State must control commercial uses of public beaches

A kayak tour company was found to have violated conditions of its permit at the time that a 15-year-old New York state boy was swept to his Fourth of July death in Hawaii island’s Kealakekua Bay, and the state has responded as necessary by temporarily closing operations in the heavily used bay at the start of the new year. The state should make the ban as brief as possible to consider the plight of other tour companies that have been complying with the rules.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources explains that concerns have resulted from "the proliferation and use of unpermitted kayak rentals." However, Aloha Kalua owner Iwa Kalua has expressed concern that those violations could trigger a crackdown on companies that have adhered to permit requirements while serving as "extended eyes and ears" for people kayaking nearby independently without permits. He has a point, but that should not deter an improving of permit requirements and enforcement.

The state revoked the permit of Hawaii Pack and Paddle in September after determining that the company had violated three conditions at the time of Tyler Madoff’s death from being swept out to sea outside an area where tour members were supposed to stay within. A 15-year-old Miami boy was rescued.

At that point, state park officials announced that they were considering not renewing permits for the remaining three kayak tour operations in the Captain Cook monument when they were to expire at the end of this year. On Wednesday, DLNR announced that it would temporarily prohibit operating, launching, transiting, beaching or landing of kayaks and other vessels from departing or landing at the bay’s Kaawaloa Flats on Jan. 2 and until further notice. That is understandable, given the need for better regulation of heavily used public resources, especially historic ones such as Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park, site of the first extensive contact between Hawaiians and Westerners with the arrival of Captain Cook in 1779.

William Aila, the DLNR director, has notified the three Kona kayak tour companies that their permits would not be renewed until the department’s parks division decides to issue them for residents’ kayaks and "pre-existing authorized kayak tour operators with established patronage limits." As soon as feasible, the moratorium should be lifted and all vessels at Kealakekua Bay will be required to have permits.

Aila explained that DLNR recognizes the park’s "deep cultural significance, the quality of its marine resources and the overall economic value to both the local community and the visitor industry. This management action is needed to ensure the sustainability of this resource now and in the future."

The potential length of the moratorium has not been announced, as state attorneys are examining the issue, according to Aila. He has said that the freeze will end when lawyers have completed their review of an overall plan that has yet to be put together.

Management response to unpermitted kayak rentals in Kealakekua Bay is understandable. But permitted companies that have acted properly over the years should be advised that they will be allowed to resume operations at the earliest date, with new requirements that assure needed safety.