LIHU‘E — Federal officials already held a meeting on Kaua‘i to gather input regarding the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. But they said concerned local fishermen, tour-boat operators and others would be free to conduct one of their
LIHU‘E — Federal officials already held a meeting on Kaua‘i to gather input regarding the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.
But they said concerned local fishermen, tour-boat operators and others would be free to conduct one of their own if they wished.
That’s exactly what Greg Holzman and others gathered Friday at the Kaua‘i Community College cafeteria plan to do.
They have scheduled a public meeting for 6 p.m. Tuesday in the KCC cafeteria for those interested in learning more about the management-plan review process for the sanctuary.
Public comments are being accepted through Oct. 16 on the management-plan review process, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration release states.
The proposal is detailed in the State of the Sanctuary Report Special Management Plan Review Edition, at hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov/management/management_plan_review.html online.
Comments can be sent via mail, e-mail or fax.
Information on how to submit comments, links to related documents including the Sanctuary Condition Report, are also available on the sanctuary website, or can be obtained by calling toll-free 1-888-55-WHALE, ext. 267 (1-888-559-4253, ext. 267).
Holzman said in a telephone interview he understands coral reefs might be placed on the federal endangered-species list, which might have devastating impacts on ocean users.
There may also be scientific evidence to support taking humpback whales, sea turtles and Hawaiian monk seals off protected-species lists, he said.
For instance, some scientists believe the humpback-whale population in Hawai‘i has tripled from a time when only 4,000 of the critters remained and the species was placed on the ESL.
In Alaska, where the whales spend summers, they eat so much food that other species are starving, he said.
Evidence also indicates the monk-seal population might have reached its maximum number, he said.
Where sea turtles are concerned, their numbers are large and growing, but there will be no taking them off the list until state wildlife officials come up with a management plan for the species, per federal requirements, said Holzman, a commercial fisherman.
Kaua‘i Concerned Ocean Users are hosting the Tuesday informational meeting regarding proposed regulations for waters surrounding Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau.
Several of them met Friday at KCC to put together the Tuesday meeting agenda.
Many people on Kaua‘i know of the NOAA sanctuary-review process which has proposals to expand the boundaries and include new species within the sanctuary’s protection.
“This could effect everyone who uses the ocean in these critical areas which might come under federal regulations within state waters,” Holzman said in an e-mail.
There will be opportunities for those wishing to comment on the plan to get their comments recorded in writing, by signing petitions, even by recording video comments, he said.
Don Heacock, aquatic biologist with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources, will speak on some of the proposed rule changes for nearshore fisheries, including bag limits, minimum-size increases, and more.
If time permits, a discussion will take place regarding the ongoing threat of closure of waters surrounding Ni‘ihau, as the island’s owners, the Robinson family, contend their deed of ownership from King Kalakaua gives them ownership of ocean waters well away from the island’s shoreline.
State law is that shorelines up to the high-water mark are public property.
Holzman fears increased federal regulation of ocean waters might put substantial restrictions on one of the last havens on earth, open-ocean waters, where there are no traffic regulations but a sense of freedom he experiences nowhere else.
Federal officials are encouraging public input as well on the proposal to expand the sanctuary’s scope to protect and conserve other living marine resources in addition to humpback whales and submerged cultural-heritage resources within the sanctuary, the NOAA release states.
NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage coastal and marine resources.
See www.noaa.gov or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/usnoaagov for more details on the federal plans.
For more information on the Tuesday meeting, call Holzman, 482-0875, Dennis Eguchi, 337-1466, or Capt. Mel Wills of Holo Holo Charters, 635-5795.
