Maui fishers hope new proposal will ensure there’s enough catch to go around

On the night of May 21 in the ‘Āhihi-Kīna‘u Natural Area Reserve, state law enforcement officers cited three men from Wailuku for taking 78 fish from the protected waters off Mākena. 

The catch, shown laid out on the pavement in photos taken by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, included rows and rows of ‘ōpelu kala (unicornfish), uhu (parrotfish) and moi (threadfin). 

Two of the men pleaded guilty to illegal removal or injury to a plant or animal and were levied fines of $1,000 and $250, according to court records. The third has yet to face charges in court.  

The incident was frustrating for Maui fishers like Darrell Tanaka, who says protected marine areas have simply turned into private grounds for poachers, with some so blatant they don’t try to hide fish caught illegally or out of season.

“You can find fishing violations posted on social media,” Tanaka said. “It’s not that hard. … And it really just goes to show the lack of respect they have for the law, which is why we’re going to try and improve that part.”

Tanaka is on a team of Maui fishers and marine resource advocates who are working to reshape reef fishing regulations through the Holomua Marine Initiative, an effort by the state’s Division of Aquatic Resources to manage nearshore fisheries in partnership with local communities. 

The program, which launched on Maui as a pilot project in 2022, initially ran into opposition when fishers worried they’d lose even more shoreline access. But members of the team say the goal is not to close off areas but to cut down on people taking far more than they need. 

The team is preparing to release a wide-ranging proposal during meetings this week in Hana, Lahaina and Kahului. But Tanaka said the plan has got to be backed by good enforcement, prosecution and buy-in from local fishers. 

“We’re making the restrictions so that in the future, fish will be easier to catch wherever you go,” said Tanaka, who lives in Ha‘ikū. “We have to put an end to taking unlimited quantities. It’s just not acceptable. It’s just not realistic.”

But protecting resources is a challenge in a place where enforcement officers are responsible for large swaths of rural land and wide open ocean waters. Even when offenders are caught and taken to court, getting them to plead guilty and avoid a trial often comes at the cost of stiffer penalties that fishers feel could send a stronger message.

BY THE FISHERS, FOR THE FISHERS

The first time Brian Ventura took his kids spearfishing, they both shot hinalea, little wrasses that he made them take home and clean themselves. He wanted them to understand that “whatever you take out of the ocean, you’re responsible for.”

“Our population keeps on increasing and the amount of diving and fishing just increases,” said Ventura, who lives in Kula. “And if we don’t create measures that hold the tape back, we’re going to deplete our resources. We’re not going to have fish for future generations. Or worse yet, the government’s going to step in and say: ‘Shut it all down.’”

Ventura cares deeply about responsible fishing — he grew up diving and spearfishing in South Maui and began working on charter boats at age 15. But since he was a kid, he said he’s seen “a drastic depletion of marine resources on the south shore.”

What Ventura is seeing isn’t just anecdotal. Scientists have also measured the trend. A 2019 report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed that Maui’s nearshore fisheries have declined by more than 75% over the past century. 

And, a report by the Maui Nui Marine Resource Council that reviewed the decline in Maui’s coral reefs from 1993 to 2015 pointed out the biomass of reef fish species on Maui was the second-lowest in the state after O‘ahu. And, key areas in West and South Maui like Honolua, Olowalu and Mā‘alaea were seeing a continual drop in the percentage of living reef.

In 2016, then-Gov. David Ige announced an initiative to establish 30% of Hawai‘i nearshore waters as marine management areas by 2030, an effort that became known as Holomua: Marine 30×30. The aim was to create comprehensive rules and protect fragile nearshore ecosystems at a time when global coral reefs were suffering through years of heat stress and bleaching. 

But to some fishers, including Ventura, the initiative sounded like they were going to be cut off from 30% of the shoreline.

Edward “Luna” Kekoa, the Ecosystem Management Program manager for the Division of Aquatic Resources, has heard the concerns: “This wall goes up, like ‘oh, that means we cannot go fish there, but all the tourists can go.’ That’s not what we want. … We want to find a way that we can still fish.”

When the Holomua Marine program got pushback and the Department of Land and Natural Resources got a new chair, Kekoa said the state nixed the “30×30” focus, but the goal of getting people involved in creating good management practices for their own backyards remained. While they can not regulate and manage many factors impacting nearshore reefs, from development to runoff to climate change, he said fishing is the area they can.

Maui became the first island to kickstart the process in October 2022 and now has a Navigation Team of 16 members working to develop recommendations for nearshore resources. Ventura initially joined because he was opposed to the 30×30 effort — now he’s a supporter. 

“As somebody who makes part of my living off of the water, I was very surprised, and that it was actually a fun process because … the people were given the ability to decide what the limitations were going to be,” Ventura said. “It wasn’t just shoved down our throat.” 

When discussing the rules and limits for different species, Ventura said the team took into account what it would take to feed a family while leaving enough for the future. People may say they’re collecting extra to give to family or friends, but Ventura said if everyone is taking more than their share, eventually “the reef doesn’t come back from that.”

Lobsters, for example, have no bag limits, but taking female lobsters is illegal. The season just started this month, and Ventura said he’s already seen people posting pictures with coolers full of lobsters. On the opening day of the season, the state checked a vessel called “Law and Disorder III” and cited four Hawai’i island divers, who caught 40 spiny lobsters, including 16 females, three of whom had eggs. 

Tanaka said the team has hammered out proposals for new bag limits, as well as extended seasons for certain species and gear restrictions. He did not want to share full details of the proposal ahead of the meetings, saying he wanted the fishers to see it first. After the team gets input and revises its proposal, the Department of Land and Natural Resources will hold public hearings and a management plan will be implemented. Tanaka said previous rules were imposed by the state; this one is “by fishermen, for fishermen, for the reefs.”

He emphasized that the proposal does not include any closures. Shoreline access has already caused issues for fishers, with state and county agencies closing parks and putting up barriers to prevent homeless encampments and criminal activity.  

“You cannot blame the government for shutting these areas down, because we couldn’t fish there with so much criminal activity happening,” he said. “It’s better that way, but, you know, either way we lost our access. So why would we want any more closed areas, right? We have to conserve and improve what we have left.” 

Like Ventura, Tanaka is a lifelong waterman who’s been fishing since he could hold a pole and his parents would put him in a tidepool to catch bait. He remembers the days he’d see waves lined with large mullet in North Kīhei and schools of 3-pound kūmū while diving in Wailea, all things that eventually disappeared. 

Tanaka wants fishers to be invested in the regulations so they’ll comply, and he wants prosecution and penalties to be stronger so people will be discouraged from offending again. He wants to see the state Attorney General’s Office take over prosecution of fishing violations because the cases involve state waters. 

“We get enforcement out there, they’re giving citations, you know, but it doesn’t always equate to proper prosecution and meaningful penalties,” Tanaka said.

In May 2023, four Maui fishermen were cited for prohibited entry into the Moku Naio Islet Seabird Sanctuary (Shark Fin Rock) off the coast of Lāna‘i. All four pleaded guilty and were levied $100 fines, with one man incurring an additional $100 in fines for boat violations.

In October 2022, a Lāna‘i man was cited for possession of an illegal throw net on the north side of the island. He pleaded guilty and received a $100 fine.

Despite the problems he sees with enforcement, prosecution and “lack of meaningful penalties,” Tanaka said the biggest issue is compliance.

“This is why a bottom-up approach to fishing regulations is important, because if the fishermen have to be part of the system, they have to be part of the solution,” he said.

ENFORCEMENT AND PROSECUTION 

In his first trial 13 years ago, Maui County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Ryan Teshima went after a repeat offender for fishing violations. Teshima asked for 30 days in jail; the judge granted his request.

For many first-time offenders, a small fine and public embarrassment is enough. Discouraging repeat offenders is the challenge, said Teshima, supervisor of the District Court Division that handles natural resource violations along with traffic offenses and misdemeanors.

“A lot of these people, they’re fishing for survival … and so they’re not worried about whether the fish they caught is an inch too small or not,” Teshima said. “And then you have … a handful of people who just don’t care about the laws.”

Some of the most common fishing-related violations his office sees are illegal nets, fish that are undersized or caught out of season, and safety issues such as divers operating without dive flags. 

Teshima said some punishments may seem like a slap on the wrist because “the vast majority” are resolved before trial through plea deals. In the ‘Āhihi-Kīna‘u Natural Area Reserve case, for example, one of the men pleaded guilty to the most serious charge in exchange for dropping five other counts against him. In Teshima’s opinion, the violation was “pretty egregious” and worth jail time.

“When you negotiate and when you compromise, both sides aren’t happy,” Teshima said. “The other side gets a conviction and we might get a smaller fine than what we would get had the case gone to trial.” 

Others may not need a serious punishment. With first-time offenders, Teshima wants them to take responsibility and pay their fine, “but I’m not looking to bankrupt anybody about this type of thing.”

When asked if it was harder to put resources toward fishing violations when prosecutors also have to juggle more violent crimes, Teshima said, “that’s an issue all the way around” but it doesn’t mean fishing cases are put to the side.

“There are ones that are important, especially with the repeat offenders to make sure that they just don’t get a slap on the wrist,” Teshima said. “When someone like that comes to court for a fishing type of violation, if they’re a repeat offender, I would give that my full attention more than someone who was just drunk and yelling outside of a bar.”

Earlier this year, the Honolulu County prosecutor’s office and state Attorney General’s office clashed over who should take charge of misdemeanors and violations generated by state agencies, including the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

But Teshima doesn’t think passing Maui County’s cases along to the state is necessary. He said the Attorney General’s office already focuses on a wide range of civil and criminal cases and that his office is equipped to handle state resources violations and is experienced in Maui courts.

State Sen. Angus McKelvey, whose district includes West Maui and North Kīhei, also didn’t think that giving fishing violation cases to the state Attorney General’s office would be the answer. He said the office might then have to expand its staff and that flying over prosecutors from Honolulu to do the job that Maui County prosecutors are already doing could create delays. He sees a possible compromise of having the Attorney General’s office lend resources to county prosecutors if needed to go after fishing violations. 

“Maybe we should contemplate a private cause of action,” McKelvey said. “That’s the nuclear button, I understand, but that may be something. So where citizens see a violation, they get evidence, they can bring a suit themselves.

As it is, McKelvey said, people think, “‘Hey, DOCARE no show up, no worries, not going get busted.’ But braddah over there, he take photo, he turns around, turns it in, nothing happens, he files his own suit.”

DOCARE, the state Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement, has been trying to beef up its ranks in recent years, Kekoa said. Previously, applicants had to go through the county police or state sheriff academies first, and once they finished and realized they’d get paid better, they ended up staying on those forces. The DOCARE Academy’s goal was to recruit fishers, divers, hunters and other resource gatherers who understood Hawai‘i’s environment and train them in law enforcement.

Six officers graduated from the first class in 2018; last year the academy saw its largest graduating class with 41 officers, including seven who deployed to Maui.

Kekoa said the challenge for officers is covering violations from mauka to makai, which is why the state created marine patrol units with officers solely focused on the ocean.

Kekoa has worked on both the enforcement side as a community liaison with the Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement, and on the marine resource management side. As a community liaison, he remembers showing up to a scene of angry residents confronting divers caught with coolers packed with fish. To residents, the catch was clearly too much. But under state rules, many of the fish in the coolers did not have limits.

“So technically the officer can do nothing about that because that’s a good catch, that’s legal,” Kekoa would tell residents. “And they’re like, ‘Oh, but that’s not pono (righteous).’ I was like, that’s the difference. It may be legal, but it’s not pono. So how do we make it pono?”

That’s why Kekoa sees the Holomua Marine initiative as an important chance for community members to say what’s appropriate for their own nearshore resources. He also longs for a return to “the old school way” of families holding each other responsible and not wanting to be known as the ones poaching and taking too much fish.

“A lot of the kids, once they understand, they’ll be talking to their parents,” Kekoa said. “This is another way that we can fix that, like improving education, not just for like fishing but for the next generation.”

Teshima says it’s harder to get the message across about how serious a fishing violation is because the impact isn’t as immediate as with other crimes. Instead, it takes its toll over generations of overfishing on the reef.

“We got to really treasure the resources that we have here in Hawai‘i that make us unique,” he said. “Don’t just blame the tourists for trashing our beaches or whatever, we got to take care, too.”