TS Restaurants, which owns Duke's Waikiki and six other island establishments, and Hawaii chef Peter Merriman, who owns two Big Island eateries, have taken the tasty and popular fish off their rotating menus to protect the sustainability of the overfished species, said Richard Moon, TS Restaurants' vice president.

"We want to help decrease the year-round demand for these slow growing fish," Moon said. "We don't want to just shift demand to other areas. We think our customers will realize this is the right thing to do."

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources banned commercial and recreational fishing from May through September for onaga, 'ehu, gindai, 'opakapaka, kalekale, lehi and hapu'upu'u found in the main Hawaiian islands.

Other restaurants have said they'd get the fish from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, where limited bottomfishing in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument is still allowed, or import the fish from other countries.

TS Restaurants buys 400 pounds of bottomfish a week, Moon said. The restaurants will instead feature ono, mahimahi, 'ahi and monchong.

"We've sold a lot of bottomfish and made a nice reputation for that," he said. "But we've changed the thinking of the company. When things are in danger, we need to pay attention."

The state and the Western Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Council were alerted by the National Marine Fisheries Service in May 2005 that overfishing of the bottomfish species complex was occurring in the main Hawaiian islands.

The state chose the summer to implement the ban because fishermen are often focusing on other species and these bottomfish are less popular during this period, said Alton Miyasaka, a state aquatic biologist. A similar closure is expected to be needed for the summer of 2008, officials have said.

About 612,000 pounds of bottomfish were fished in the Northwestern and main Hawaiian islands in 2004. A majority of the catch was made in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands by a small group of fishing boats.

Merriman, who owns Merriman's Waimea and Merriman's Market Cafe, said removing the fish was thoughtful and fits into his goal to offer local and organic products at his restaurants.