STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1781

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: H.C.R. No. 267

H.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 267, H.D. 1, entitled:

"HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON WATER, LAND, AND OCEAN RESOURCES AND THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON WATER, LAND, AND AGRICULTURE, TOGETHER WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES, TO CONDUCT COMMUNITY MEETINGS THROUGHOUT THE STATE TO SEEK PUBLIC PARTICIPATION TOWARDS ENSURING THE VIABILITY OF HAWAII'S MARINE RESOURCES NOW AND FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to request the appropriate House and the Senate committees, together with the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), to conduct community meetings throughout the State to seek public participation towards ensuring the viability of Hawaii's marine resources.

The DLNR, the Nature Conservancy, and one individual submitted testimony in support of this measure.

Over the years, members of Hawaii's fishing communities and marine specialists have observed and documented dramatic declines in the size, number, distribution, and quality of a wide variety of important and desirable native marine species and habitats. Your Committee finds that one way to address this problem is to resurrect traditional Hawaiian stewardship practices that carefully manage near-shore resources by imposing limitations on harvest.

This type of management strategy may lead to resource replenishment within and outside of the managed areas. However, the public, especially certain members of the fishing community, must be educated on Hawaii's marine resource depletion problem and the urgent need to better manage this precious resource for future generations. This measure requests the House Committee on Water, Land, and Ocean Resources and the Senate Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture, together with the DLNR, to conduct community meetings throughout the State to seek public participation towards ensuring the viability of Hawaii's marine resources.

Your Committee recommends that the Vice-Chair, Senator Gary Hooser, will be the Senate Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture representative at community meetings throughout the State.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 267, H.D. 1, and recommends its adoption.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture,

____________________________

RUSSELL S. KOKUBUN, Chair