While I know that spearfishing is of historical significance on the Hawaiian Islands, I would like to point out that its tradition of cultural importance may have run its course.
In this era of pronounced environmental concern, the inhumane practice of spearfishing is further extinguishing our already extremely depleted reef and marine wildlife.
At a minimum since the 1980s, the number of fish and other sea life has been drastically reduced. Anyone that enjoyed the Hawaiian waters decades ago, can attest that there are significantly fewer fish and other sea creatures than there were just 30 or 40 years ago. It is my belief that this is not due to warming water or sunscreen, but to overfishing our resources causing fewer creatures to be able to reproduce.
To my surprise, non-residents and tourists alike can get a license to spearfish at a very low cost. At a minimum, this practice should be done away with to help preserve our already depleted resources.
If we wish to preserve our offshore habitat for future generations, Hawaiian officials need to, at a minimum, consider eliminating tourists and non-residents from further depleting our resources.
The most helpful course of action would be to consider eliminating the inhumane practice of spearfishing altogether.
Lori Hatley
Honolulu
