HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

120

TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2014

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the Department of Land and Natural Resources to report to the Legislature on the status of each marine life conservation district.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, the State's marine waters contain fish, crustaceans, mollusks, live coral, algae, and other marine life and geological features that comprise some of the State's most precious, unique, and fragile resources; and

 

     WHEREAS, pursuant to chapter 190, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the Department of Land and Natural Resources is authorized to establish marine life conservation districts and to adopt rules governing the taking or conservation of marine life within the districts; and

 

     WHEREAS, limited fishing and other consumptive uses are allowed within marine life conservation districts, which are intended to conserve and replenish marine resources; and

 

     WHEREAS, marine life conservation districts provide fish and other aquatic life with a protected area in which to grow and reproduce, and are home to a variety of species; and

 

     WHEREAS, there are currently eleven marine life conservation districts statewide and other sites are being considered for designation as well; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature is concerned about the lack of information received from the Department of Land and Natural Resources on the status of the marine life conservation districts; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2014, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to report to the Legislature on the status of each marine life conservation district established pursuant to chapter 190, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature specifically requests that the report include:

 

     (1)  An evaluation of whether the marine life conservation program is achieving its intended purpose, both as a whole and with respect to each marine life conservation district;

 

     (2)  A determination of whether any of the marine life conservation districts should be modified, and if so, how; and

 

     (3)  An explanation of why past reports have not been submitted to the Legislature regarding the marine life conservation districts; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to submit the report, including findings, recommendations, and any proposed legislation, to each member of the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2015; 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: 

DLNR; Marine Life Conservation Districts; Report