Originally published 2022-02-07.
Since 1 January 2022 it has been illegal in Hawaii to knowingly capture, entangle or kill any shark in state marine waters. The rule comes from Act 51, passed in 2021 as House Bill 553, and it made Hawaii the first US state to protect every shark species in its waters in this way. Breaking the law is a misdemeanour, with fines that rise to $10,000 for repeat offences.
The law is often described as a total ban on shark fishing, but that overstates it. It has clear limits on where it applies and a set of exemptions. Here is what it covers, why Hawaii passed it, and what anglers and visitors need to know.
What the law actually prohibits
Act 51 applies to state marine waters, which in Hawaii generally means the ocean out to three nautical miles from shore. Within that zone, nobody may knowingly catch, entangle or kill a shark of any species. Federal waters further out are governed by separate federal fisheries rules.
The penalties are stepped:
- a fine of $500 for a first offence;
- $2,000 for a second offence;
- $10,000 for a third or later offence.
On top of the criminal fines, the state can impose civil and administrative fines of up to $10,000 per shark and seize gear, vessels and fishing licences.
The exemptions
The law allows a few specific situations:
- holders of special activity permits, for example for research or education;
- removal of a shark when the state authorises it for public safety;
- sharks caught outside state waters, as long as the catch is properly documented;
- killing a shark in self-defence or to defend another person.
Lawmakers also allowed for non-commercial permits for traditional take. Their conditions must include Native Hawaiian cultural protocol, size and species limits, and a ban on taking species listed as endangered or threatened.
The law also gave the Department of Land and Natural Resources power to write detailed rules. These can make sure that hooking a shark by accident while targeting other fish, then releasing it, is not treated as a violation; prevent wasteful killing; and limit gear such as gill nets in shark nursery habitats. When the ban began, Brian Neilson of the Division of Aquatic Resources acknowledged: "we still have work to do before it's fully implemented."
Why Hawaii protects sharks
Dozens of shark species live in Hawaiian waters, from reef whitetips and sandbar sharks to tiger sharks and scalloped hammerheads. As predators near the top of the food web they help keep reef fish populations in balance and remove sick and weak animals, which supports healthy reefs.
Sharks also have a special place in Native Hawaiian culture. The manō can be an ʻaumakua, a family guardian or ancestral spirit, and some families still honour that link. Brian Neilson, then administrator of the state's Division of Aquatic Resources, put it simply: "We are well aware of how important sharks are to maintain healthy marine ecosystems."
The global picture adds urgency. A study published in Nature in 2021 estimated that the abundance of oceanic sharks and rays had fallen by about 71% since 1970, mainly because of overfishing. Sharks grow slowly, mature late and have few young, so populations take a long time to recover.
Part of a longer record
Act 51 built on earlier steps. In 2010 Hawaii became the first US state to ban the possession, sale and distribution of shark fins, aiming at the trade that drives shark finning. Several other states followed, and a nationwide ban on the shark fin trade was passed by Congress in December 2022.
Finning is cruel and wasteful: fins are cut off and the rest of the shark, sometimes still alive, is thrown back into the sea. Because fins can sell for high prices while the meat is worth little, the practice spread rapidly with growing demand for shark fin soup.
Hawaii's 2022 law went further by protecting the living animals themselves in state waters, not only the trade in their fins.
Practical advice for anglers
Because the law covers knowingly catching a shark, accidental hookups happen and the state has issued handling advice:
- avoid fishing where sharks are known to gather, especially pupping areas;
- use barbless circle hooks, which tend to hook the jaw and come out more easily;
- if a shark is hooked from a boat, do not bring it on board if you can avoid it;
- cut the line as close to the shark's mouth as you safely can, and let it go.
Rules change, so anyone fishing in Hawaii should check the current regulations with the Department of Land and Natural Resources before heading out.
Common myths
"The law makes swimming with sharks illegal." No. It targets catching, entangling and killing; snorkelling and diving near sharks are not banned, though tour operators follow their own rules.
"Protecting sharks means more bites." Shark bites in Hawaii remain rare, with a handful recorded in a typical year among millions of ocean visits. The state can still authorise the removal of a shark when public safety requires it.
History supports a calm approach. Between 1959 and 1976 Hawaii ran shark control programmes that killed thousands of sharks, yet later analysis found no clear drop in the number of bites. Today the state focuses on education, warning signs and closing beaches briefly after an incident instead of culling.
"It bans all shark fishing everywhere around the islands." It covers state marine waters only, with the exemptions listed above.
Sources: Hawaii DLNR, Division of Aquatic Resources: Shark fishing ban goes into effect January 1; Hawaii DLNR news release, 30 December 2021; Shark finning, Wikipedia; original reporting by My Modern Met.
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