Proposed MMA and/or FMA with two zones

  • Zone 1 restricts the take of any marine life unless it is caught by hook and line

  • Zone 2 allows the taking of all marine life by line fishing, throwing net from shore, and day spearfishing, subject to bag limit.  No gill nets and no night spear-fishing

Pu’uhonua

 The goal is to produce a refuge (pu’uhonua) in Kaoha’o, that entices mature fish that are still plentiful in the one hundred foot depth, to come closer to shore and reside inside the reef. This hopefully will create a “spill over” of fish into neighboring Waimanalo and Kailua where divers can harvest them. This is called Zone 1 and there is no spear fishing or taking sea life in any way allowed day or night, except by hook and line. In Kailua Bay, which is Zone 2, You may spear fish but only in the daytime and with bag limits.

To see the entire proposal click the following link and take our survey to let ue know what you think. 

In the past, it was common to harvest as many fish as one could catch.  That meant using the most effective means, which included flushing out fish from under rocks with pool chlorine and leaving lay/gill nets out for days.

“ We no longer live in a world of abundance but a world of scarcity.”

 The actions then were taken under the premise the fish would never run out, but today we see the effects of a lack of effective management and lack of kuleana within the wider community. Today, night spearfishing continues to harvest reef fishes at unsustainable levels.

A marine managed area (MMA) aims to reverse the negative impacts of unsustainable harvest by allowing fish stocks to recover naturally via growth and reproduction. 


What is an MMA?

Marine Managed Areas (MMAs) are specific geographic areas designated by statute or administrative rule for the purpose of managing a variety of marine, estuarine, or anchialine resources and their use. The resources may include any type of marine life (mammals, fishes, invertebrates, algae, etc.) and their habitats.

Some factors affecting reef health and fisheries include

  • Nighttime Spear Fishing

  • Water Quality 

  • Invasive Species  

  • Changes to freshwater input

  • The effects of climate change