HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	198
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

REQUESTING the State's CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO ADVOCATE FOR the enforcement of EXISTING INTERNATIONAL LAWS TO REDUCE GHOST NETS ENTERING the STATE FROM INTERNATIONAL WATERS AND TAKE OTHER ACTIONS TO REDUCE MARINE DEBRIS FROM FISHING GEAR.

WHEREAS, discarded or lost fishing nets in the ocean, otherwise known as ghost nets, entangle, injure, and kill hundreds of thousands of marine animals and coral reefs every year; and

WHEREAS, because ghost nets are non-biodegradable, these fishing debris can pollute the ocean for up to six hundred years after initially entering the ocean; and

WHEREAS, international waters are the most common location for fishing vessels to dump ghost nets; and

WHEREAS, one hundred fifteen thousand pounds of ghost nets wash in from international waters to the reefs of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (Papahānaumokuākea) annually, harming coral reefs and marine wildlife; and

WHEREAS, there is a backlog of ghost net accumulation of approximately one million pounds in Papahānaumokuākea, despite ongoing clean-up efforts by government agencies and non-profit organizations; and

WHEREAS, Papahānaumokuākea encompasses 582,578 square miles of marine conservation area and is home to twenty-three endangered species, including the Hawaiian monk seal, green sea turtle, and humpback whale; and

WHEREAS, between 2006 and 2014, eighty-seven endangered Hawaiian monk seals in Papahānaumokuākea were recorded as entangled in ghost nets; and

WHEREAS, the International Maritime Organization's London Dumping Regime and International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships Annex V specifically prohibit discharge of synthetic ropes and fishing gear; and

WHEREAS, the International Law of the Sea allows states to take action against vessels entering their ports if there is evidence that they have abandoned or negligently lost fishing gear, although gear is not marked in such a way as to trace ownership; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, the Senate concurring, that the State's congressional delegation is requested to:

(1) Advocate for the enforcement of existing international laws to reduce ghost nets entering the State from international waters;

(2) Advocate for the establishment of a requirement for United States fishing vessels to mark their fishing gear; and

(3) Create financial incentives to retrieve and dispose of floating fishing gear; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the State's Congressional delegation.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Ghost Nets; Marine Wildlife Protection; International Law of the Sea; Congressional Delegation