(1) Manage and administer the aquatic life and aquatic resources of the State;
Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 187A-2
Aquatic life: means any type or species of mammal, fish, amphibian, reptile, mollusk, crustacean, arthropod, invertebrate, coral, or other animal that inhabits the freshwater or marine environment and includes any part, product, egg, or offspring thereof; or freshwater or marine plants, including seeds, roots, products, and other parts thereof. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 187A-1
Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
Marine life: means any type or species of saltwater fish, shellfish, mollusks, crustaceans, coral, or other marine animals, including any part, product, egg, or offspring thereof; or seaweeds or other marine plants, including any part, product, seed, or root thereof. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 187A-1
(2) Establish and maintain aquatic life propagating station or stations;(3) Establish, manage, and regulate public fishing areas, artificial reefs, fish aggregating devices, marine life conservation districts, shoreline fishery management areas, refuges, and other areas pursuant to title 12;(4) Subject to this title, import aquatic life for the purpose of propagating and disseminating the same in the State and the waters subject to its jurisdiction;(5) Distribute, free of charge, as the department deems to be in the public interest, aquatic life, for the purpose of increasing the food supply of the State; provided that when, in the discretion of the department, the public interest shall not be materially interfered with by so doing, the department may propagate and furnish aquatic life to private parties, upon such reasonable terms, conditions, and prices determined by the department;(6) Gather and compile information and statistics concerning the habitat and character of, and increase and decrease in, aquatic resources in the State, including the care and propagation of aquatic resources for protective, productive, and aesthetic purposes, and other useful information, which the department deems proper;(7) Enforce all laws relating to the protecting, taking, killing, propagating, or increasing of aquatic life within the State and the waters subject to its jurisdiction; and(8) Formulate and from time to time recommend to the governor and legislature such additional legislation necessary or desirable to implement the objectives of title 12.
