RELATING TO CORAL REEF RESILIENCE.

SB3201

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

3201

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING
TO CORAL REEF RESILIENCE
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

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SECTION 1.
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The legislature finds that coral reefs are
critically valuable to the State and its residents.
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Coral reefs provide coastal protection from
erosion caused by rising sea levels and larger ocean swells caused by warmer
oceans, and they produce sand that helps to replenish beaches.
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Coral reefs also sustain fisheries, create recreational
opportunities, support tourism, and provide important spiritual connections.

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However,
Hawaii's reefs have experienced substantial decline and face catastrophic
failure in the years and decades to come unless the State intervenes and makes significant
changes to coral reef management.
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More
specifically, this decline has been driven by sedimentation and the run-off of
excess nutrients from sewage and fertilizers; increasing climate-driven ocean
warming and acidification, which destabilizes reef ecosystems and causes more
frequent and severe coral bleaching; unaddressed overfishing and recreational
overcrowding; and the commercial extraction of marine species, among other
factors.

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The
legislature further finds that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration has defined twenty-five per cent live coral cover as the
absolute minimum necessary to maintain a healthy reef ecosystem and physical
structure.
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Live coral cover on coral
reefs around the State currently range from less than one per cent to
sixty-nine percent.
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Many reef species
are also at critically low levels of less than five or ten per cent of their
naturally occurring potential.
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In
addition, entire species have already disappeared from some areas.

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The ecological resilience of coral reefs,
in terms of both resistance to and recovery from various threats, depends
critically on the diversity of species, with each species playing a role that
contributes to the ecosystem; and the health of herbivorous fish that eat
seaweeds and other benthic algae, which keeps reef surfaces clean so corals can
thrive.
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Among herbivorous fish species,
data shows that a minimum total fish biomass of at least forty grams per square
meter is necessary to sustain Hawaii's coral reef ecosystems.
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However, many reefs, especially those on the
island of Oahu and parts of the islands of Kauai and Maui, are already well
below this minimum threshold.

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Multiple analyses, studies, and decades of
real-world degradation demonstrate that, with its current trajectory, Hawaii
will likely lose the majority of its remaining coral reef ecosystems in the
coming decades.

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The legislature believes that significant
and immediate action is needed to protect and restore Hawaii's coral reef
ecosystems and the diversity and biomass of the marine species within those
ecosystems to levels far closer to their naturally occurring potential.
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These actions will help ensure that coral
reefs are robustly prepared to absorb significant losses and survive the worst
events and impacts that they will face in the years and decades to come,
thereby ensuring the survival of this critical resource for Hawaii's future
generations.

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Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to:

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(1)
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Require
the division of aquatic resources of the department of land and natural
resources to manage the aquatic life and aquatic resources of the State with
the highest priority being to protect, restore, and maintain ecosystem
integrity using the best scientific data available; and

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(2)
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Require
the division of aquatic resources to develop plans and take actions necessary
to substantially improve coral reef resilience around the island of Oahu, which
is the island with the most endangered reefs.

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SECTION
2.
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Chapter 187A, Hawaii Revised
Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part I to be appropriately
designated and to read as follows:

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"
�187A-
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Reef ecosystem
resilience.
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(a)
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The division shall restore and maintain reef ecosystems and each indigenous
species within the reef ecosystem to a level that is not less than eighty per
cent of the ecosystem or indigenous species' natural biomass potential within
each respective moku, as determined by the best available science.

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(b)
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The division shall expand and
maintain live coral cover at not less than twenty‑five per cent on reefs
that have historically supported naturally occurring live coral cover, as
determined by the best available science.

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(c)
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The
division

shall:

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(1)
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Collaborate with institutions and
organizations having demonstrated expertise and experience with Hawaii coral
reef science to achieve the goals of this section;

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(2)
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Ensure qualitative measurement of
progress each year using the best available science; and

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(3)
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Incorporate the requirements of this
section into all of its plans and decisions.

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(d)
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The department may adopt rules pursuant to
chapter 91 necessary to achieve the goals of this section.

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(e)
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No later than twenty days prior to the
convening of each regular session, the division shall submit a report to the
legislature on the division's progress in meeting the requirements of
subsections (a) and (b), including any measures of progress collected pursuant
to subsection (c)(2).
"

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SECTION 3.
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Section 187A-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding two new
definitions to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows:

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"Division" means the
division of aquatic resources of the department.

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"Moku" refers to a traditional
type of land district that is larger than an ahupuaa.
"

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SECTION

4
.
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Section 187A-2,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

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"
�187A-2
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Powers and duties of department.
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The department shall:

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(1)
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Manage and administer the aquatic life and
aquatic resources of the State[
;
]
, with the highest priority being to
protect, restore, and maintain ecosystem integrity, including restoring and
maintaining reef ecosystem resiliency pursuant to section 187A-
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;

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(2)
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Establish and maintain aquatic life
propagating station or stations;

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(3)
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Establish, manage, and regulate public fishing
areas, artificial reefs, fish aggregating devices, marine life conservation
districts, shoreline fishery management areas, refuges, and other areas
pursuant to title 12;

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(4)
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Subject to this title, import aquatic life for
the purpose of propagating and disseminating the same in the State and the
waters subject to its jurisdiction;

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(5)
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Distribute, free of charge, as the department
deems to be in the public interest, aquatic life, for the purpose of increasing
the food supply of the State; provided that when, in the discretion of the
department, the public interest shall not be materially interfered with by so
doing, the department may propagate and furnish aquatic life to private
parties, upon such reasonable terms, conditions, and prices determined by the
department;

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(6)
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[
Gather
]
Using the best available
science, gather
and compile information and statistics concerning the
habitat and character of, and increase and decrease in, aquatic resources in
the State, including the care and propagation of aquatic resources for
protective, productive, and aesthetic purposes, and other useful information,
which the department deems proper;

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(7)
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Enforce all laws relating to the protecting,
taking, killing, propagating, or increasing of aquatic life within the State
and the waters subject to its jurisdiction; and

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(8)
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Formulate and from time to time recommend to
the governor and legislature such additional legislation necessary or desirable
to implement the objectives of title 12.
"

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SECTION
5.
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The division of aquatic resources of
the department of land and natural resources shall develop plans and take all
appropriate actions necessary to significantly increase coral reef resilience
around the island of Oahu pursuant to section 187A-
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, Hawaii
Revised Statutes, including attaining the following goals:

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(1)
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By July 1, 2027, increase the amount of
live coral cover to no less than twenty-five per cent on reefs that have historically
supported naturally occurring live coral cover;

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(2)
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By July 1, 2027, increase the density
of herbivorous fish inhabiting reefs to at least:

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(A)
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Forty grams per square meter; or

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(B)
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Eighty per cent of the potential
biomass of the respective moku, as determined by the best available science;
and

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(3)
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By July 1, 2028, increase the density
of all other indigenous species not otherwise specified in this section to at
least eighty per cent of the potential biomass of the respective moku, as
determined by the best available science.

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SECTION
6.
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If any provision of this Act, or the
application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the
invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the Act that can
be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end
the provisions of this Act are severable.

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SECTION
7.
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Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
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New statutory
material is underscored.

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SECTION
8.
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This Act shall take effect upon its
approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

DLNR;
DAR; Aquatic Resources; Coral Reef Resilience; Ecosystem Resilience; Reports to
Legislature

Description:

Requires
the Division of Aquatic Resources of the Department of Land and Natural
Resources to:
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(1) manage and administer
aquatic life and resources, with the
highest priority being to protect,
restore, and maintain ecosystem integrity, using the best scientific data
available; (2) restore and maintain reef ecosystems and indigenous species to a
level that is not less than 80% of their natural biomass potential; and (3) expand
and maintain live coral cover at not less than 25% on reefs that have
historically supported naturally occurring live coral cover.
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Requires the Division of Aquatic Resources to
develop plans and take actions to increase reef resilience around the island of
Oahu by certain dates.
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Requires annual
reports to the Legislature.

The summary description
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not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.