Updated May 16, 2008 Mahukona Small Boat Harbor
Concern arose recently over plans for a small boat harbor at Mahukona State park. Plans for the improvements have been on the books for several years though there is very little community awareness of them. In fact, Mahukona is currently a small boat harbor and has historically been used as a commercial harbor during the plantation era. The plans under consideration, however, would greatly expand boating facilities to the detriment of current non-boating activities. As the CDP steering group considers weather to include the boat harbor in the planning recommendations or not debate continues over the appropriateness of the plans.
We also put together a packet of all the background documents we could find from the County and the Army Corps of Engineers. You can download them here:
If you read it you will notice that the proposed dimensions do not match those on the above drawing because a 100'x100' turning basin and a 100' break wall is also proposed. We an noted the map to include these.
One kohala boater was curious about the current position of the Army Corps of engineers and requested a report on the status of the project. You can read this report, dated May 14th 2008, here:
One thing to keep in mind is that the proposed harbor would be a commercial harbor which now falls under Homeland Security rules. That means most local people would not even be able to use the boat facilities without traveling to Honolulu to take classes and testing for a MARSEC clearance pass. Also, no provision is made for relocating the existing Mahukona park facilities. Mahukona park is only 2.7 acres and one of only three tiny coastal parks in North Kohala.
There is a direct correlation between land disturbance and cigautera. This is why we find cases of cigautera fish poisoning around Kawaihae and Kona but not in North Kohala. Dredging a boat harbor and building a break wall are likely to increase our risk of cigautera, especially from shore and spear fishing. Opening North Kohala to larger fishing boats also increases our risk of over fishing in general.
There is currently a crane at Mahukona for public use. It can only be used for boats less than 15 feet or so and during high seas launching can be difficult but most local boaters own relatively small boats and are used to working with the seasonal variation of the seas.
There are certainly problems with the existing boat facility: there are so few coastal parks with ocean access that the area around the existing boat crane is usually crowded with non-boating users. If the swell rises while a boater is out and they do not have enough fuel to reach Kawaihae then landing during high surf can be dangerous. Modifications to the existing facilities could help address these problems. Early in the planning process a proposal came up to relocate the crane to the North side of the bay. A large commercial harbor like the one proposed here, however, is likely to be overkill and will better address the needs of non-local businesses than local fishermen and recreational users.
Who would benefit from an expanded harbor at Mahukona? Data from NOAA and the State of Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources indicate that many of Hawaii's fisheries have already been wiped out:
The trend is obvious, these fisheries are in a free-fall towards oblivion. The COE report that evaluated the economic value of a harbor at Mahukona males mention of the access it will bring to the rich bottom fishing grounds. DAR has published historical data specifically on Hawaii's bottom fishing industry:
During the period above, the price for these fish remained stable so the dollar revenue is a good indicator of the commercial catch. Note that the peak catch occurred right around 1988, the year of the economic feasibility study conducted for the Mahukona harbor project which based its analysis largely on bottom fish. Clearly the picture has changed since 1988. It has changed even more dramatically than this data indicates: due to the alarming rate of over fishing the federal government banned all bottom fishing in Hawaii in 2007. The ban remains in effect today.
Fishing is an activity that is dear to many Hawaiian hearts. It is a way of life and a source of food. As an economy it is not quite the powerhouse that it is often assumed to be. Based on 1995 data, all fishing of any kind including charters made up less than one quarter of one percent of Hawaii's economy.
Is there a connection between the boat harbor and Surety's plans to develop Mahukona into a luxury resort? A boating facility on state land would allow the resort to operate commercial water activities for guests without the cost of developing the facility itself. Surety also owns the parcel of land on the Northern edge of the proposed harbor, right between the existing concrete pad and the pavilion. That would give them waters-edge access to the new commercial harbor.
