Innholdsfortegnelse for April 1991 i Hawaii Fishing News

■ With the electronic fish finder aboard the R1ZZUT0 MARU, we located an ‘opelu school—and a mystery. Each time we lowered a string of flies down to the bright orange blips showing on our video screen, we felt the quick, dancing take of ‘opelu. The vibrations only lasted a few seconds, however, before the line would pull with the strain of a much bigger fish. My deckhands, Craig Tooman and Tom Hewitt, were getting frustrated. We had set out to catch a livewell full of ‘opelu to drag for mahimahi and ono. It was already midmorning, and all we could show for several hours of hunting and hooking bait was a stringer of flies that had either been sprung open or snapped off their leaders. If kahala or barracuda were…

Bills to Transfer Boating Branch and Create New Program ■ The state legislature this year is considering two proposals that could in the near future considerably alter the way Hawai‘i’s marine resources are managed and its regulations, enforced. Whether the changes would create better coordination among the many agencies now given fragmented responsibility for the resources or whether they would merely add to the confusion of splintered jurisdiction and inefficient communication is yet to be seen. House Bill 917 proposes to transfer all function, powers and duties involving the regulation of ocean recreational boating and coastal activities from the Department of Transportation (DOT) to the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR). H.B. 1557 (and its companion bill in the Senate, S.B. 1525) proposes to establish a marine and coastal…

To William W. Paty Jr., chairman, Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council I urge you most strongly to establish a three-year moratorium on longline fishing in Hawai‘i by limiting the size of the longline fishing fleet to its June 21, 1990 level (when you started issuing warnings that additional longline fishing may not be permitted). I have the following deep concerns and questions: (1) In other areas of the Pacific Ocean, it has been recognized that longline fishing has severely overharvested regional fisheries. Why, therefore, were longline fishing boats encouraged by Hawai‘i’s State Department of Business and Economic Development to come to Hawai‘i in increasing numbers? (2) The proposed moratorium would still allow 110 to 150 longline fishing boats, having lines up to 50 miles long and up to 700…

■ Acting to protect marine industry workers in Hawai‘i, U.S. House Rep. Neil Abercrombie joined other members of Congress in cosponsoring legislation to overturn the 1990 enactment of an excise tax on boats. Called the Boating Jobs Preservation Act of 1991, H.R. 951 was introduced on Feb. 19 by Florida Rep. Clay Shaw to repeal the boat tax, which he described as unfair, noncompetitive and harmful to American workers. Already reeling from a two-year long recession, the boating industry has suffered a loss of 100,000 jobs nationwide, some of these in Hawai‘i. Workers in the state’s boat manufacturing, retailing and service industry—numbering about 2,200—fear further layoffs if Congress fails to repeal the tax. Jeff Napier, president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), says their fears are real, predicting that…

■ At 5:30 a.m., another fishing day began at Keauhou Harbor. With the help of Pat Cunningham, of Hawaiiana Boat Rentals, Capt. Kevin Hardin, first mate Howie Pavlik, angler Todd Pavlik and Lockie McKinnon were on the water and trolling by 6:15 a.m. in their 20-foot Shamrock Predator, the LITE TACKLER. The morning progressed normally with coffee and donuts. Just when the day began to seem slow and boring, “Bang!” The short center lure exploded after a brief sighting by Kevin and Todd of what looked like a large fast-running torpedo. Todd grabbed the Sabre rod with Penn International 50TW reel and 50-lb test Trilene Big Game line and started setting the hook with the help of his brother Howie at the helm. After a spectacular array of dancing and…

Da Boy’s Semiannual Inside the Breakwater Trolling Tournament ■ Da Boy’s Semiannual Inside the Breakwater Trolling Tournament was held on February 10. The weather that day was mostly sunny with hazy skies. The wind was blowing 5 to 15 mph, and the water was beautiful inside Hilo Bay. The entry fee for the tournament was $30 per boat, and there was an optional $10 jackpot. The fishing rules allowed for only trolling; no live bait could be used. Fishing would begin at 6 a.m. and end at 11 a.m. The weigh-in was held at the boat ramp and the presentations of the awards at the bayfront beach at 1 p.m. The awards were given to the anglers catching the three largest fish. The tournament was monitored on CB radio Channel…

The prize tor fetters received during the month of April Is a Krocodtte 5 oz Flutter Jig. A great Gift…our way of saying thanks for sharing your catch! …Hana pa‘a, Chuck Send to: P.O.Box 25413 Honolulu. Hawai‘i 96825 NEWI Krocodile Flutter Jig 5 oz. with heavy duty rigging for Hawai i waters. Dear Chuck, On November 18, 1990, we had our best catfish catch ever at the Nu‘uanu Reservoir; in the worst possible weather, wind and rain. After suffering in the wet and cold for about two hours, we finally started catching fish: eight catfish in all, ranging in size from just under 8 lbs to a whopping 22 lbs 5 oz. The monster catfish foul-hooked itself on “grampa” Cyrus Lau’s setup, which he thought was stuck, so I lucked…

■ Although there have been numerous problems between state and federal agencies and the fishing community, the Hawaii Fishermen’s Foundation (HFF) has concluded that the two major differences revolve around an inadequate data base and a lack of communication. It is our opinion that the Foundation can play an important role in alleviating these problems. It’s unrealistic to think that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WESPAC) and/or the state of Hawai‘i can implement a management plan without an adequate data base. Although it will take years to get an accurate picture of the overall stock assessments for the Pacific region, the Foundation encourages all agencies to examine every aspect of the fishery since there are so many factors that make up the…

Send written comments and articles to be published in HAWAII HUNTINGNEWS® to P.O. Box 25413, Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96825. Addendum to Axis Deer Hunt on Lana‘i The state Department of Land and Natural. Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife, has amended the check-in times for the annual axis deer hunt on Lana‘i. Hunters participating in the general rifle season of March TO through May 5, 1991 may check-in at the Lanai Division of Forestry and Wildlife office on the Saturday preceding the day of hunting between the hours of 3 p:m. and 7 p.m. in addition to the morning of the hunting days, as was originally prescribed. Archers who hunted in February and muzzleloader hunters who participated in March were also allowed to check-in the afternoon before their hunt. Limited Closure…

■ Keehi Boat Club fishermen found the ocean a little friendlier in February. Fish were caught, and it seemed just like the old days, B.L. (before longliners). The marlin were small, but then they often are in winter. Plenty of mahimahi were also caught. Capt. Robert Aspera brought in a bull that weighed 58 lbs. Jean Watanabe and her son Capt. Mike Asionczyk were at the “Banks” on the 18th, a beautiful fishing day, when line started to peel off their reel. Mike looked for a marlin, but to his surprise they had hooked a big, strong ‘ahi. The fight was on. The ‘ahi fought deep and came in slowly. After about a halfhour, Mike saw the leader and gaffed the fish. Jean did a beautiful job of watching the…

■ The marlin bite picked up on the backside of Lana‘i during the first part of the month. The ISLANDER II crew boated a 402-lb blue marlin for Bob Erickson. Capt. Tim Putnam and Co-capt. Mike Murphy were about 10 miles off Kaumalapau, Lana‘i, when they got their strike. Their fish came right up to the short corner position and nailed a big Marlin Parker Pusher smoking on the second wave. The marlin ripped out 500 to 600 yards of 130-lb test line before it showed itself. Once it surfaced, it became quite acrobatic as it went berserk all across the ocean. All angler Erickson could do was hang on and watch the show. Co-capt. Murphy got the remaining lines cleared from the water as Capt. Putnam kept an eye…

■ A recently released report is must reading for anyone interested in the future of Hawaii’s ocean environment, whether they fish or not. The “Hawaii Ocean Resources Management Plan” was developed by the Hawaii Ocean and Marine Resources Council, which was appointed by the governor after being mandated by the legislature back in 1988 (Chapter 228, Hawaii Revised Statutes). The glossy and far-reaching document was prepared by and is available from the State of Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBED & T), 546-6262 in Honolulu. The “Hawaii Ocean Resources Management Plan” encompasses the hard work of numerous agencies, businesses and individuals spread out over most of last year. The council has also drafted legislation to implement the recommendations contained within the plan. The legislation has been introduced…

■ There are a great deal of words I can think of when trying to come up with a way to describe the February 25 through March 1 Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WESPAC) meetings, but “successful” is not at the top of my list. Although a lot may have been accomplished, I feel a great deal more may have been lost, and I’m sure you’ll see my point by the end of this article. There are many casualties as a result of these meetings. One of the problems I see is the attitude of many of the council members and staff regarding the fishermen in Hawai‘i and their livelihoods. The problems we’re facing are very insignificant to them. I’ve begun to feel like an orphan and a thorn…

Dear Sir, The centra! issue is the maintenance of the fishery resource at maximum sustainable yield, and it is the role of government to limit harvesting of fish stocks and prevent harmful exploita-Jion. The fishery biologist is armed with the information necessary to attain this logical goal. The record the world over has historically demonstrated that when bankers and political interests dominate regulation, the resource is invariably abused—ometimes irreversible damage is done to not only the resource but just as important, the labor intensive fishing industry that had traditionally and reasonably utilized the resource for years or generations. My catch rate per unit effort has suffered to such a degree that I am in poverty and along with many other real fishermen in Hawai‘i that make their living from the…

Dear Chuck, Last month I attended the special hearing of the Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board about the issue of park closings in the Koko Head area. I live just a few feet from the Hanapepe Place Beach Park, and was one of those who favor the closing of the parks at night. The reason is not that I mind anyone fishing down on the point, dangerous as it is, but because of the noise people were making going up and down the street in the wee hours of the morning. There were times when I was awakened four or five times a night by people laughing, shouting obscenities and other things, banging equipment, slamming doors and revving motors. When I say awakened, it usually wasn’t enough to do more than…

Honokohau Catch Report Due to the limited space available and the large number of fish caught, catch reports are limited to tuna over 100 lbs and billfish of any size, any species. (S) = Striped marlin, (B) = Black marlin and (T) = Tag and release, weight estimated.…

Accidental Introductions ■ You’ve seen them on TV. You’ve seen them on posters. You’ve seen them in brochures. You may have seen them for yourself. They are there, and they cannot be ignored. Environmentally, they are a threat and a problem. They are the “accidentally” introduced fish in our freshwater resources. The gravity of the problem spurred the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) to “take the bull by the horns” and embark on an educational TV, poster and brochure campaign to combat the proliferation of accidental introductions of fish in Hawai‘i’s reservoirs and streams. In the June 1990 edition of “Freshwater Fishing in Hawai‘i,” published by the DAR, they devoted an entire section to the subject of accidental introductions. It is a commendable effort…