01/30/23 – JUDGE LIFTS BAN ORDER ON WEST HAWAI’I AQUARIUM FISHING
Posted on January 30, 2023 in Aquatic Resources, Fisheries, Press Releases, slider
| JOSH GREEN, MD GOVERNOR |
DAWN CHANGE |
For Immediate Release: January 30, 2023
JUDGE LIFTS BAN ORDER ON FISHING AT WEST HAWAI’I AQUARIUM
The decision does not mean the resumption of collection
(HONOLULU) – Today, Hawaii Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey P. Crabtree lifted an injunction in a case brought by opponents of commercial aquarium fishing, prohibiting the issuance or renewal of aquarium fish permits to commercial collectors pursuant to Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) § 188 -31 in the Western Hawaii Regional Fishery Management Area (WHRFMA). A court order regarding the issuance or renewal of aquarium fish permits remains in effect in the remainder of the state of Hawaii.
The mandate, in Umberger case, was lifted because an environmental review was completed pursuant to the Hawaii Environmental Policy Act (HEPA) for the WHRFMA.
During the hearing, the State’s lead attorney, Assistant Attorney General Melissa Goldman, reminded the parties and the public that aquarium fishing in West Hawaii is not permitted simply because the injunction regarding the issuance or renewal of aquarium fish permits to commercial collectors pursuant to Hawaii Revised Statutes § 188-31 was lifted as to Western Hawaii. The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) has not yet considered or issued aquarium fishing permits for WHRFMA, and the lifting of the injunction on WHRFMA does not allow for the immediate resumption of commercial aquarium fishing, either at WHRFMA or anywhere else. in Hawaii.
In response to today’s ruling, Assistant Attorney General Goldman states: “Today’s decision returns management of the State’s aquatic resources in the Western Hawaii Regional Fisheries Management Area to the DLNR, now that the environmental review process for Hawaii Western has finished. complete. Today’s decision does not in itself authorize any aquarium fishing. That question can now be assumed by the DLNR, which is the agency in charge of managing the State’s aquatic resources”.
Anyone who engages in commercial aquarium harvesting without the required permit in the West Hawai’i Management Area or anywhere else in the state will be ticketed, and DLNR will seek enforcement to the fullest extent permitted by law.
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Media Contacts:
Dan Denison
Senior Communications Manager
(808) 587-0396
[email protected]
david day
Special Assistant to the Attorney General
(808) 586-1284
[email protected]
