The ripples from the state's financial crisis will soon be felt at popular fishing areas in Nu'uanu and Koke'e, Kaua'i, as the state Department of Land and Natural Resources prepares to eliminate key hatchery operations at the Anuenue Fisheries Research Center at Sand Island.

In response to a 20 percent reduction in general funds and further budget restrictions stemming from the Council on Revenues' May forecast, DLNR on July 1 will shut down hatchery operations responsible for restocking catfish at Nu'uanu Reservoir and trout at Koke'e State Park.

To local fishermen, the curtailing of hatchery operations is the beginning of the end of two of the state's most popular recreational fishing sites.

Leaders of the Waikahe'olu Chapter of Trout Unlimited, a local recreational trout fishing organization with about 146 members, said they have tried to reach DLNR chairwoman Laura H. Thielen to discuss the situation but to no avail.

"They never invited public discussion of this before ... (Thielen) made her decision," said Louie DeNolfo, a fly-fishing guide and member of Trout Unlimited. "They're going against the wishes of thousands of people who enjoy recreational fishing at Koke'e. People have dedicated decades to helping and preserving that fishery and now ... (Thielen) wants to take it all away."

The group has scheduled a rally outside the state Capitol today at 3 p.m.

Thielen said the budget situation has forced every state department and agency to make difficult decisions as they seek to continue to fulfill their core missions. She said DLNR's priority is to maintain operations, such as fisheries and habitat management, that cannot be duplicated by other departments or by the private sector. The research facility has been in operation since 1969.

Thielen pointed to private hatchery operations on Kaua'i, such as those established by Division of Aquatic Resources education specialist Wade Ishikawa, as an example of ways in which fishermen and others in the private sector can help to maintain fish populations at Koke'e and Nu'uanu.

"We need allies in the fishing community to step up and help us," Thielen said. "With the budget cuts that we're facing, we can't continue to do it all ourselves."

DeNolfo said Trout Unlimited has approached DLNR, Waimea High School and Punahou School with a proposal to have the schools take over the hatchery operations as an educational initiative.

The Anuenue hatchery rears anywhere between 50,000 and 100,000 trout each year, with all surviving stock transported to Koke'e, Kaua'i's only designated public fishing area for trout.

Last year, 2,500 recreational fishing enthusiasts participated in the opening day of trout season at Koke'e.

Anuenue also rears catfish to restock a designated fishing area at Nu'uanu Reservoir. Last year, some 5,400 people applied for permits to fish at the reservoir.

FISH CAN'T KEEP UP

Without annual restocking, both fishing areas will likely be depleted in a matter of years.

"Fish populations are totally depleted at the end of a season, so when we add younger fish, it's like a topping off to raise the density of fish, which contributes to more fishing success," said Francis Oishi, program manager for the Division of Aquatic Resources' Recreational Fisheries. "But spawning survival is low and natural reproduction can't keep up. Eventually there will be depletion."

Anglers on Kaua'i will likely see the effects of the operational shutdown first.

Although trout tend to grow faster in the tropics, they also have a shorter lifespan, usually three to four years, Oishi said. And while catfish tend to live longer, he said, "like anything, there is a point of diminishing returns if you keep fishing without restocking."

Last year, the Anuenue Fisheries received $121,600 in general funds plus an additional $364,800 in matching federal money. Under the redirection, $150,000 in federal funds will be shifted to increased reef and fish monitoring, and $135,000 in federal funds to fish assessment and environmental reviews, according to Oishi.

Oishi said some sportfish funds will be used to support projects originally proposed in the department's Recreational Renaissance proposal, which failed to get legislative approval last session.

"It would be nice to continue (restocking the fishing spots) because people really enjoy them, but the present administration has made a decision," Oishi said.

Nine employees involved in the fish-rearing operations will be reassigned.

The changes will take effect at the start of the new fiscal year on Wednesday.

FISHERMEN OBJECT

In a letter to Gov. Linda Lingle, Trout Unlimited chapter president Arlen Meline argued for the value of the fisheries to local residents and visitors and questioned whether DLNR had the authority to divert federal funds specifically earmarked for hatchery operations.

"Our concern stems from the fact that funding for the trout hatchery and the stocking of waters on Kaua'i is largely funded by federal dollars specifically designated for support of trout fisheries under the Dingell-Johnson Act," Meline wrote. "Diversion of these funds to other projects seems inappropriate and we respectfully request that these funds be used for their intended purpose — the support of a trout fishery on Kaua'i that has been in existence for nearly ninety years."

The Dingell-Johnson Act, also known as the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act, was passed in 1950 to provide financial assistance to state fish restoration and management plans and projects.

However, Thielen said she and her staff have been working closely with federal grant managers to ensure that funds are redistributed in accordance with federal guidelines.

"They understand what every state is dealing with and they agree with the options we've identified," Thielen said. "We're doing it with their full support."

DeNolfo said the most pressing concern is the disposition of young trout stock — the last to be reared by the hatchery — scheduled to be transported to Kaua'i by Wednesday.

"They need to be at least three inches before they're introduced to the reservoir, and they're only one inch," DeNolfo said. "They're too small to survive the high temperature of the reservoir, and the mesh (barrier) is too big to contain them, so they'll escape and get eaten by larger fish."

The fishing group has asked DLNR to postpone the move for a few weeks to allow the trout stock to mature. If that isn't possible, DeNolfo said, he and a dozen other fishermen are prepared to fly to Kaua'i to receive the stock and deposit them in the headwaters of nearby streams to give them a better chance of survival.

Thielen said she has not given a hard deadline for the stock to be transported and that her department can be flexible with the delivery date to assure that the fish are able to survive in the reservoir.