Outside Fisheries Group Poised To Manage Millions Of Hawaiʻi’s Green Fee

As Hawaiʻi’s landmark green fee program ramps up, the local marine conservation projects that benefit from those new dollars might soon be managed by a relatively obscure regional fisheries agency based outside of the islands. On Friday, the Board of Land and Natural Resources will consider whether to enlist the Portland, Oregon-based Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, a group of fishing officials and leaders from Alaska, Hawaiʻi and the West Coast, to help oversee ​Hawaiʻi’s future green fee projects. Specifically, that interstate group would help aquatic officials in Hawaiʻi draft work proposals, seek out and evaluate candidates, award contracts, and monitor the projects’ progress and costs, among other duties, according to a briefing posted to the board’s website. The proposed five-year, $5.4 million agreement includes nearly $470,000 to cover the Pacific States commission’s administrative costs, according to the briefing.

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