HANAPEPE – Commercial and recreational uses along the North Shoe should be suspended from two days a week to three months each year to allow the area to rejuvenate, state Department of Land and Natural Resources boating officials were told
HANAPEPE – Commercial and recreational uses along the North Shoe should be suspended from two days a week to three months each year to allow the area to rejuvenate, state Department of Land and Natural Resources boating officials were told by residents last night.
Closing down 20 miles of coastline from Moloa’a to the Na Pali Coast will help increase the fish population and preserve the area’s ecosystem, said ‘Ele’ele resident Joe Reyes.
Ancient Hawaiians protected resources through conservation, but the resources of today will be depleted if modern-day commercialization isn’t controlled, Reyes, who is part Hawaiian, told DLNR officials at the Hanapepe Neighborhood Center.
About 15 people attended the meeting.
The state agency solicited public comments that could be included in a revised management plan for the 20 miles of coastline under its jurisdiction.
If a revised plan is adopted, the area will be better-protected, said Vaughan Tyndzik, district manager for DLNR’s boating division on Kaua’i.
Hanapepe artist Arius Hopman said he would prefer to see the coastline closed for only two days each week.
Resources in the area are already overused, and DNLR should protect it, said Sabra Kauka , president of Na Pali Coast Ohana.
Hopman claimed motorized boat operations have degraded the Kalalau coastline area.
“Plenty of people hike in and plenty of people kayak in. We don’t need commercial boats-motorized boats that have the capacity to bring in tons of trash,” he said.
But Carol She, a regulations planner with the boating division, said there is no evidence that land-based commercial activities, like hiking and camping, have damaged the Kalalau area.
But engine fumes from commercial tour boats that visit coastline caves along the Na Pali Coast have harmed birds finding shelter in the caves, Kauka said.
Reyes also urged the division to protect the resources for local residents using the area.
Boat operations “take advantage of everything else,” Reyes said. “Who suffers? We suffer.” The recommendations from Reyes, Hopman and Kauka would be considered by DLNR, Tyndzik said.
Kauka and Philip Fill, a member of a commercial boat company that operates out of Kikiaola Harbor in West Kaua’i, pressed for new rules to protect Hawaiian archeological finds at Nualolo Kai.
Three companies – Kaua’i Sea Tours, Captain Zodiac and Lady Ann Cruises – are permitted by the DLNR parks division to shuttle passengers to Nualolo Kai on small boats.
Kauka said boat companies should take out items their customers might leave behind. Fill said he was worried about the cumulative impact of visitors to the area.
Public education is needed to help maintain the pristine quality of the coastline, Kauka said. Her group also wants the state to curb drownings and put cement moorings off the coastline to protect reefs.
Because there are no moorings off the coast, boats drop anchor, sometime damaging coral reef beds. She said a plan exists and money is available to put moorings off Nualolo Kai.
But Fill and others said boats not allowed to park in the area would like to pay for moorings off beach areas in Polihale, another prime coral bed area along the coast.
Other key topics discussed included: ?
Efforts to reduce the risk of large tour boats running into smaller boats, kayakers and divers.
George Inouye, a recreational fisherman, said a large tour boat came perilously close to his 17-footer two years ago.
Andrew Evans, general manager for Captain Andy’s, said Inouye and any other boaters who have faced that problem from boats operated by his company should contact him and “we will make sure it never happens again.” Tyndzik said he would work with local boaters and boat companies to guard against collisions.
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Concern about large boats carrying more passengers to the Na Pali Coast.
Under current rules, a boat operator is allowed to bring no more than 49 passengers to the area per trip.
Captain Andy, an ‘Ele’ele boat company, wants to increase the number of passengers but would not allow them to disembark, She said.
Captain Andy, one of five companies with yearly permits from DNLR to operate off the coast has filed a petition with the Land Board to review the rules on the length of vessels that operate off the coast. Most boats range from 23 to 64 feet.
The division, Tyndzik said, is concerned that Captain Andy’s proposal would open the door to proposals from other boat companies wanting to bring more visitors to other environmentally sensitive coastline areas on Kaua’i.
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Some commercial dive boats not equipping divers with safety flags. Without the flags, divers could be hit by other boats when they surface, Fill said.
When he raised this concern to some diving companies, Fill said he was told to mind his own business.
Tyndzik said those companies are breaking the law if they don’t equip divers with safety flags who swim beyond a 50-foot radius of their boat, Tyndzik said. The law applies equally to recreational divers. Tyndzik said people should call DLNR Divison of Conservation and Resources Enforcement personnel if they see violations at 274-3521.
Tyndzik said new rules are needed requiring snorkelers to use the flags, as well.
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Establishment of a quiet zone.
Tyndzik said people who have hiked along the Kalalau Trail have complained about boat captains or crew people using bullhorns for interpretive tours along the Na Pali Coast. The noise, the hikers say, ruins their wilderness experience.
The division might propose rules prohibiting the use of the bullhorns along parts of the coastline, Tyndzik said.
She said the rules become law in 10 months if there are no major challenges to them.
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or lchang@pulitzer.net
