Nonprofit seeks protected fishing area for Kipahulu Designation would help regulate overharvesting, residents say
East Maui residents are proposing the creation of a protected fishing area for Kipahulu to help regulate harvesting practices and increased foot traffic and to protect depleting resources that once fully sustained nearby communities.
The nonprofit Kipahulu ‘Ohana said that designating Kipahulu Moku nearshore waters as a community-based subsistence fishing area will address problems around unsustainable fishing practices, such as collecting fish, limu and ‘opihi out of season; taking more than is needed and available; or hunting undersized species.
“The emphasis really is on education and helping people to understand the reason for the rules, and they’ll want to participate and comply because it will make sense for protecting the resources for the traditional lifestyle and so that the resources are there for future generations,” Executive Director Scott Crawford said during a Zoom presentation Tuesday night. “If there really are bad actors who are abusing the situation and where the enforcement needs to come into play, then there would be a way of knowing how to collect that information — take pictures and document what is happening — in a way that enforcement would be able to use that information.”
