EDITORIAL
Unregulated gillnetting is a menace to sea life

Hawai'i has been nothing short of lax about the use of lay gillnets, which trap such unintended catch as dolphins, turtles, seals and live coral, and can hang out in the ocean for hours to years.

Hopefully that will all soon change, although to what degree we're not sure.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources is considering a partial ban of the use of lay gillnets, and is looking for public input to guide regulations.

Some say the state lacks the political will to get tough on lay gillnetting, which has been banned in most states. Others say to leave well enough alone.

Indeed, the fishing lobby is divided over this issue. For example, pole fishermen find gillnetting to be a nuisance and will most likely throw their weight behind a ban.

By law, gillnets must be checked at least every two hours and pulled up after four hours. But not everyone is playing by the rules. Plus, once the gear is lost or discarded at sea, it continues to enmesh and kill marine life, including endangered species.

A report produced earlier this year by the Pacific Fisheries Coalition found that "bycatch" may amount to 15 times the volume of the targeted catch.

Concern about the detrimental effects of lay gillnetting resulted in the formation of a Gillnet Task Force in 1997.

Task force recommendations were discussed at statewide public meetings last year, but no action was taken.

At the time, they proposed a statewide ban on lay nets that would not apply to throw nets, cast nets, akule nets, aquarium fence nets, lobster nets, lobster traps or fish traps.

They also recommended that the nets could not be left unattended. That way the nets would be less likely to drift away, and if a seal or turtle is caught, the fisherman can save it before it drowns.

These are reasonable recommendations. We need tougher restrictions on gillnetting to protect our precious coral reefs and marine life.

And if that's not a priority for the state, then something is wrong.