Fishermen have only until midnight tonight to ply the waters off Waikiki and Diamond Head.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources will close the Waikiki-Diamond Head Shoreline Fisheries Management Area  to fishing for one year beginning at midnight to allow the area to replenish itself. 

“Periodically closing areas to fishing was a practice used by early Hawaiians; it helped fish populations replenish themselves,” said William J. Aila, Jr., DLNR chairman said in a news release. “We use a variation of that at Waikiki-Diamond Head for the same purpose. Closed years give fish a break from fishing pressure, and allow their populations to increase. Fishing experiences are then improved during open years.”

The fisheries management area encompasses the nearshore waters between the Ewa wall of the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium and the Diamond Head Lighthouse, and from the high-water mark on shore to a minimum seaward distance of 500 yards or to the edge of the fringing reef if the reef extends beyond 500 yards.

Fishing is not allowed at any time in the adjoining Waikiki Marine Life Conservation District between the ‘Ewa edge of the Natatorium and the ‘Ewa edge of the Kapahulu groin.

Violators could be cited with a petty misdemeanor and/or subject an administrative fine.