Support Hawaiʻi Island’s Fisheries and Biosecurity Protections
March 9 Update:
Mahalo nui to everyone who submitted testimony to protect Hawaiʻi Island’s reefs, food security, and native ecosystems. Because of strong community support, both the Kaʻūpūlehu Fisheries Management Plan and interim rules to slow the spread of coconut rhinoceros beetles were approved and are moving forward. Read below to learn what these wins mean and what comes next.
Kaʻūpūlehu Fisheries Management Plan
The Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) unanimously approved the Kaʻūpūlehu Fisheries Management Plan, which includes community-based, sustainable fisheries rules to take effect once the ten-year Try Wait rest period concludes later this year.
BLNR will now hold public hearings on the proposed rules over the coming months. After the hearings, the Board will vote on the rules for final adoption. If and when approved, a coordinated effort between state agencies and the community will reopen the Try Wait area and implement the new fishing rules. Be sure to follow @huikahuwai to learn more about the work of lineal descendants of Kaʻūpūlehu and Kūkiʻo alongside the larger community and the next steps for their historic and unprecedented fisheries management plan.
ICYMI: There is another opportunity to help protect Hawaiʻi Island’s reefs and fisheries. A bill (HB2101 HD1) moving through this year’s legislature would prevent the ecologically and culturally harmful commercial aquarium industry on Hawaiʻi Island, shut down since 2017, from restarting under rules being proposed by the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources. This measure has cleared all of its hearings in the House and will soon move to the Senate. Follow along with us at hawaiicapitolwatch.org for updates and action alerts.
Emergency Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle Rules
The Advisory Committee on Plants and Animals approved the proposed interim rules requiring training, treatment, and other best management practices before high-risk coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) host material can be transported from the infested Kona region of Hawaiʻi Island.
The committee will now forward its recommendation for final adoption to the Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity, which is scheduled to vote on the rules at its next meeting on Tuesday, March 24. Once approved by the Board, the rules will then require the Governor’s signature before they can be implemented. Stay tuned, we will send an action alert ahead of the March meeting once the agenda is released.
ICYMI: There are additional opportunities to strengthen Hawaiʻi’s biosecurity efforts across the islands through a handful of bills currently moving through the legislature. Follow along with us at hawaiicapitolwatch.org for updates and action alerts.
On Friday, February 27 at 9am, the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) will consider whether to advance the Kaʻūpūlehu Fisheries Management Plan community-based, sustainable fisheries rules to public hearing as part of the administrative rulemaking process.
For more than a decade, the Kaʻūpūlehu community, including fishers, ʻohana, residents, and partners, has worked across the pae ʻāina to mālama this place through the Try Wait rest period and the collaborative development of community-based fishing rules. The Kaʻūpūlehu community is now entering the next chapter in their journey, which needs the BLNR’s support to continue.
Then at 1pm, the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity Advisory Committee on Plants and Animals will hear the community’s petition for proposed interim rules requiring training, treatment, and other best management practices before high-risk coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) host material can be transported from an infested area. With CRB spreading across West Hawaiʻi, and with businesses continuing to ship mulch and other host material from Kona across Hawaiʻi Island, this is a true emergency requiring immediate regulatory action by the Department.
Take Action Now
Board of Land and Natural Resources: Kaʻūpūlehu
Email testimony to:blnr.testimony@hawaii.gov
Subject line: Support for BLNR Agenda item F3, for February 27, 2026
Virtual verbal testimony: Include your request to testify with your written testimony, include your name and agenda item. A Zoom link will be sent to you.
In-person verbal testimony: Add your name to the sign-in sheet outside of the meeting room at Kalanimoku Building, 1151 Punchbowl St. Room 132, Honolulu
Meeting will be livestreamed here
Sample testimony from Hui Kahuwai:
Aloha Chair Kanakaʻole and Members of the Board of Land and Natural Resources,
My name is ________ and I SUPPORT the Kaʻūpūlehu Fisheries Management Plan and associated fishing rules going to a public hearing as part of the administrative rule making process.
PLEASE ADD YOUR SPECIFIC PERSONAL REASONS: including connection to place, knowledge of Try Wait, connection to the kai and fishing.
The community of Kaʻūpūlehu and Kūkiʻo, through their community-based non-profit Hui Kahuwai, has thoughtfully engaged in a deliberate eight year planning process rooted in kilo, moʻokūʻauhau of place, and kuleana to mālama ʻāina and the kai. They have conducted over two years of robust outreach on the fisheries plan by consulting with ʻohana, fishers and other interested stakeholders; engaging in robust public scoping; distributing online surveys; attending and presenting at outreach events; and learning and sharing their insights at scientific conferences. They have engaged over 6,000 people through outreach events, over 1,700 students through educational programs, and over 600,000 interactions through social media.
Hui Kahuwai has worked collaboratively with the Division of Aquatic Resources to refine the proposed Fisheries Management Plan, so that it reflects both lived fishing knowledge of the community and contemporary management needs. The plan has been revised four times in response to feedback received, strengthening its ability to be effectively enforced, while safeguarding the gains achieved during the 10-year “Try Wait” rest period. This work builds on decades of observation, monitoring, and collaborative planning, and reflects a comprehensive co-management approach to ensure the gains of Try Wait are not lost. The community is ready to move forward with administrative rulemaking to ensure that sustainable, subsistence-based fishing can responsibly resume in the Kaʻūpūlehu and Kūkiʻo.
We urge the Board to approve a public hearing for the Kaʻūpūlehu Fisheries Management Plan and administrative rules.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
Advisory Committee on Plants and Animals: Emergency Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle Rules
Email testimony to:dab.pq.testimony@hawaii.gov, cc: jodie.hwf@gmail.com
Subject line: Agenda III.B - Adoption of Interim Rules to Further Restrict the Transportation of CRB Host Material
Virtual verbal testimony: Attend meeting via Zoom at this link
In-person verbal testimony: Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity Plant Quarantine Branch, 1849 Auiki Street Honolulu
Sample testimony:
Aloha Advisory Committee on Plants and Animals,
My name is [your name] from [your community], and I strongly support the adoption of interim rules to further restrict the transportation of coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) host material.
CRB is a true emergency situation for Hawaiʻi Island. As more beetles and breeding sites are discovered in north Kona, the continued movement of untreated mulch and other host materials from infested areas threatens the entire island with the permanent establishment of this devastating pest. Without enforceable rules in place, voluntary compliance alone will not be enough to stop the human-assisted spread of CRB. Containment in West Hawaiʻi is still possible, but only if action is taken now.
These interim rules are a modest and practical step, requiring training, treatment, and best management practices before high-risk materials are transported. Taking action now will help protect our food security, native ecosystems, cultural resources, and local economy for generations to come. Not taking action, on the other hand, may lead to the same devastating impacts we have seen in too many other places, including across Oʻahu and Kauaʻi.
I urge the committee to make the recommendation to the Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity for the adoption of interim rules to further restrict the transportation of CRB host material.
Mahalo nui for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
[Your name]