
Ocean
acidification and other pollutants also negatively affect corals.
����
The legislature further finds that one
of the most effective ways to help corals withstand and recover from ongoing
and future threats is to ensure that there are many herbivorous fishes on our
reefs, particularly surgeonfishes (kala and others), chubs (nenue), and parrotfishes
(uhu).
�
These fishes are known to crop
seaweeds that would otherwise smother corals, providing space on the reefs for
new corals to grow, especially after coral bleaching events.
�
The abundance of herbivorous fishes around
Oahu is by far the lowest in Hawaii.
�
In
response, the board of land and natural resources passed statewide herbivore
fishing regulations in December 2023 through administrative rules.
�
In December 2024, pursuant to House
Resolution No. 69 (2024) and Senate Resolution No. 104, S.D. 1, (2024), a panel
of experts on herbivorous fishes in Hawaii concurred with recent statewide
surveys by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration documenting that
the abundances of kala, nenue, and uhu are extremely low around Oahu and
require far more intensive management so these populations can recover to
levels necessary to enhance the resilience of coral reefs.
����
The purpose of this Act is to:
����
(1)
�
Limit the amount
of kala, nenue, and uhu fish that may be taken from state waters around the
island of Oahu for a period of ten years; and
����
(2)
�
Require the
division of aquatic resources to conduct population assessments of these fishes
and report to the legislature.
����
SECTION 2.
�
Chapter 188, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by adding a new section to part II to be appropriately designated and
to read as follows:
����
"
�188-
�
Bag
limit; kala; nenue; uhu; reports.
�
(a)
�
Except
for commercial fishing permittees and dealers as provided in section
13-95-11(e) and (g), Hawaii Administrative Rules, in state waters around the
island of Oahu, it shall be unlawful for any person to take more than two kala
per day or possess more than two kala at any one time.
����
(b)
�
In
state waters around the island of Oahu, it shall be unlawful for any person to
take more than four nenue per day or possess more than four nenue at any one
time.
����
(c)
�
Except for commercial
fishing permittees and dealers as provided in section 13-95-16(f) and (h),
Hawaii Administrative Rules,
in state waters around the island of
Oahu, it shall be unlawful for any person to take spectacled parrotfish, and it
shall be unlawful for any person to take more than one uhu of any other species
per day or possess more than one uhu or any other species at any one time.
����
(d)
�
The division of aquatic resources of the department shall conduct
population assessments of kala, nenue, and uhu in state waters around the
island of Oahu every two years and
submit a report of its findings and
recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the legislature no
later than twenty days prior to the convening of the immediately following
regular session
.
����
(e)
�
As used in this section:
����
"Kala" means any fish known as
Naso unicornis or bluespine unicornfish or any recognized synonyms.
����
"Nenue" means any fish
belonging to the genus Kyphosus
or any recognized synonyms.
����
"Spectacled parrotfish" means
any fish known as Chlorurus perspicillatus or any recognized synonyms.
����
"Uhu" means any fish belonging
to the family Scaridae or any recognized synonyms.
�
"Uhu" is a general term for
parrotfish.
"
����
SECTION 3.
�
New statutory material is underscored.
����
SECTION 4.
�
This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025,
and shall be repealed on June 30, 2035.
INTRODUCED BY:
_____________________________
Report Title:
Fishing;
Division of Aquatic Resources; Regulations; Bag Limits
Description:
Establishes
bag limits for kala, nenue, and uhu fish around the island of Oahu.
�
Requires the Division of Aquatic Resources to
conduct population assessments of these fishes and report to the Legislature.
�
Sunsets on 6/30/2035.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.