HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

233

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING the Department of Land and Natural Resources to review the effectiveness of the Department's boating speed limit guideline in designated humpback whale areas.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii enjoys ocean resources, including the waters of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, created pursuant to the Hawaiian Island National Marine Sanctuary Act, Title II, Subtitle C, Public Law 102-587, often referred to as the "Whale and Marine Sanctuary"; and

 

WHEREAS, the Whale and Marine Sanctuary adjoins portions of all of the Hawaiian islands of Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Hawaii, and Lanai; and

 

     WHEREAS, the waters of the Whale and Marine Sanctuary are protected waters and are a critical habitat of the endangered North Pacific humpback whales; and

 

     WHEREAS, critically endangered humpback whales breed, calve, and nurse their young in the Whale and Marine Sanctuary; and

 

     WHEREAS, there have been increasing accounts of collisions with whales in the waters of the State as boating in general and whale watching on boats have increased, partly due to a robust visitor industry; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Department of Land and Natural Resources currently offers boaters workshops across the State and provides marine wildlife legal handbooks to educate the public on how to avoid collisions with whales that injure, disfigure, and sometimes kill whales in Hawaiian waters; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Department also emphasizes that humpback whales are very large, weighing up to forty-five tons, and can cause serious injury to boaters during a collision; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Department is also installing warning signs at eleven boating facilities throughout the State; and

 

     WHEREAS, furthermore, the Department has issued guidelines for whale and boater safety including:

 

     (1)  Watching out for the whales' blows, fins, and tails;

 

     (2)  Maintaining boat speed at thirteen knots or slower;

 

     (3)  Warning other vessels of whale sightings; and

 

     (4)  Not assuming that whales will naturally avoid vessels; and

 

     WHEREAS, the economy of Hawaii benefits from the tourism industry that, in turn, relies upon the ocean's resources, including the waters within the Whale and Marine Sanctuary; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to review the effectiveness of the Department's boating speed limit guideline in designated humpback whale areas; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to submit its findings and recommendations, including any necessary proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2008; and

 


     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Whales; Boating Speed Limit Guideline; DLNR Study Effectiveness