Darn gill nets...

[KrisB]

No photos, sorry folks. I didn't get there in time, but I'm sure the Maui News will have some coverage of this.

Y'all have probably heard of the hammerhead sightings along the South Maui coastline over the last week... if not, here's the preamble:

Maui News | Shark sighted – again
Maui News | South Maui shark sightings continue

So today, I go to return my tank and am told the news. One of the two hammerheads sighted yesterday at Ulua Beach was pulled up, along with a turtle, in a gill net and was laying in front of the Kamaole Beach Park I lifeguard station. I drove down there right away, and they confirmed it, but wouldn't let me take any pictures -- the shark had been covered/bagged up and the turtle was already taken away.

This just added insult to insult from yesterday when they wouldn't let me in the water to take the picture of it while it was alive, either... they closed Ulua and Mokapu beaches at the very least.

In talking more with other instructors, it seems the DLNR is not keen on enforcing this whole gill net thing based on individual reports unless you have photos. So... if you see someone with a net, take a photo, try and get license plate or boat registration tags in the photo and send it to them in a report.

These gill nets are really what's harming our reefs -- likely as much as any golf-course runoff!

 

[beachscuba1]

Just curious, do you know if gill nets are allowed to be used from shore? Its fairly common in north Kihei, in fact I saw it today.

What authority do lifeguards have to restrict your photos on a public beach?

 

[KrisB]

Just curious, do you know if gill nets are allowed to be used from shore? Its fairly common in north Kihei, in fact I saw it today.

I think there's some specific issues around it, and I'm thinking it's best to take photos, forward them and allow the DLNR to sort out what's legal and what's not.

I believe it's *lay* gill netting that is illegal -- where they leave the net there for a while, then come back and pick it up.

But I have also heard that it's illegal to posess the nets...

The DLNR says: DAR Announcements but truthfully... it seems the whole practice of gillnetting needs to go away.

What authority do lifeguards have to restrict your photos on a public beach?

None. But they would have authority to tell me to piss off as I try and take the shark out of the garbage bag it's in right in front of their tower.

 

[KrisB]

Further info with photos: Maui News | Shark, turtles snared by net

 

[Wildcard]

There are three kinds of gill nets, drift and lay and set. Lay nets are what are used legaly in Hawaii for fish and lobster. They are placed on the bottom then retrieved after a period of time. The regs require that they be checked at an interval, don't rember what it is right off the top of my head.
Set nets are anchored at each end and fish from the surface down to however deep they go. Commonly used for salmon fishing here in Alaska.
Drift nets are floating nets, much like set nets but have bouys at one end and are attached to a boat on the other. Common for salmon fishing from Washington north. Also these are the "walls of death" you hear about. Open ocean drift nets that may be 10 miles or more in length.
It is a lot easer to complain about something if you know what your talking about so there ya go.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Lay nets are what are used legaly in Hawaii for fish and lobster.

It is a lot easer to complain about something if you know what your talking about so there ya go.

According to this Honolulu Advertiser article, using lay nets as lay nets is what is now illegal along all Maui shores and certain shores of Oahu. Using them as surround nets is not illegal.

The rules took effect in March and prohibit the lay net practice around Maui and certain shores of Oahu.

But the practice is still lawful around Molokai, Lanai, Kauai and Niihau, although new rules apply. These include net registration, size limits and soak times. Existing rules in West Hawaii, which offered a model for the statewide regulations, include open and banned areas for lay gill nets as well as fishing protocols when using lay gill nets, according to a DLNR press release.

So there ya go, NOW we can all complain easier.

 

[KrisB]

Thanks guys. I didn't understand the difference, aside from the fact that lay gill netting is now illegal around Maui (per referenced DLNR article).

According to the Maui News article (and yes, I know their reporting is often *ahem* laden with factual misrepresentation...) it was just this sort of practice that caused this.