HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

69

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

URGING THE GOVERNOR AND THE UNDERSECRETARY FOR OCEANS AND ATMOSPHERE OF THE United States NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION TO REAUTHORIZE THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS HUMPBACK WHALE NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY, URGING SANCTUARY MANAGERS TO ASSESS CURRENT PRIORITY THREATS TO HUMPBACK WHALES IN SANCTUARY WATERS TO DEVELOP AN EFFECTIVE LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT STRATEGY AND ACTION PLAN, AND COMMENDING THE SANCTUARY MANAGERS FOR EXPLORING APPROPRIATE MEASURES TO ADDRESS THE THREAT OF COLLISIONS BETWEEN WHALES AND MARINE VESSELS IN SANCTUARY WATERS.

 

 

WHEREAS, humpback whales ("kohola") are the fourth most numerically depleted large cetacean worldwide with less than five per cent of the original population remaining, with North Pacific populations reduced from approximately 15,000 to about 1,000 whales due to intense whaling between 1905 and 1965, and were listed as an endangered species under the United States Endangered Species Act; and

WHEREAS, the warm and shallow protected waters surrounding the main Hawaiian Islands constitute one of the world’s most important habitats for the endangered humpback whale, where about five thousand humpback whales, comprising nearly two-thirds of the entire North Pacific population, migrate each winter to breed, calve, and nurse newborns; and

WHEREAS, approximately $16,000,000 of annual ocean tour boat revenues are generated by whale-watching activities in Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary ("Sanctuary"), authorized by Congress in 1992 and approved by the Governor of Hawaii in 1997, and established to protect the winter breeding, calving, and nursing range of the largest Pacific population of humpback whales, is co-managed by the State of Hawaii and the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration pursuant to the 1998 Compact Agreement for the Coordinated Management of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary; and

WHEREAS, despite initial concerns by some interest groups, the Sanctuary has developed broad public support, including the support of commercial and recreational ocean user groups; and

WHEREAS, in July 2002, the Governor of the State of Hawaii and the Undersecretary for Oceans and Atmosphere of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will review in its entirety and decide whether to approve a revised Sanctuary Management Plan and Sanctuary regulations, in effect deciding whether to reauthorize the Sanctuary for another five years; and

WHEREAS, a goal of the Sanctuary is to achieve recovery and conservation of humpback whales, which can be directly accomplished by strengthening existing and developing new resource protection measures, and indirectly accomplished by promoting public awareness and supporting research and monitoring activities; and

WHEREAS, strategic long-term planning to conserve humpback whales by the Sanctuary requires, in part, accurate and current knowledge of priority threats to humpback whales in Sanctuary waters; and

WHEREAS, the Sanctuary Advisory Council's Conservation Committee identified a comprehensive assessment of threats faced by humpback whales while they are in Sanctuary waters as the current highest Sanctuary priority for effective strategic planning and wise long-term management; and

WHEREAS, collisions between humpback whales and marine vessels in Hawaii coastal waters have been identified as a significant threat to both whales and vessel passengers; population growth of humpback whales in Hawaii's nursery and breeding grounds increases the risk of collisions (there is an estimated seven per cent growth in the North Pacific humpback whale population per year); and there are plans for inter-island and intra-island high-speed hydrofoil ferries to begin servicing the main Hawaiian Islands, increasing the threat of collisions between vessels and whales; and

WHEREAS, the Sanctuary system is planning to convene a national vessel strike workshop in California in 2003 that will foster dialogue to identify viable solutions to avoid and minimize the risk of collisions between whales and high speed vessels; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2002, the Senate concurring, that the Governor and the Undersecretary for Oceans and Atmosphere of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are urged to reauthorize the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Sanctuary System is strongly urged to convene a workshop to elicit an assessment of current priority threats faced by humpback whales while in Sanctuary waters, allowing broad consultation to develop recommendations for a long-term planning and management strategy and action plan for the Sanctuary; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Sanctuary managers are to be commended for planning to convene a workshop to consult with and foster dialogue between industry and other stakeholders to determine appropriate Sanctuary action to research, monitor, and manage interactions between whales and vessels operating in Sanctuary System waters; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, the Chair of the Humpback Whale Sanctuary Advisory Council Conservation Committee, the Governor, the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, the Director of the National Marine Sanctuary System, the Undersecretary for Oceans and Atmosphere of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States Department of Commerce, and the members of Hawaii's congressional delegation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Report Title:

Haw'n Islands Humpback Whale Natl Marine Sanctuary