Waikiki-Diamond Head Fishing Area Closed for a Year
The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources says it will help fish populations replenish themselves.
Better start putting those poles and nets away: The聽Shoreline Fisheries Management Area for Waikiki-Diamond Head will be closed for a year.
The closure will begin聽Jan. 1 and ending Dec.31, 2015.
The area聽encompasses the nearshore waters “between the 鈥楨wa wall of the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium and the Diamond Head Lighthouse, from the high-water mark on shore to a minimum seaward distance of 500 yards, or to the edge of the fringing reef if one occurs beyond 500 yards,” according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
Eh! No fishing!
Civil Beat
DLNR says that fishing is also not allowed “at any time”in the adjoining Waikiki Marine Life Conservation District between the Ewa edge of the Natatorium and the Ewa edge of the Kapahulu groin.
Anyone who violates the provisions of this rule may be guilty of a petty misdemeanor, and /or subject to an administrative fine.
鈥淧eriodically closing areas to fishing was a practice used by early Hawaiians; it helped fish populations replenish themselves,鈥 William Aila, DLNR chairperson, said in a statement Wednesday. 鈥淲e use a variation of that at Waikiki-Diamond Head for the same purpose. Closed years give fish a break from fishing pressure, and allow their populations to increase. Fishing experiences are then improved during open years.鈥
