If the Hawai`i longline fleet is consistently reaching or nearing its annual limit on interactions with endangered sea turtles – without even fishing as hard as it’s allowed to – then why should the Hawai`i Longline Association and the Western … Continued
At 7:09 a.m. on March 20, the National Marine Fisheries Service closed the shallow-set longline fishery, commonly known as the swordfish fishery. The fishery’s take limit for loggerhead sea turtles had been reached, and the resulting closure, noticed in the … Continued
Remembering A Giant: News of the passing of Hampton Carson last December was greeted with sadness by members of Hawai‘i’s environmental community. Carson, an emeritus professor of genetics at the University of Hawai‘i, had done path-breaking research into the evolu … Continued
In July 2004, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve’s advisory council developed a preferred fishing alternative for the proposed NWHI National Marine Sanctuary. It included a 40 nautical mile zone around the islands stretching from Nihoa to Kure, … Continued
“Men and women do not live by fish alone. If opakapaka or even akule were to go up to 25 cents a pound, so what? Are we gonna die? The Northwest Hawaiian Islands is the last Hawaiian place. Not Hana.” … Continued
The years-long free-for-all for control over natural resources in the Northwestern Hawaiian Island archipelago took another twist recently, when the acting regional administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Southwest Region rejected an important section of the Western Pacific Regional … Continued
Geothermal Wells to be Plugged: It’s been two decades since they were drilled, but at long last, two geothermal wells in the Big Island district of Puna are going to be plugged. One of them, the 6500-foot-deep SOH-4 well, is an … Continued
Ever since the state Legislature created the ‘aha kiole advisory committee in 2007 to lay the groundwork for an indigenous knowledge-based natural resource management system, the committee and its community coordinator have been hounded by controversy. Critics first alleged (and … Continued
Aha Moments: The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council’s sponsorship of the Aha Ki`ole/Aha Moku movement is apparently back in full swing after a one-year hiatus when the council-backed initiative enjoyed the support of state government. Now that state funds are long … Continued
They may be the spitting image of their distant cousins found in warm waters across the globe, but the false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) that live around the Main Hawaiian Islands are so different that they constitute a so-called “distinct … Continued