LIHUE >> Hawaii officials plan to issue additional permits and extend the six-month trial period of pig hunting in a mountain area on Kauai.

The state had issued permits to 39 hunters, resulting in 13 feral pigs being harvested from Nounou Mountain during the trial hunt that ran through November, The Garden Island reported Thursday.

“We plan to extend the trial hunt to a full year and issue additional permits,” said Sheri Mann, branch manager of the Kauai Division of Forestry and Wildlife. “We have an additional 30-plus hunters interested in the extended trial period.”

The extended hunting period is expected to begin in mid-January, Mann said. The state will continue to allow only hunting by bow and arrow.

The trial hunt was the start of a feral pig eradication plan, testing whether archery hunters could be effective at reducing the pig population in the area.

The pigs are known to uproot plants, harming watersheds and forests. The animals also travel into the Wailua Homesteads area, damaging property as they forage for fallen fruit.

Nounou Mountain has three popular hiking trails, which raised concerns about the risks that hunting could pose. No injuries were reported during the trial run.

“Current permittees have had no complaints or concerns,” Mann said.

The extended period will continue to be subject to existing state hunting regulations.