Posted at 1:14 p.m., Tuesday, June 7, 2005
BUSINESS BRIEFS
Busy summer tourism season forecast
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Air seat capacity to Hawai'i is expected to increase 10.8 percent this summer (June-August), reaching 2.7 million seats compared with a year ago, according to a report released today by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.Domestic scheduled summer service to Hawai'i is set to surpass 2000 levels for the fifth consecutive year, climbing 14.6 percent to a total of 2.0 million air seats between June and August.
U.S. West seats are expected to rise 15.9 percent during the period, reaching 1.6 million. U.S. East air seats should reach 364,000, up 9.3 percent from the same period last year.
International air seats are set to increase 1.6 percent to 716,000 total seats. Japanese air seats are projected to reach 523,000, up 4.6 percent from summer 2004.
Maui firm plans biodiesel production plant in Oregon
PORTLAND, Ore. — Leaders of Oregon's first commercial biodiesel manufacturing plant said plans are in place to start production in November.
SeQuential-Pacific — controlled by SeQuential Biofuels of Portland and Pacific Biodiesel of Kahului — said it has purchased an acre of industrial land in North Portland.
Tomas Endicott, managing partner of SeQuential Biofuels, said the plant would be capable of producing about 1 million gallons per year of biodiesel, made from cooking oil and usable as fuel in diesel engines.
The news comes as some Oregon legislators are seeking to jump-start biodiesel production in the state, saying it can create jobs and help the environment.
Bush administration pushes regulations for offshore fish farming
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration, seeking to tap into one of the world's fastest-growing food industries, said it is sending a bill to Congress today that would to allow fish farming up to 200 miles off the nation's coasts.
Citing pilot projects off Hawai'i, New Hampshire and Puerto Rico, the administration said Tuesday it was sending a bill to Congress to establish regulations for fish farming, known as aquaculture.
Currently, the United States does not have a regulatory structure in place to allow aquaculture operations in federal marine waters. In Hawai'i, fish farming is done in pens in two locations: moi are raised off 'Ewa Beach and kampachi, also known as kahala, are raised off Kona's Keahole Point.
The bill being sent to Congress would permit fish farming up to 200 miles off the coast, to be regulated by NOAA, a part of the Commerce Department.
