The state Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday approved a two-year moratorium on harvesting a certain fish in West Hawaii waters.
The paku‘iku‘i, or Achilles tang, is a reef fish whose population in West Hawaii has been substantially diminished over the past decade. The Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Aquatic Resources reported declines of up to 95% since 1999 in certain locations.
In order to protect the species, the DLNR proposed a two-year prohibition on any harvesting of the fish in West Hawaii waters.
At a BLNR hearing Friday, DLNR aquatic biologist Chris Teague said the two-year period will not be sufficient for paku‘iku‘i numbers to noticeably recover, but will allow juvenile fish to mature and begin to repopulate while the DLNR develops additional rules to manage the species in the long term.
What those long-term rules might entail was not discussed at Friday’s hearing. However, Teague said paku‘iku‘i populations have been impacted not just by aquarium fishing but by fishers targeting them for food.
Teague noted that aquarium fishing in West Hawaii has been prohibited since 2017, but paku‘iku‘i numbers have not rebounded since then.
The BLNR voted unanimously in favor of the moratorium.