Hawaii FEP - Western Pacific Fishery Council

CHAPTER 9: STATE, LOCAL AND OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES9.1 IntroductionThis chapter provides information on current fishery management authorities for the HawaiiArchipelago that are relevant to ecosystem fishery management.9.2 State of HawaiiThe State of Hawaii consists of all islands, together with their appurtenant reefs and territorialwaters, which were included in the Territory of Hawaii under the Organic Act of 1900. Under theAdmissions Act of 1959, Congress granted to Hawaii the status of statehood and all amenities ofa state, which included the reversion of title and ownership of the lands beneath the navigablewaters from the mean high-tide line seaward, out to a distance of three miles, as stated by theSubmerged Lands Act of 1953. Congress excluded Palmyra Atoll Kingman Reef, and JohnstonAtoll, including Sand Island, from the definition of the State of Hawaii in 1959. The federalgovernment also retained 1,765 acres of emergent land in the NWHI, which had been set asideby Executive Order 1019 in 1909, establishing the Hawaiian Islands Reservation (HIR).The HIRwas later renamed the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge (HINWR) after it wastransferred from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Interior in 1939 (Yamase1982). Kure Atoll was originally included in Executive Order 1019 but was returned to the Stateof Hawaii in 1952 by Executive Order 10413 (Yamase, 1982). The State of Hawaii claimsjurisdiction beyond its territorial seas of 0-3 nautical miles by claiming archipelagic status overchannel waters between the Main Hawaiian Islands (MacDonald and Mitsuyasu, 2000). Thefederal government does not recognize the State’s claim of archipelagic jurisdiction, butinterprets the State’s seaward authority to stop at three nautical miles from the baseline (Feder1997; MacDonald and Mitsuyasu 2000) such that the authority of the MSA begins at three milesfrom the shoreline around the Main Hawaiian Islands.Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Aquatic ResourcesThe management responsibility of marine resources in the State of Hawaii is vested in theDepartment of Land of Natural Resources through the Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources.The mission of HDAR is to manage, conserve and restore the state's unique aquatic resourcesand ecosystems for present and future generations. HDAR manages the State's aquatic resourcesand ecosystems through programs in commercial fisheries and resource enhancement; aquaticresources protection, habitat enhancement and education; and recreational fisheries. Majorprogram areas include projects to manage or enhance fisheries for long-term sustainability of theresources, protect and restore the aquatic environment, protecting native and resident aquaticspecies and their habitat, and providing facilities and opportunities for recreational fishing.HDAR utilizes a range of fishery management tools to conserve and manage the state’s marineresources and ecosystem including gear restrictions, size and bag limits, closed seasons, permitand reporting requirements, and an array of marine managed areas (i.e., Regulated Fishing Areas,236