[§187A-5.5]  Consistency of state andfederal fisheries regulations.  (a)  The department shall adoptadministrative rules pursuant to chapter 91 for fisheries located in both stateand federal waters, that are equivalent to and consistent with federal fisheriesregulations for the same waters, to create uniform, complementary, andcomprehensive management measures to improve efficiencies in management andeffectiveness of enforcement, under the following conditions:

(1)  A federal agency with responsibility for themanagement of fisheries in federal marine waters around the Hawaiian Islandshas:

(A)  Declared that a fishery is in a state ofoverfishing, is overfished, or is in some other state of unsustainability; and

(B)  Promulgated or amended federal fisheriesregulations to correct the decline in the fishery; and

(2)  The fishery occurs in both state and federalmarine waters.

(b)  The board shall annually establish afishing season, a total fishing quota, or individual fishing quotas, or adoptrules pursuant to chapter 91 relating to bag, size, and gear limits, consistentwith federal fisheries regulations that are adopted or declared by the federalgovernment to prevent overfishing and with similar state rules adopted undersubsection (a).

(c)  If the federal fisheries agency declares afishery to be sustainable and amends or repeals its regulations accordingly,the department shall amend or repeal any rules for that fishery adopted undersubsection (a).

(d)  Nothing contained in this section shall beconstrued to prohibit any person from exercising native Hawaiian gatheringrights or traditional cultural practices authorized by law or  permitted by thedepartment pursuant to article XII, section 7, of the Hawaii constitution.

(e)  This section shall not apply to the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.

(f)  As used in this section, unless thecontext clearly indicates otherwise:

"Declared" or"declares" means a public announcement made by a federal agency withthe responsibility for the management of fisheries in federal marine watersaround the Hawaiian Islands pursuant to the provisions of the Magnuson-StevensFishery Conservation and Management Act (P.L. 94-265), as amended by theMagnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of2006 (P.L. 109-479), that a fishery in state marine waters is in a state ofoverfishing, overfished, or in some other state of unsustainability.

"Federal fisheries regulations" meansregulations relating to the management of marine fisheries adopted by federalagencies such as the National Marine Fisheries Service or the United StatesDepartment of Commerce, and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations.

"Federal marine waters" means theExclusive Economic Zone established by Presidential Proclamation 5030, 3 Codeof Federal Regulations 22, dated March 10, 1983, and is that area adjacent tothe United States which, except where modified to accommodate internationalboundaries, encompasses all waters from a baseline starting at the seawardboundary of state territorial seas extending seaward two hundred nauticalmiles.

"Fishery" or"fisheries" means one or more stocks of marine resources other thanmarine mammals and birds that can be treated as a unit for purposes ofconservation and management and that are identified on the basis ofgeographical, scientific, technical, recreational, and economiccharacteristics; and any fishing for such stocks.

"Overfishing" or "overfished" meansa rate or level of fishing mortality that jeopardizes the capacity of a fisheryto produce the maximum sustainable yield on a continuing basis. [L 2008, c 112,§1]