Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR)

Updated 4/23/20, 11:00 a.m.

While many locations are looking to ease their COVID-19 restrictions – others are still on lockdown, including Hawaiʻi. This presents potentially dangerous challenges for those sailing the oceans in private boats. 

HONOLULU — Reports of a "ghost net" floating off the coast of Hawaii have mariners, pilots and residents on the lookout for the large array of netting that poses a threat to sea life.

The state now owns nearly 4,000 acres of native forest on Oʻahu's North Shore with the purchase of land stretching from the Koʻolau summit to the middle of the Waimea Valley.

State researchers are enjoying a rare opportunity to observe the formation of new life on Hawaii Island's Pohoiki shoreline.

Climate change could be creating conditions in Hawai'i similar to those in California, where wildfires have devastated parts of the state, according to a University of Hawai'i wildfire expert.

Hundreds of fish died in Maui's Wailuku River this week while the state was implementing measures to improve their habitat.

The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources found an illegal lay net estimated at 1,000 feet long in Kaneohe Bay on Sunday.

WAILUKU — A fungal disease local to Hawaii has not been rediscovered after being found on Maui for the first time earlier this year, officials said.

HILO — Multiple sharks in Hawaii have been found without their fins, raising concerns among marine biologists, a report said.

Kauai tourists will need to save their change if they're planning a visit to two of the island’s most popular state parks.

Starting Friday, the state plans to charge out-of-state visitors and commercial buses fees to park at Koke’e and Waimea Canyon State Parks. Residents, however, can enter the parks for free after showing identification.

Hawaiʻi's Kona crab fishery is healthy enough to expand the catch brought to market, according to an assessment by a federal marine science agency.