For one year, starting January 1, it will be open season for fishing from the Ewa wall of the Waikiki Natatorium to the Diamond Head Lighthouse.

Allowed fishing methods include pole fishing, thrownets, hand harvest and, during the day, spearfishing.

From a DLNR press release:

This is the only marine area in Hawai‘i that has a cyclical one-year open and one-year closed management regime. The purpose is to restore reef fish stocks. This specific area was chosen in part because of its easily identifiable boundaries.   

Beginning in 1979, this area and what is now the adjacent MLCD were on a cycle where the area was closed completely one year, the next year there were limited take activities, and during the 3rd and 4th years the area was open to fishing. The cycle would then repeat.   

In 1988, the Waikiki MLCD was established, which provided one section of the experimental area with permanent closure for ecosystem management and to allow fish stocks to recover (see HAR 13-36). The remaining portion that did not become an MLCD went on a one-year open/closed cycle that continues today. 

Photo: Looking west toward Waikiki. (Flickr: Joel)

— Sophie Cocke