12/26/18 – WAIKIKI-DIAMOND HEAD SHORELINE FISHERIES MANAGEMENT AREA WILL CLOSE TO FISHING FOR ONE YEAR STARTING JAN. 1, 2019 Fishing, Main, News Releases Posted on Dec 26, 2018 in Aquatic Resources

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES

News Release

DAVID Y. IGE

GOVERNOR SUZANNE D. CASE

CHAIRPERSON For Immediate News Release: December 26, 2018

WAIKIKI-DIAMOND HEAD SHORELINE FISHERIES MANAGEMENT AREA WILL CLOSE TO FISHING FOR ONE YEAR STARTING JAN. 1, 2019

(Honolulu) – The Waikiki-Diamond Head Shoreline Fisheries Management Area (SFMA), O‘ahu, will be closed to fishing for one year, from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2019.

The SFMA encompasses the nearshore waters between the ‘Ewa 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. The area is closed to fishing during odd-numbered years.

“The periodic closure of Waikiki-Diamond Head SFMA to fishing is intended to give fish a temporary break from fishing pressure,” said Brian Neilson, acting administrator of the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources. “Waikiki-Diamond Head is the only area in the state where this management approach is used, and we are in the process of evaluating other strategies for achieving current fisheries management goals.”

Fishing is not allowed at any time in the adjacent Waikiki Marine Life Conservation District (MLCD), which extends from the ‘Ewa wall of the Natatorium to the Kapahulu groin (jetty).

Copies of statewide fishing regulations are available at the Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) main office, 1151 Punchbowl St., Room 330, Honolulu, 96813 all neighbor island DAR offices, at many sporting goods stores, and on the DAR web site at dlnr.hawaii.gov/dar.

To report violations of any fishing regulation, please call the DLNR enforcement hotline at (808) 643-DLNR (643-3567).

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Media contact:

AJ McWhorter

DLNR Communications Specialist

Hawaii Dept. of Land and Natural Resources

[email protected]

[email protected]

808-587-0396 (Communications Office)

808-587-0418 (Direct Line)

www.dlnr.hawaii.gov