The price of local onaga, opakapaka and five other popular fish species could rise starting next month when the waters around the main Hawaiian Islands come under new fishing restrictions.

Bottomfishing within 200 miles of the main Hawaiian Islands for the so-called "Deep-7" bottomfish species will be banned from May 1 to Sept. 30. The other five banned species are ehu, lehi, hapu'upu'u, kalekale and gindai.

"What we're trying to do is bring down the mortality of the deepwater fish," said Ed Ebisui, vice chairman of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council. "The season closure is intended to coincide with what we believe to be the spawning time for these particular fish."

Ebisui spoke at a news conference yesterday at which he announced a round of public meetings on the ban.

The only local source for the seven deepwater species during the ban will be eight commercial vessels licensed to fish around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, which contribute about one-third to half the local supply, said Ebisui.

"The cost of local fish will increase to consumers," Ebisui predicted, but he didn't say by how much.

Imported fish from Fiji and Tonga will be available during the ban at about the same price as now, researchers say.

Ebisui said the imported fish will come from unregulated fisheries, which eventually also could be overfished.

Ed Watamura, a local small- boat bottomfisher, said that new restrictions on catching bottomfish species would have little impact on small-boat fishermen like himself.

His reasoning is that around May, commercial fishermen start trolling for 'ahi and 'ono anyway because the weather gets too windy for comfortable deepwater fishing.

"The impact on us won't be that great, and scientifically, it seems like the logical thing to do," Watamura said.

About 3,500 vessels will be affected by the closure, including roughly 350 commercial boats.

Unlike Watamura, however, some fishers focus primarily on the banned fish, which bring in the best payback per pound. Unless commercial fishers can refocus on other species, they could be out of work during the closure, said Dan Polhemus, administrator of the state Division of Aquatic Resources.

Fishing for bottomfish species such as uku, weke ula and ulua will still be allowed.

Officials aren't worried about enforcing the closure, since no one should be able to sell the fish until October. However, the Coast Guard will be patrolling, and anyone found with banned bottomfish could face fines of up to $130,000.

Once the fishing resumes, new sets of rules and regulations will come in phases, including catch limits. As soon as the total number of fish reaches 76 percent of the 2004 catch, the fishery will close again until the following Oct. 1.

In addition, for the first time, noncommercial fishery participants will be required to obtain a federal permit and report their catches.