Ban Gillnets in Hawai'i Nearshore Waters
Ban Gillnets in Hawai'i Nearshore Waters
The Issue
Our most important natural resource is on the brink of extinction. Overfishing is the primary factor in the drastic decline of Hawai'i's fish populations and the degradation of our near shore environment. A team with the University of Hawaii’s Fisheries Ecology Research Laboratory has tracked the fish population in Hawaii waters over the past 100 years. Researchers say populations of certain kinds of fish have dropped by as much as 90 percent. And the total biomass of reef fishes in the main Hawaiian Islands is less than 25 percent of what it used to be.
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/ng-live/selbe-oceans-lecture-nglive?source=relatedvideo
Currently gill net fishing methods are allowed in Hawai'i. There are some restrictions, but several loop holes allow for the continued use of gill nets as an in-discriminatory fishing practice. The only way to close these loop holes, and allow for the fish populations to regenerate, is to ban the use of all gill nets within state waters.
Last month, March of 2016, I was on Kaneohe bay, on the island of Oahu. Lining the multiple sandbars, are beautiful hard coral reefs. In just a half hours’ time, about 20 sea turtles popped their head above the water and made it apparent this was their home. Throughout the weekend, I watched and witnessed four separate groups of fishermen take place in gill net fishing on the reefs in Kaneohe Bay. In the same place, where just hours earlier, an endangered species was witnessed roaming in multitudes. Some of these fishermen were legal, some illegal, but all with the same result. Each net was successful in efficiently and effortlessly capturing hundreds…maybe thousands of fish. In one instance, two fishermen dropped a net on the reef just after dark and did not return until morning. In a separate instance, fishermen came into a near shore boating channel, lay a net over 1000+ feet in length, blocking the boating channel, then use a power boat to propel fish into the net. Within an hour and a half, they pulled the net up and stole upwards of a thousand fish from the reef. As the net was pulled in foot by foot, it took six guys to keep up with pulling the fish from the net.
On each occasion the Department of Land and Natural Resources was called. However, action was not taken until following day, after the fishermen were gone and there was nothing that could be done. This experience was witnessed over just one weekend, in an isolated area. However, this same thing is happening across the state day in and day out. In the nearshore areas, like Kaneohe Bay, lack of enforced regulation and illegal incidences using gillnets makes quantifying gillnets contribution to stock decline almost impossible. This lack of data hinders efforts to regulate and ban gillnets and, therefore, propagates the problem. A complete ban on gillnets in nearshore areas would make violations obvious and enforcement easier.
The delicate balance of the marine ecosystem is altered by the sheer volume of marine life taken. Nets are indiscriminant and kill nearly everything they come into contact with. To include when nets are dropped directly over reefs. The currents and surges cause the net to tangle around the coral heads and gets stuck. In order to retrieve the net, the coral is broken. In addition, Hawai'i is home to several endangered species including the Hawaiian monk seal and sea turtles. History shows that these nets can and do kill these endangered species. That fact alone should call for the banning of gill nets in the Hawaiian waters.
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2010/Apr/15/ln/hawaii4150325.html
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/2007-05-30-2869608922_x.htm
No matter how well they are tended, fishing with nets is an inherently unsustainable practice. We all have a shared cultural and economic interest in the preservation and restoration of our marine environment. Gill nets have no place in Hawai'i's fragile ocean ecosystem.
Gill net fishing methods are not a sustainable practice that will allow Hawaiian’s deep rooted fishing culture to continue. Fishing is part of our island lifestyle and it depends on maintaining a healthy ocean. Fishing is a privilege that comes with the responsibility to care for the oceans. There are plenty of ways to fish sustainably without killing the ocean ecosystem. Given the unacceptable danger to Hawai'i's cultural well-being posed by nets, it is inexplicable to allow gill nets to be used in these waters.
Research shows that restricting the use of gillnets, which have high catch rates, will dramatically improve fish populations. In Fiji, gill nets were completely banned and the fish came back. It started with strong government leadership and enforcement. Following their lead, the people of Fiji recognized that nets posed an unacceptable danger to their cultural and economic well-being. Wherever gill nets have been banned throughout the world, the fish came back. What is good for the fish, is good for the fishermen. With that simple fact, there is no reason why Hawai'i’s leadership, Hawai'i’s people, and Hawai'i’s fishermen should not unanimously support banning gillnets in nearshore waters. Hawai'i’s leadership needs to take firm action in banning the use of gill nets in nearshore waters to allow for reefs to flourish and for Hawai'i’s deeply engrained fishing cultural to continue for generations to come.
The Issue
Our most important natural resource is on the brink of extinction. Overfishing is the primary factor in the drastic decline of Hawai'i's fish populations and the degradation of our near shore environment. A team with the University of Hawaii’s Fisheries Ecology Research Laboratory has tracked the fish population in Hawaii waters over the past 100 years. Researchers say populations of certain kinds of fish have dropped by as much as 90 percent. And the total biomass of reef fishes in the main Hawaiian Islands is less than 25 percent of what it used to be.
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/ng-live/selbe-oceans-lecture-nglive?source=relatedvideo
Currently gill net fishing methods are allowed in Hawai'i. There are some restrictions, but several loop holes allow for the continued use of gill nets as an in-discriminatory fishing practice. The only way to close these loop holes, and allow for the fish populations to regenerate, is to ban the use of all gill nets within state waters.
Last month, March of 2016, I was on Kaneohe bay, on the island of Oahu. Lining the multiple sandbars, are beautiful hard coral reefs. In just a half hours’ time, about 20 sea turtles popped their head above the water and made it apparent this was their home. Throughout the weekend, I watched and witnessed four separate groups of fishermen take place in gill net fishing on the reefs in Kaneohe Bay. In the same place, where just hours earlier, an endangered species was witnessed roaming in multitudes. Some of these fishermen were legal, some illegal, but all with the same result. Each net was successful in efficiently and effortlessly capturing hundreds…maybe thousands of fish. In one instance, two fishermen dropped a net on the reef just after dark and did not return until morning. In a separate instance, fishermen came into a near shore boating channel, lay a net over 1000+ feet in length, blocking the boating channel, then use a power boat to propel fish into the net. Within an hour and a half, they pulled the net up and stole upwards of a thousand fish from the reef. As the net was pulled in foot by foot, it took six guys to keep up with pulling the fish from the net.
On each occasion the Department of Land and Natural Resources was called. However, action was not taken until following day, after the fishermen were gone and there was nothing that could be done. This experience was witnessed over just one weekend, in an isolated area. However, this same thing is happening across the state day in and day out. In the nearshore areas, like Kaneohe Bay, lack of enforced regulation and illegal incidences using gillnets makes quantifying gillnets contribution to stock decline almost impossible. This lack of data hinders efforts to regulate and ban gillnets and, therefore, propagates the problem. A complete ban on gillnets in nearshore areas would make violations obvious and enforcement easier.
The delicate balance of the marine ecosystem is altered by the sheer volume of marine life taken. Nets are indiscriminant and kill nearly everything they come into contact with. To include when nets are dropped directly over reefs. The currents and surges cause the net to tangle around the coral heads and gets stuck. In order to retrieve the net, the coral is broken. In addition, Hawai'i is home to several endangered species including the Hawaiian monk seal and sea turtles. History shows that these nets can and do kill these endangered species. That fact alone should call for the banning of gill nets in the Hawaiian waters.
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2010/Apr/15/ln/hawaii4150325.html
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/2007-05-30-2869608922_x.htm
No matter how well they are tended, fishing with nets is an inherently unsustainable practice. We all have a shared cultural and economic interest in the preservation and restoration of our marine environment. Gill nets have no place in Hawai'i's fragile ocean ecosystem.
Gill net fishing methods are not a sustainable practice that will allow Hawaiian’s deep rooted fishing culture to continue. Fishing is part of our island lifestyle and it depends on maintaining a healthy ocean. Fishing is a privilege that comes with the responsibility to care for the oceans. There are plenty of ways to fish sustainably without killing the ocean ecosystem. Given the unacceptable danger to Hawai'i's cultural well-being posed by nets, it is inexplicable to allow gill nets to be used in these waters.
Research shows that restricting the use of gillnets, which have high catch rates, will dramatically improve fish populations. In Fiji, gill nets were completely banned and the fish came back. It started with strong government leadership and enforcement. Following their lead, the people of Fiji recognized that nets posed an unacceptable danger to their cultural and economic well-being. Wherever gill nets have been banned throughout the world, the fish came back. What is good for the fish, is good for the fishermen. With that simple fact, there is no reason why Hawai'i’s leadership, Hawai'i’s people, and Hawai'i’s fishermen should not unanimously support banning gillnets in nearshore waters. Hawai'i’s leadership needs to take firm action in banning the use of gill nets in nearshore waters to allow for reefs to flourish and for Hawai'i’s deeply engrained fishing cultural to continue for generations to come.
Petition Closed
Share this petition
The Decision Makers
Petition Updates
Share this petition
Petition created on April 11, 2016