The Hawai‘i population of green sea turtles is federally listed as threatened and in 2018, Hurricane Walaka destroyed much of the turtles’ preferred nesting habitat in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). But according to T. Todd Jones of the Pacific Islands Fisheries … Continued
Recent reports by the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) suggest that the pelagic population of false killer whales within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around Hawai‘i may be larger than was previously thought. Or it may be about … Continued
In late November, the Hawai‘i deep-set longline fleet, which targets bigeye tuna, caught three false killer whales in federal waters off the Big Island. All of them were release alive, but had been hooked in the mouth area and freed with … Continued
Can’t Cool Down: More than a decade ago at the Hawai‘i Conservation Conference, Stephen Miller of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office in Honolulu expressed his concern about the pace at which nighttime temperatures at high elevations were rising: … Continued
One of the terms and conditions in the shallow-set fishery BiOp requires NMFS to conduct a workshop with fishermen, observers, relevant experts and NMFS’ Protected Resources Division staff to “determine whether there are more effective methods for removing more fishing … Continued
Nearly nine years ago, responding to a petition from the Center for Biological Diversity, the National Marine Fisheries Service determined that the insular population of false killer whales around the Main Hawaiian Islands constituted a distinct population segment and merited … Continued
What the National Marine Fisheries Service had proposed was simply unacceptable to Roger Dang, whose family’s longline vessels make up a significant portion of the Hawai‘i swordfish fleet. He likened it to the NBA limiting LeBron James to just two … Continued
Can the 1,424 adult leatherback sea turtles that ply the western Pacific withstand the losses resulting from their interactions with gear set by the Hawai‘i-based longline fishing vessels that target swordfish? A new “internal and deliberative” draft biological opinion (BiOp) … Continued
Another Whale Death: For the second time this year, a Hawai‘i deep-set longline vessel killed a false killer whale while fishing for bigeye tuna. The first incident occurred in January within the 200-mile exclusive economic zone around the state and … Continued
If the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) approves recommendations made last month by the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, Hawai`i shallow-set longliners will have to immediately return to port in Honolulu for at least three days if they catch five … Continued