Parrotfish, goatfish rules take effect | News, Sports, Jobs

New state fishing rules regulating the take and possession of parrotfish (uhu) and goatfish (kumu) on Maui were signed into law by Gov. Neil Abercrombie and take effect today, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources said Thursday.

Under the new rules, fishermen are not allowed to take any large male blue parrotfish (uhu ‘ele’ele and uhu uliuli), and each fishermen may take only two of the other varieties of uhu in a day.

Additionally, female uhu palakaluka and uhu ‘ahu’ula must be at least 14 inches (a 2-inch increase from previous rules), and all other uhu species must be at least 10 inches (2 inches shorter than before).

For goatfish, fishermen may catch only one kumu per person per day and no more than two each of the moano kea and munu varieties, all of which need to be at least 12 inches.

The old limit for oama still stands at 50 per day, but they may be caught only with pole and line. No person may sell oama at any time.

“The Department of Land and Natural Resources strongly supports this rule change to better manage these fish species,” said William J. Aila Jr., DLNR chairman. “This decision is based on many years of research on the biology and ecology of these fish, as well as evidence of decreased numbers on Maui’s nearshore coral reefs.”

The Board of Land and Natural Resources adopted the rule changes Sept. 26 following hearings on Maui and Lanai last November.

The draft rules originally included regulations for aholehole, aweoweo, kole, manini, moi, mu paka’iku’i, ulua/papio and u’u, but those fish species were removed due to public hearing comments. Most testifiers were opposed to the proposed rules, with some claiming the restrictions infringed upon Native Hawaiian cultural rights to subsistence gathering.

A DLNR official said that the final approved rules were a compromise, given the responses at the public hearings. The department, though, still has concerns about nearshore fish species.

The new rule HAR 13-95.1 may be viewed online at dlnr.hawaii.gov/dar/files/2014/10/ch95-1.pdf.

For more information on the rules, contact the Maui office of the Division of Aquatic Resources at 243-5294.

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