In the 1970s, the North Shore Neighborhood Board was approached by divers who expressed an interest in better management of the Pūpūkea area. According to divers and fishermen, marine life was becoming more scarce, and the increased use of the area by commercial dive operators and fishers was cited as a possible reason. A 1975 survey by Hawai‘i Sea Grant indicated strong support among 1,800 people surveyed for designating Pūpūkea as a new marine reserve (Kimmerer & Durbin 1975). In 1978, the State Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) initiated public meetings to discuss what to do. Fishers were not opposed to making the area a Marine Life Conservation District (MLCD), but they did not want to be restricted from accessing the area; they especially wanted to be able to traverse the area to get to a popular spearfishing site.

In 1983, the Pūpūkea MLCD was officially created in the areas of Sharks Cove (Kapoʻo) and Three Tables (Kalua O Maua), with limited fishing and limu harvesting allowed.

By the 1990s, DLNR recognized that the rules were too difficult to enforce and began discussing amendments. The North Shore Neighborhood Board again got involved, drafting amendments to the rules and presenting them to DLNR. State Senator Robert Bunda and Representative Alex Santiago convened a task force of stakeholders that recommended rule changes to DLNR. After an extensive public hearing process, the MLCD was substantially expanded and rules were revised in 2002-2003. The MLCD now covers over 180 marine acres (larger than the Hanauma Bay MLCD).

The MLCD rules promulgated by DLNR’s Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) prohibit fishing, take, and harvesting throughout most of the area. Only at Waimea Bay, shore fishing and seasonal akule and ‘ōpelu fishing are allowed with specific restrictions. Limited limu (seaweed) gathering of two species is currently allowed. Otherwise, any take of the protected resources in the MLCD is prohibited, including fishing at Sharks Cove (Kapoʻo) or Three Tables (Kalua O Maua), transiting with fishing gear or a spear gun, collecting marine life (including shells), fishing, gathering of ‘opihi, and damage to or removal of the coral or natural features. DLNR’s Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) has also issued rules regarding boating in the MLCD area.

After years of observing poaching in the Kapoʻo Tidepools, a unique and critical nursery habitat for a variety of marine species, Mālama Pūpūkea-Waimea sought more changes to the rules to protect marine life. In 2009, at MPW’s request, DLNR Chair Laura Thielen prompted Governor Linda Lingle to issue Executive Order 4275 that withdrew the “Tidepools” from the jurisdiction of the City and County of Honolulu and put them back into the MLCD area and state jurisdiction. The Tidepools had been included in Pūpūkea Beach Park in 1956 when Territory of Hawaiʻi Governor Samuel King signed executive order 1760 to set aside land for public purposes, conveying “Pūpūkea Beach Park” to the control and management of the Board of Public Parks and Recreation—the predecessor of the City Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR).

Unfortunately, poachers continued to evade enforcement due to the lack of clarity of the administrative rules. In 2021, Mālama Pūpūkea-Waimea requested that DAR conform the Pūpūkea MLCD administrative rules with the Executive Order to assist with enforcement by DLNR’s Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE). After public hearings and with unanimous public support, DAR issued revised rules to change the MLCD boundaries and expressly include the Tidepools in the MLCD. In addition, the rules were amended to prohibit the feeding of any marine life, which had started to occur.

Despite the added protections, the MLCD continues to experience serious threats such as over-use and improper use of the area, including harassment of marine life and trampling of coral, benthic organisms, and algae; illegal and over-fishing; and pollution from development in the nearby area.

MPW found through outreach efforts and surveys that visitors and residents alike were largely unaware of the rules protecting the and continued improper behaviors, such as standing on live rock, using scoop nets, and trampling coral. The MLCD and adjacent Pūpūkea and Waimea Beach Parks continued to experience high levels of commercial and recreational use.

To address a significant sources of overuse, in 2021, MPW requested that City Councilmember Heidi Tsuneyoshi include both Pūpūkea and Waimea Beach Parks in “Bill 38,” ROH § 10-1.2(h), which banned commercial activities in fifteen other beach parks on Oʻahu where the beaches and communities were being over-run by commercial users. The ban is still in effect and has dramatically reduced commercial activity such as tour buses and merchandise sales.

To assess the overall human use impacts and possible management solutions, MPW is engaged in implemting the Act 31 “Carrying Capacity Program,” authorized by the State Legislation. Read more about it here.

Once the Act 31 reports are completed and recommendations reviewed by the city and state, MPW will likely seek additional revisions to the DAR and DOBOR rules, and well as City Park rules, to ensure more effective protection for the MLCD, better managed tourism, and priority for residents’ access, cultural practices, and recreational use.

While the history of the Pūpūkea MLCD continues to evolve, the long-term goal is the same: a thriving home for marine life that benefits the entire North Shore. Fishers in Pacific Island communities that have successful marine managed areas, as well as many scientific experts who have studied the issues, agree that effective marine protection and restoration strategies such as MLCDs — if effectively enforced by the community in partnership with the government — can successfully replenish and sustain fish stocks in and out of the MLCDs. More, bigger, and healthier fish and benthic organisms benefit everyone and result in better catches outside of the MLCD. The entire ecosystem also benefits from a “refuge” or “rest” area that avoids human overuse.

The ʻike (knowledge) and kōkua (support, care) of North Shore residents, fishers, recreational users, and cultural practitioners, and visitors are vital to protecting this precious resource so nature can thrive for its own sake and so we all have more fish and marine life to enjoy now and in the future.