WAIMANALO — The Oceanic Institute has announced the commencement of a five-year study funded by a $500,000 grant from the Harold K. L. Castle Foundation to assess the effectiveness of regulations restricting lay-gillnets in Hawai'i.

Researchers from Oceanic Institute, an affiliate of Hawai'i Pacific University, will be surveying fish populations in two areas on Windward O'ahu, according to a news release. One site is Kailua Bay, where lay-gillnets have been banned altogether. The other site is Waimanalo Bay, where use of the nets is restricted, but still allowed, the news release said.

The abundance of various species of fish will be measured in both areas over a five-year period to determine if the ban on lay-gillnets in the Kailua area is effectively preserving and enhancing fish populations. In addition, surveys of fishing efforts will be conducted at both locations to determine if any changes observed are influenced by changes in types of fishing methods used and frequency.

"Most marine scientists and resource managers believe that the relatively unrestricted use of lay-gillnets in Hawai'i is having a major impact on the sustainability of our near shore fisheries resources," said Bruce Anderson, Oceanic Institute president. "We are grateful to the Harold K. L. Castle Foundation for its support and recognizing that it is important to evaluate the effectiveness of the regulations recently promulgated by the State Department of Land and Natural Resources."

"Forty years ago, you could throw net off Popo'ia Island in Kailua Bay and pull it up heavy with moi," said Terry George, vice president and executive director of the Harold K. L. Castle Foundation. "Since then, fish stocks in both Kailua and Waimanalo have declined dramatically. As one of its investments to bring the fish back, the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation hopes that the Oceanic Institute's research will demonstrate whether the new lay-gillnet regulations indeed help to increase fish abundance for all to enjoy."

Oceanic Institute has been conducting beach seines in Kailua and Waimanalo for more than a decade to evaluate the effectiveness of fish stock enhancement efforts. Background data was collected during studies done on the effectiveness of periodic releases of moi (Pacific threadfin) raised at Oceanic Institute with funds provided by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). More than a half million moi have been periodically released in these areas to enhance natural populations. Concurrently, sampling surveys were done to determine the effectiveness of such measures and to assure that the releases were not having any adverse environmental impacts.

Data on the composition and abundance of many near shore species, such as 'ama'ama (mullet), moi (threadfin), 'o'io (bonefish), weke (goatfish) and papio (jacks), will be compiled over the next five years and analyzed for trends in these areas.

A secondary, potentially confounding factor that must be considered is the change in gear types and fishing effort that may occur because of the ban and restrictions. It is anticipated that as fish populations increase, so will fishing pressure from other capture methods.

"Visual surveys of fishing methods and frequency will be conducted to determine if there are significant changes in fishing practices that may mask the impacts of the ban," said Alan Friedlander, a scientist at Oceanic Institute and the study's Principal Investigator. "Together, these studies will provide regulatory decision-makers and other stakeholders with objective, high quality data to evaluate the effectiveness of the ban."

Rules banning the use of lay-gillnets in certain areas of O'ahu and the Big Island of Hawai'i, and all of Maui were promulgated after several years of informational meetings on the issue and a series of contested public hearings by DLNR. Commercial catch data show that the abundance of many of the near-shore species of fish has declined precipitously over the last few decades. Lay-gillnets are thought to have contributed substantially to that loss.

Oceanic Institute, an affiliate of Hawai'i Pacific University, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to research, development and transfer of oceanographic, marine environmental, and aquaculture technologies. The largest marine aquaculture research institution in the U.S., Oceanic Institute is a world leader in conducting applied research in aquaculture production and marine resource conservation.

For more information, visit Oceanic Institute at www.oceanicinstitute.org.