Know the Rules/Fishing Regulations/Fishing Around Protected Species
Fishing Around Protected Species
Fishing is important to our way of life and livelihoods in Hawaiʻi. Below you can find best practices for how to catch fish and avoid harming protected species
Know the Rules/Fishing Regulations/Fishing Around Protected Species
Fishing Around Protected Species
Fishing is important to our way of life and livelihoods in Hawaiʻi. Below you can find best practices for how to catch fish and avoid harming protected species
Fishing Around Sea Turtles
Line entanglement around flippers, head or neck is the greatest threat to sea turtles. Serious entanglements, embedded fishing line, or swallowed hooks should only be handled by trained responders. If you have accidentally hooked a sea turtle yourself, please follow the steps below.
- Call the NOAA Marine Wildlife Hotline: 1-888-256-9840 as soon as you’ve hooked a turtle for technical guidance and reporting.
- Carefully reel the turtle in, handling it as gently as possible while bringing it to shore. Do not drag a turtle up a cliff. If you are fishing from a cliffside, cut the line as close to the turtle as you can and report its location so responders can monitor it.
- Hold the turtle by its shell and/or flippers to help secure them while you are removing the hook or fishing line.
- Cut the line close to the hook’s eye, or as short as possible.
- Remove the hook, only if it is barbless or if you have the capability to pinch down the barb before removing it. Do not attempt to remove the hook if it will cause injury to the turtle or yourself. Do not attempt to try and pull out a swallowed hook,please call responders instead.
- Remove any loose or fresh wrapped fishing line from the flippers, head or neck. If possible, try to remove any fishing line from the reefs if left behind.
- Release the turtle when it is done, letting responders know when it is finished.
- Dispose of the line properly.
A hook in a sea turtle’s lip is generally less harmful than trailing or wrapped fishing line. Removing excess lines is often more important than trying to take out a hook from the lip. Loose lines can tangle around the turtle’s body, become embedded over time, and lead to more serious injuries. It can also snag on reefs and hold the turtle underwater, preventing it from reaching the surface to breathe.
All Sea Turtles in Hawai’i have NO Open Season. State and Federal Laws Prohibit the taking or harassment of sea turtles.
Fishing or Spearfishing Around Monk Seals
Hookings and fishing lines are often life threatening for Hawaiian monk seals. PLEASE REPORT!
If you are spearfishing and see a seal, pull your fish in close and never feed seals, to avoid them following you and getting comfortable getting fed by humans.
If you hook a seal or see a sick or injured seal please call the NOAA Marine Mammal Stranding and Entanglement Hotline: 1-888-256-9840 .
Please do not attempt to remove hooks from seals or get too close to seals as they can be very aggressive. Cut the line and please report the hooking to responders.
Monk seal sightings are still relatively rare, so we also want to know if you see a monk seal, regardless of injury or entagement.
All Hawaiian monk seals in Hawai’i have NO Open Season. State and Federal Laws Prohibit the taking or harassment of sea turtles.
Check out our reflective fishing around protected species decals. To get free decals, please check out our DLNR DAR Instagram page and Barbless circle hook project instagram page to join us at our next event or contact your local DAR office or local NOAA fisheries representative. Stock is limited for these stickers.
Fishing Around Oceanic Whitetip Sharks and Other Shark Species
Oceanic White Tip Sharks are mostly encountered with boat fishermen since they are an off-shore, open water species. Other shark species are common to hook on the shoreline, like white tip reef sharks, tiger sharks, and other species.
Hookings and fishing lines can be threatening for sharks. Reduce fishing interactions through avoidance. If you accidentally hook a shark, consider bringing in your line(s), cutting the line short and changing locations.
If you see a deceased shark, please call the NOAA Marine Wildlife Hotline: 1-888-256-9840 option 8. If you see an Oceanic White Tip Shark, please report all sightings. Please take pictures of their dorsal (top) fins when reporting Oceanic White Tip Sightings.
Report sightings and submit photos.
All sharks in Hawai’i have NO Open Season. State laws protect all sharks in Hawai’i, while state and federal laws protect Oceanic White Tip Sharks.
Fishing Around False Killer Whales and Other Cetacean Species
False Killer Whales are mostly encountered with boat fishermen since they are an off-shore, open water species and this species can be very competitive with large pelagic catches. Other whale species are prevalent in Hawaiian waters as well and can be accidentally hooked like Humpback whales and Dolphins.
Hookings and fishing lines can be life threatening for all whales and dolphins. The best way to avoid fisher interactions is through avoidance.
Help conserve False Killer Whales (FKWs) by being aware of high-density areas while fishing. If you see FKW’s, consider moving locations to avoid interactions and bring in your lines.
If you are fishing and hook any one of these species, please straighten the hook and cut the gear close to the animal to avoid any trailing line. Please report all hookings.
Your help is requested to report sightings and interactions with false killer whales to increase our knowledge about their populations. Any photos or locations of sightings are helpful!
PLEASE: Report False Killer Whale Sightings interactions by emailing photos and videos to hawaii@cascadiaresearch.org. Or call: 1 (888) 256-9840 option #5, so we may learn more about how the population is doing and how to release a whale best if the fishing gear is attached.
Report sightings and submit photos.
To tell the difference between False Killer Whales and other Black Fish Species, please click here to review the Blackfish Identification Guide.
All cetaceans in Hawai’i have NO Open Season. State & federal laws protect all cetaceans in Hawai’i.
If you accidentally hook a humpback whale or another larger whale species, please do not try to reel it in; due to their large size, clipping the line as soon as possible keeps you and your vessel safe. If you do accidentally hook a humpback or other larger whale species, please report it to the NOAA Marine Wildlife Hotline: 1-888-256-9840.
Fishing Around Oceanic Manta Rays and Other Rays
Oceanic Manta rays are mostly encountered with boat fishermen since they are an off-shore, open water species. Other ray species are prevalent in Hawaiian waters as well and can be accidentally hooked like eagle rays and reef manta rays.
Hookings and fishing lines can be life threatening for all rays in Hawai’i. When going fishing, please be aware of high ray use areas: areas where there is a lot of upwelling – usually a steep drop off. Consider moving locations or bringing in lines if you see a ray in the area to help avoid entanglements. If you do hook one of these animals, please cut the line as close to the hook as possible, and release as quickly as possible to reduce harm to these species.
Please report all Oceanic Manta ray fishing interactions and sightings by calling the NOAA Marine Wildlife Hotline: 1-888-256-9840 Option 8. Oceanic Manta ray sightings are rare, so please take pictures of their bellies and report your sightings.
Oceanic manta ray sightings are rare, so please take pictures of their bellies and report your sightings.
Report sightings and submit photos.
All rays in Hawai’i have NO Open Season. State laws protect all rays in Hawaiian waters and state and federal laws protect Oceanic Manta Rays.
Barbless Circle Hook Project
The Barbless Circle Hook Project is a partnership between the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Aquatic Resources and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association (NOAA) Fisheries. The project was created to help minimize fishing interactions between fishers and protected species by providing free barbless circle hooks to the community and educating about the importance of using them.
Why use a Barbless Circle Hook?
- It’s better for the fish. It’s easier to quickly release unwanted catch without damaging the fish, which means more and healthier fish for you to catch in the future.
- It’s better for you. Minimize injury to yourself and others, as well as damage to shirt, shorts, and nets.
- It’s better for protected species in Hawaiʻi. If you accidentally hook or entangle an animal, barbless hooks are easier to remove, or the animals may be able to free themselves, which reduces trauma and enables the animal to return to normal activities.
Barbless circle hooks work! Studies on barbless circle hook effectiveness show that they work just as well as barbed hooks, and barbless fishers win tournaments! Check out the Barbless Circle Hook Project on Facebook and Instagram to see more photos of successful barbless circle hook catches.
How to make a Barbless Circle Hook:
Use a small hand crimper (for Mustad 16/0 and smaller hooks) or large bench crimper (for Mustad 18/0 and larger hooks) to flatten a circle hook’s barb. A pair of parallel-jawed pliers can also be used in place of a hand crimper to flatten down the barb on smaller hooks.
A barbed circle hook converted to a barbless hook using a crimping tool to flatten the barb.
Use a hand crimper for small hooks, and a bench crimper for large hooks.
FREE Barbless Circle Hooks
Check out our Instagram page @barblesscirclehookproject to see our next events and or contact your local DLNR DAR Office to ask about free barbless circle hooks and or event sponsorships.