Aquatic resources officials are seeking to change state rules on the possession and use of certain fishing gear.
The main purpose of the proposed changes is to establish a new annual lay net permit requirement and fee, according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. Other proposed changes would strengthen the enforceability of lay net rules and bring them in conformity with other laws.
“Lay nets continue to be one our most problematic fishing gear types in terms of illegal use and unintended by-catch,” Division of Aquatic Resources Administrator Brian Neilson said in a news release. “A lay net permit will allow the department to better regulate this gear type and also offer more opportunities to educate fishers on the responsible use of lay nets.”
On Friday, the state Board of Land and Natural Resources approved the division’s proposal to hold a statewide hearing on the changes.
The board also required two additional amendments: clarifying that only one net may be used by a permittee at a time, and clarifying that the gill net used as a surround net must always be attended.
• Adding new definitions for freshwater stream, lobster net, multipanel lay net and throw net to clarify meanings.
• Prohibiting the take of sharks with firearms to be consistent with state law.
• Clarifying that akule may be taken with legal throw nets.
• Amending activities prohibited in selected areas and making conforming amendments to special lay net rules that apply to Molokai and West Hawaii.
• Establishing the lay net permit requirement, removing the existing lay net registration requirement and prohibiting leaving a lay net unattended for any amount of time.
Under current rules, fishers are allowed to leave a lay net unattended for up to one half-hour. This makes enforcement difficult, as a Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement officer must observe a lay net for 30 minutes before determining that a violation has happened, the news release said. Monk seals, turtles and other marine life can get tangled up in nets and die in the period of time that nets are allowed to be left unattended.
The proposed new rule requires a lay net to be attended the entire time it is set and clarifies that an unattended net is one in which the net or surface buoys are not within sight of the user.
The state did not announce a date for the future public hearing.
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