Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2006 i Hawaii Fishing News

Great White Sharky Science ■ Dr. Barbara Block, Stanford University ocean scientist and frequent Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament researcher, satellite-tagged a great white shark named Nicole. The milestone 99-day tracking, reported in the journal Science, showed that Nicole traveled more than 12,000 miles, swimming from Africa to Australia and back. It proved that the two continents share great white populations. Dr. Block said, “Sharks have home ranges that are on the scale of ocean basins.” Previously, it was felt that the great whites were coastal animals. In fact, of the 24 South African great whites tagged only Nicole, named after actress Nicole Kidman, journeyed into the open ocean. Hawai‘i has a known pod of West Coast great whites that visit here. Dr. Block also tracked 48 salmon sharks from 2002…

Elodea Weed at Ho‘omaluhia ■ Recently we touched briefly on the combined effort of the DNLR and the city and county of Honolulu to address the Elodea weed problem at Ho‘omaluhia. It was a gargantuan task with a valiant effort, but the end result will be sort of picayune for a while because of the growth characteristics of this particular weed. The weed itself roots and then eventually lets go of branches that become new plants. To complicate eradication, there is no frost to diminish the growth and the weed, therefore, grows all year round in Hawai‘i. Maybe targeting certain heavy growth areas next to the banks would be prudent because that is precisely where the rooting from the off-cast branches takes place. The vessel used to harvest the weed…

OFFICE OF THE MAYOR CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU November 3, 2005 Mr. Carroll E. Cox, PresidentEnviroWatch, Inc.P. O Box 89-3062Mililani, Hawaii, 96789 Dear Carroll: This responds to your letters dated September 12, 2005 and September 27, 2005 in which you reiterated your concerns regarding the closure of the boat launch ramp at the Ko Olina Resort. You stated: How can DPP now claim that it has no jurisdiction over the boat launch ramp, and that Ko Olina is not required to provide public access to the boat ramp and marina when such a statement clearly contradicts the DPP’s March 10, 2000, letter, specifically, requiring public access to the “Affected Areas” (under Ordinance 86-09 and Resolution 86-61) at Ko Olina? As the Department of Planning and Permitting has done in…

■ On Sunday, November 20, the Alii Holo Kai (AHK) dive club held its annual spearfishing “Kumu Hunt,” opened to all AHK members and past Palo-Kai Divers. The day for this tournament is chosen carefully, when the moon phase and tide are “junk.” That’s the challenging part of this event. It’s “one of a kind,” said Alan Yoshikawa, instigator of past Palo-Kai tournaments. Alan said that the visibility of the water is always poor and this makes everyone scramble around the island of O‘ahu in search of good diving conditions so the participants can find the largest kumu/goatfish and be titled champion. Brief History The first Palo-Kai tournament was held around 1988. The tournament’s name was chosen by the Yoshikawa brothers, Alan, Myles and Brian, who grew up in upper…

POST OFFICE BOX 621 HONOLULU. HAWAII 96809 Lay Nets A Proposed Rule Amendment (Slight modification of the recently adopted Lay Net Rules in West Hawaii) Lay Nets-A Proposed Rule Amendment ■ It is the intention of the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) to examine the use of lay nets, assess the impacts and regulate its use in order to protect Hawaii’s fishery resources. Definition-Lay Nets or Lay Gillnets: • Stationary gillnets used in near-shore waters. • These are also referred to as “set” nets or moemoe nets. The lay net is used passively because a panel of net is set in one location and not actively tended. Paipai style of netting is included in this definition. Fish are caught as they run into it and become entangled in…

■ My brother, Ulysses, loves taking his annual fishing trip to Kodiak Island in Alaska. He always goes in mid-September because before then there aren’t as many fish, and after, it gets too cold. Also, before September 15 you are only allowed to fish from the bridges to the ocean, but after, they open all of the streams so that anglers may catch the many salmon runs. Kodiak is the second largest island and largest fishing port in the United States. It is the ideal salmon fishing destination for many adamant fishermen. The area has rolling green hills, snow-capped mountains, clear fish-filled streams and constant rain. Ulysses likes to go there because every day you are guaranteed to catch at least one fish. “It’s the way fishing ought to be,”…

■ In January, the middle of winter, weather can be varied-ranging from very nice to very bad days. More days will be nice, but the month probably will have some severe weather that no one should be caught in. The onset of bad weather is faster than at other times, and the weather is more severe. The severe weather in decreasing events that are likely to occur are, gusty trade winds, high northwest swell and surf, cold front with gusty Kona winds, upper trough and Kona lows. Expect six to 12 days of gusty trades even though January has the lowest number of trade wind days. High northwest swell and surf continue in January. Expect about eight days with surf heights at Sunset Beach, O‘ahu, to be over 10 feet…

Special Coverage of the Maui ‘Talk Story’ Meeting’ ■ Following years of “fence-sitting,” the Department of Land and Natural Resources affirmative stance on a total ban on lay gillnet fishing on Maui has some fishermen cheering and others up in arms. The conflict was illustrated at a December 1 public meeting in Kahului at which ban opponents defended “traditional cultural fishing methods,” while ban proponents decried the depletion of fish and destruction of reefs through the nets’ indiscriminate take. According to DLNR Chairman Peter Young, the ban would apply to the waters around the island of Maui; not Lana‘i, Moloka‘i, Kaua‘i or Ni‘ihau. In addition, lay-net fishing would be banned in several areas on O‘ahu: Portlock Point to the Reef Runway; Kane‘ohe Bay patch reefs (small patches of reef inside…

■ Lake Wilson today shows no sign of the expanse of the invasive aquatic weed Salvinia molesta, which two and a half years ago threatened to kill tons of fish and close the lake to fishers and recreational boaters. After years of painstaking work and just more than $1 million spent, the DLNR can now finally say, “It’s gone. “ “The effort that it took to organize multiple government agencies to execute the bulk extraction phase, bear the considerable costs and carry out maintenance for about two years, has been a primary lesson in the importance of swift, serious response to an invasive species,” said Peter Young, DLNR chairperson. “As a result, we are witnessing a critical change in our attitudes and actions toward alien and invasive species. Preventing something…

■ Backed by compelling science that links seafood consumption to reduced risk of disease, the U.S. government is recommending that all Americans-especially pregnant and nursing women and children-eat two seafood meals per week that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. This recommendation is included in the USDA’s 2005 dietary guidelines and is being reiterated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Researchers and medical professionals presented evidence linking the important relationship between seafood and health during an international science conference in Washington, D.C. The governments of the United States, Norway, Canada and Iceland sponsored the conference, with technical assistance from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. “This conference provided us with the opportunity to bring experts together to discuss the important issue of seafood and health,…

■ Happy New Year! The trolling has been slow. Small mahimahi and some small, small shibi were found at the buoys. One marlin came up. The slow fishing was probably due to the nasty weather we had during the first half of December. Strong winds, thunderstorms and high surf kept a lot of the boaters home. I guess the fishermen went trolling at the shopping malls instead, looking for good buys. Shoreline fishing was good. Lots of ‘o‘io in the 4- to 9-lb range came up. When the thunderstorms hit, the water became dirty and the ‘o‘io did not bite as well. Hopefully the water will clear up soon and the ‘o‘io will bite again. Those ‘o‘io made ‘ono fishcake! During the last half of December, the boats went bottom…