STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2976

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2972

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 2972, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO OAHU CORAL REEF RESTORATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to temporarily prohibit the taking by spearing of uhu or kala in state marine waters around the island of Oahu until the Division of Aquatic Resources' Holomua Marine Initiative process adopts applicable regulations.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Reef and Ocean Coalition, Na Kama Kai, Malama Pupukea-Waimea, The Nature Conservancy Hawaiʻi and Palmyra, Hawaiʻi Food+ Policy, Hawaiʻi Ocean Legislative Task Force, WAI: Wastewater Alternatives & Innovations, and twenty-one individuals.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Your Committee finds that herbivorous reef fish species are critical to the maintenance of ecosystem health and coral reef resilience. Uhu and kala populations, especially around Oahu, are unhealthy and may be at risk of further decline or collapse, which would accelerate the degradation of the State's nearshore ecosystems. While your Committee recognizes that these fish are staple species for subsistence fishers, it is necessary to prevent further depletion of these important species. This measure will establish a targeted layer of protection for these species that will prevent the further decline of these species and the coral reefs that they help to maintain.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2972, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

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KARL RHOADS, Chair