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DLNR HANDLING OF NEW LAW ON SEA CUCUMBERS QUESTIONED

July 12, 2015

The Hawaii State Department of Land and Natural Resources'  recent handling of sea cucumbers taken from state waters is tainted with unethical dealings, misinformation, and a possible violation of fishermen's civil rights.   On  June 26, 2015, the Hawaii State Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) issued a Press Release stating:

  "SEA CUCUMBER HARVESTING BANNED FOR 120 DAYS in HAWAII. Land Board Approves Emergency Rule, Governor Expected to Quickly Sign.    The Hawaii Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) approved a rule today to make it illegal to take any species of sea cucumber from Hawaii State waters for the next 120 days.  This is in response to an investigation by officers of the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE), who confirmed that a new commercial fishery recently started. The investigation was supported further by public observations.  Governor David Ige is expected to quickly follow the BLNR approval by signing the emergency administrative rules".

DLNR Chairperson Suzanne Case said, "Based on a briefing from DOCARE about their ongoing investigation and recent findings and input from the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR), we took the unusual step of fast-tracking this rule to immediately stop the continued depletion of this natural resource." This decision was further confirmed to be prudent when, "People across the state expressed outrage after seeing photographs and learning about the mass commercial harvesting of sea cucumbers in near shore waters on Maui and Oahu."

Ms. Case also stated;  "This is in response to an investigation by officers of the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE), who confirmed that a new commercial fishery recently started."    I believe Ms. Case knowingly and falsely represented the facts in her statement, based on  information from reports I obtained via the State's Uniform Information Practices Act, from the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources.  The information clearly  controverts Ms. Case's claim, showing that a "commercial fishery" has existed in this state for years. The following is just a small representation of the many years fishermen have been participating in a commercial fishery targeting sea cucumbers.

 

Year        No. collectors           No. harvested        No. sold            Value
2012        8                                  3,533                    3,402               $3,456
2013        7                                  2,996                    2,817               $3,218
2014        7                                  2,375                    2,375               $2,461
2015        5                                     637                       636                  $635
   

 

Recently DLNR Enforcement ordered Young Brothers to place a hold on a shipment of sea cucumbers from Maui at the Young Brothers facility on the Island of Oahu.  Reportedly, the sea cucumbers in the shipment were legally taken from waters surrounding the island of Maui by Hawaii by fishermen with commercial licenses.  Also, it is reported that DLNR held the shipment as part of a greater scheme orchestrated to justify and support its [soon to be announced] Administrative Emergency Rule that  addressed the recent, highly publicized incident involving the legal take of sea cucumbers from waters near Waimanalo on the island of Oahu.

 The DLNR, under Chairperson Suzanne Case's  guidance, initiated the interception of the sea cucumber shipment at Young Brothers to give reason to send an officer assigned to the Community Fisheries Enforcement Unit (CFEU) from the island of Maui to Oahu to work the case.  She did this, in large part, to give the public the impression that the CFEU is effective in its protection of the state's marine resources.  As stated in minutes from a Board of Land and Natural Resources meeting, "The community fisheries enforcement unit-FEU is a new and innovative program to improve the sustainability of the main Hawaiian Islands near shore fisheries by significantly [improve] public compliance with the state of Hawaii's fisheries laws and rules. This is a joint initiative of Conservation International Foundation, Castle Foundation and DOCARE".    At this time the unit is only active on Maui. 

Currently the CFEU is not adequately funded and we understand DLNR and nonprofit organizations are desperately seeking funds to prop it up.  It appears the detainment was made at Young Brothers, then later cleared for release, to allow the owner or his agent to pick it up and deliver it to a home in Laie.  That home was reportedly under surveillance by DLNR.  These actions were taking place so the DLNR could claim the shipment was a large, unlawful, commercial endeavor of sea cucumber harvesting in order to  justify the Emergency Rule and support the need for grants and more funding for the CFEU.  In fact, I believe the detainment was made in order to make the CFEU look as though it was successfully investigating and protecting the state's marine resources.  I also suspect these actions will be used to solicit money from grants and state legislators specifically to fund the CFEU on Maui.

There is also information in Case's June 26 press release stating  "The Department of Land and Natural Resources has been investigating and has now confirmed a new commercial fishery in which mass harvesting of sea cucumbers is occurring on both Oahu and Maui."    , I believe, if true, the detainment of sea cucumbers was pretextual and had nothing to do with the protection of the resources because at the time the taking of sea cucumbers was legal and covered by a commercial license.  I also  believe there needs to be a review of these events with steps taken to prevent any further actions that may violate the rights of fishermen who hold valid licenses issued by DLNR to take sea cucumbers, and any other wildlife being regulated by the DLNR.

In other words, based on current information provided by the DLNR, and because the DLNR previously issued commercial licenses for the take of sea cucumbers to the fishermen on Maui, the take of sea cucumbers shipped to Oahu was not illegal.    If that is true, and the take of sea cucumbers is legal, under what authority did the DLNR order Young Brothers use to detain the shipment of sea cucumbers on Oahu?   Also, officers assigned to Oahu have the skills, and are capable of taking care of the matter at hand, so why were officers from Maui being sent to Oahu?   It is our understanding that prior to the Maui CFEU officers being sent to Oahu,  officers on Oahu had already identified and located the home in Laie where the sea cucumbers were being processed.   Since the Oahu team had already located the residence in Laie, why did Case think it necessary to have someone from Maui's CFEU travel to Oahu just to be included in the process?    Furthermore, why didn't the DLNR  take steps to implement the rules necessary to afford protection of the sea cucumbers several years ago, when licenses were first issued,  thereby avoiding the need for an emergency action and any further delays caused by these manufactured actions?

The detainment of the shipment of sea cucumbers, the travel of a Maui CFEU officer to Oahu,  and the surveillance of the home in Laie where reportedly sea cucumbers were being processed, strongly suggests that circumstances were being manipulated for political reasons and not the protection of our fragile marine resources.  

It is clear that, prior to the passage of the emergency law suspending the take of sea cucumbers from state waters, there were no laws or regulations against the take of sea cucumbers.  This begs the question, why were the  sea cucumbers detained at Young Brothers if they were not illegal?  Why was the Maui Officer allowed to travel to Oahu to conduct surveillance of a legal activity when the officers from Oahu had already identified the receiving facility. This suggests  our concerns that Ms. Case and some of the DLNR staff were attempting to manufacture a crisis to showcase the cash strapped Maui Community Fisheries Enforcement Unit have been confirmed.  I am also concerned, and I believe, the DLNR was wrong to allow a commercial fishery for sea cucumbers in the first place, without first conducting surveys and biological assessments to determine if the population of sea cucumbers in state waters could sustain itself while being targeted by a commercial fishery.  I also believe  the DLNR erred when it issued commercial fishing licenses to fishermen targeting sea cucumbers without bag limits, size limits, seasonal take, method of harvesting, and times of take. etc.    

That being said, becausethe DLNR knew the sea cucumbers in the detained shipment were legally taken under a commercial fishing license, and therefore not violating any laws, their actions raise concerns that the DLNR, a State Government Law Enforcement Agency, knowingly and  illegally detained the shipment of sea cucumbers, possibly violating the rights of the shipper by collecting information of citizens without a warrant or probable cause.   This also raises concerns regarding why the DLNR is involved in activities that are giving rise to other behaviors that may be unconstitutional.  I am also privy to information alleging a total of three officers from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Conservation Resources, Maui Branch, traveled to Oahu and met with Ms. Case prior to the emergency ruling.  During the meeting they helped author the June 26, 2015, press release.  Why was their involvement necessary for the process? 

The sea ccumber fishermen told me that after the Board of Land and Natural Resources passed the ban on the commercial fishery for sea cucumbers DLNR did not formally notify them that they could sell, transport, or possess the sea cucumbers they had taken legally prior to the ban.  Also the DLNR did not take an inventory of the sea cucumbers the fisherman still possessed before and after the closure.  An inventory of the sea cucumbers by the DLNR could possibly discourage any future take of sea cucumbers and prevent comingling with the legal ones.   Furthermore, the fisherman, and owner of the sea cucumbers in Laie and on Maui, told me  he was never informed by the DLNR or Young Brothers that his shipment was detained by the DLNR. 

This lack of information about the ruling prompted me to ask Dan Dennison, Senior Communications Manager for the DLNR, the following questions.  Also included are his answers:

·         How many commercial fishermen are impacted by this new rule?

Answer:  DOCARE is aware of 17 fishermen who got licenses after they began harvesting sea cucumbers for commercial sale on Maui only. No one applied for a license on Oahu,  (Note:  Look at the chart indicating 5 registered for 2015).

·         Will the DLNR refund part or all of the commercial license fee to the fishermen?

Answer:  No, commercial fishing began before any of these individuals applied for a license.



·         Can the fishermen continue to possess the sea cucumbers they legally took prior to the closure?
Answer:  Yes, as long as their catch reports show that what they possess was taken prior to June 26, 2015.

·         Can the fishermen sell the sea cucumbers legally taken prior to the closure?

Answer:  Yes, same answer as above.

·         Can the fishermen transport the sea cucumbers legally taken prior to the closure?

Answer:  Yes, same answer as above.

·         If the fishermen can't possess, sell or transport the sea cucumbers legally taken prior to the ban what, is the DLNR doing to address this?

Answer:  N.A.

·         Is the DLNR requiring the fishermen to dispose of the sea cucumbers?  If yes, how must they dispose the sea cumbers in their possession? 

Answer:  N.A.

 

·         Will the DLNR make financial compensation to the fishermen for the sea cucumbers they legally acquired and possessed prior to the closure? If yes, how will the agency determine the amount each fisherman is entitled?

Answer:  No, these fisherman were engaged in mass exploitation of a natural resource in Hawaii and the reason for the passage of the emergency rule.

·         Do the fishermen have to continue filing a report that they took legally prior to the closure?

Answer:  Yes, reports are due 10 days after the end of the previous month.

·         Did the DLNR require the fishermen to provide an accounting of the sea cucumbers they took prior to the closure?

Answer:  No, though it would be helpful to know the locations and sizes of their catches.

 

·         What measures or requirements are in place to prevent the fishermen from acquiring more sea cucumbers and commingling them with the ones legally taken prior to the closure?

Answer:  It is illegal as of June 26,2015 to catch or possess sea cucumbers and the fishermen would have to clearly demonstrate what they possess is pre-ban take. DLNR/DOCARE doesn't discuss details of continuing investigations.

·         Did the DLNR formally notify the fishermen that an emergency ban would be passed?  If yes, please provide a copy of the formal notice absent of the fisherman's name and address.

Answer:  No, the ban was widely publicized and it is always up to individuals to know specific laws or rules before harvesting or taking of any natural resources in Hawaii.

 

 

While I strongly believe that an emergency ban was necessary I also believe DLNR's efforts exploit the situation to benefit the CFEU was misplaced and is simply wrong   I am therefore of the opinion that Ms. Case should immediately resign for her behavior in this matter.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Carroll Cox

 




 

   
   
   
   
   
   

 

 

 
     

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