June 2, 2020 — When five Hawaii fisherman took to sea, they had one goal in mind: feeding their local health care workers.
One of the fishermen was Kyle Nakamoto, the executive producer of the diving show Hawaii Skin Diver TV, who told CNN the lucky group caught two yellowfin tuna totaling 220 pounds.
May 21, 2020 — Congressman Ed Case (HI-01) recently announced that more than $4.3 million is now available for the State of Hawaii’s fishing and aquaculture industry impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources is the agency tasked to administer the funds to eligible applicants.
“Those eligible for the funds include commercial fishing businesses, charter for hire fishing companies, qualified aquaculture operations and marine fisheries management agencies,” said Case.
The money was made available through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES), which Congress passed with overwhelming bi-partisan support and was signed into law by the president on March 27, 2020.
Nationally, the funds are administered through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
May 19, 2020 — For the past three months, much of Hawaii’s longline fishing fleet, the one that normally stocks the state’s markets and restaurants with fresh poke, ruby red ahi and slabs of swordfish, has been tied up in port as the coronavirus ravages the islands’ economy.
With tourism all but shut down due to Hawaii Gov. David Ige’s 14-day quarantine and restaurant service reduced to takeout for social distancing purposes, there’s less demand for fish.
Prices have dwindled to the point where going out on the water can be more expensive for fishermen than the price of the catch coming in.
State and federal governments have done little to help out, despite the fact that fish are a critical source of protein for the islands’ residents.
May 12, 2020 — A regional fishery management council sent a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump late last week urging his administration to ease limitations on fishing in the nation’s Pacific marine monuments, saying the restrictions hinder American tuna fishing.
The letter, penned by Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council Chair Archie Taotasi Soliari and Executive Director Kitty Simonds, was dated Friday, 8 May, a day after the administration released details of how it would allocate the USD 300 million in funding to the seafood industry from the CARES Act. At the same time, White House officials held a call with fishery management officials to discuss other aspects of Trump’s executive order that outlined improving the country’s competitiveness as a seafood producer, a key economic policy for the administration since it came into office more than three years ago.
May 11, 2020 — More than $4.3 million has been made available to Hawai‘i’s fishing and aquaculture industry impacted by COVID-19.
On Thursday, the Secretary of Commerce announced the allocation fo $300 million for fisheries assistance funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). This funding is to states, tribes, and territories with coastal and marine fisheries who have been negatively affected by COVID–19.
The DLNR and its Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) is currently in the process of developing a spending plan, which, if approved by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will allow fishery participants to apply for financial relief from Hawai‘i’s $4.3 million portion.
May 6, 2020 — About 145 commercial longline fishing boats are based in Honolulu and the group that represents them say they are facing a financial disaster.
Each year, Hawaii’s fishing industry brings in about a $100 million worth of fish on a wholesale basis. That’s according to Eric Kingma, executive director of the Hawaii Longline Association.
He says that in the last eight weeks as demand from restaurants has plunged, revenue losses for longline fishing have run about 60 percent over that time period.
And Kingma says this is not just a short-term issue..
April 24, 2020 — The Hawaii Longline Association (HLA) announced Thursday that it is collaborating with members of the state’s fishing industry to donate some 2,000 pounds of fresh big-eye tuna to the Hawaii Foodbank.
The donation, done in coordination with United Fishing Agency (Honolulu Auction), Hawaii Seafood Council, Nico’s Pier 38 and Pacific Ocean Producers, is the beginning of a new pilot program with the Hawaii Foodbank. As part of the partnership, the foodbank will buy $50,000 worth of seafood landed by the longliners.
“The face of hunger is changing every day and our nearly 140 vessels operating out of Honolulu Harbor are ready and able to make critical contributions to Hawaii’s fragile food supply,” said Eric Kingma, HLA’s executive director.
Kingma’s group lands about 30 million pounds of fish per year and generates more than $100 million in landed dock-side value, placing Honolulu Harbor sixth in the nation in terms of fisheries port value.
April 23, 2020 — The following was released by the Hawaii Longline Association:
The Hawaii Longline Association (HLA) has collaborated with members of Hawaii’s fishing industry in donating 2,000 pounds of fresh seafood to Hawaii Foodbank. The donation, done in coordination with United Fishing Agency (Honolulu Auction), Hawaii Seafood Council, Nico’s Pier 38, and Pacific Ocean Producers, is the beginning of a new pilot program with the Hawaii Foodbank.
The Hawaii longline fishery lands around 30 million pounds of fish per year, and generates more than $100 million in landed dock-side value, placing Honolulu Harbor 6th in the Nation in terms of fisheries port value.
For more information on the work being done by Hawaii Foodbank to support those in need during the current crisis, visit hawaiifoodbank.org.
April 20, 2020 — Hawaii’s fishing industry is far from a comeback after the price of fish plummeted and the market crashed in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Many fishing boat captains have been forced to lay off crew members and keep their vessels docked until it is financially viable to return to the sea.
Each trip out costs money and the price of ahi is so low, many crews are actually losing money when they operate.
Prices have rebounded slightly, but they are nowhere close to what they used to be.
April 15, 2020 — Tensions flared fast as the proposed expansions of national marine monuments near Hawaii in President Barack Obama’s second term set fishermen and conservationists against each other.
The Hawaii Longline Association, representing about 150 permitted vessels, objected to fishermen being locked out of fishing grounds. Conservationists aligned with The Pew Charitable Trusts, which advocates for marine protected areas (MPAs) around the world, and rallied for the preservation of coral reefs, unknown life in the deep sea, and the area’s natural and cultural resources.