S.B. 2675 Summary

• Codifies Hawaii's commitment to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14 ("Life Below Water") by adding a new section to Chapter 226 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes requiring state agencies to work toward conserving and sustainably using oceans, seas, and marine resources by 2030.

• Directs agencies to prevent and reduce marine pollution from land-based activities including plastics, marine debris, and nutrient pollution.

• Requires sustainable management and protection of marine and coastal ecosystems through public-private partnerships, improved enforcement capacity, increased management of nearshore waters, and community-based resource management.

• Mandates effective management of thirty percent of nearshore ocean waters consistent with the Sustainable Hawaii Initiative, and establishes science-based fishing management to prevent overfishing and restore fish stocks to maximum sustainable yield levels by 2020.

• Requires conservation of at least thirty percent of coastal and marine areas, enhancement of scientific research capacity, and provision of access to marine resources for small-scale artisanal fishers.