For three hot and sticky days bridging the months of July and August, the collective knowledge of more than a thousand of the world’s foremost experts in conservation biology was focused in the meeting rooms and conference halls of the … Continued
In the year 2018, Hawai`i’s water sources will meet only 57 percent of state project demands, according to a draft plan recently presented to the Water Commission. The most desperate island by 2018 will be Maui, where projects will be … Continued
How much plastic can an albatross chick swallow? The answer: An absolutely staggering amount. The volume of plastic that can be found in the carcasses of chicks would choke the proverbial horse. And the size of the items the chicks … Continued
When Turtles Are in Trouble, Who Do You Call? A few months ago I was walking my two dogs at Kealia Beach, a long stretch of sand on Kaua`i’s east side, just north of Kapa`a. It’s a beautiful beach, serving … Continued
Almost all Hawai`i longline vessels use monofilament line when they fish. This is a clear plastic line, all but invisible in the water. When I spied the thick stainless steel hook lashed onto about a foot of thin plastic-coated wire … Continued
Lobsters in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are in trouble. And, as the lobsters go, so go the monk seals. This reasoning is at the heart of a recent lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service brought by three environmental groups … Continued
These are a handful of bills that, for better or worse, would have affected Hawai`i’s environment but which did make it to crossover. Crossover occurs when bills that have passed one chamber are sent to the other for consideration. In … Continued
Researchers Seek To Extend Life Of ATOC Another Five Years The controversial Acoustic Thermometry of Ocean Climate (ATOC) project would continue at least until 2005, under a Conservation District Use Permit filed with the state by researchers at the Scripps … Continued
Only in Hawai’i, among the 50 states, is the practice of shark-finning legal. This distinction has not gone unnoticed; lately, shark-finning by the Hawai’i longline fleet has come under increasing fire from a broad spectrum of national groups. The issue … Continued