The head of an embattled state committee that advises the land department on how to manage the islands’ natural resources in accordance with traditional Hawaiian cultural practices says the group has severed its foundational ties with the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council.
Leimana DaMate, executive director of the state Aha Moku Advisory Committee, said last month that she stopped talking to Wespac Executive Director Kitty Simonds several years ago. She said the committee has been independently working to fulfill its legislative mandate despite confusion created over the past decade by a separate group of unsanctioned aha moku councils backed by Wespac, which often have different priorities driven more by commercial fishing interests.
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State Hawaiian Advisory Group Separates From Federal Fishery Council