3870 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
tenants shall be at liberty to take from such fisheries, either for their own use or for 
sale or exportation, but subject to the restrictions imposed by law, all fish, seaweed, 
shellfish, and other edible products of said fisheries.”’ 
Src. 2. This act shall take effect and become a law from the date of its approval. 
Approved this 4th day of August, A. D. 1892. 
The various changes and modifications made in the fishery laws from 
time to time have been in the direction of their simplification and 
explanation, that the rights of fishermen and the konohiki might be 
more clearly defined. It also appears that the rights and privileges of 
the common people were extended from time to time. Since annexa- 
tion the only legislation pertaining to the fisheries of the islands by the 
Congress of the United States is in three sections of the enabling act, 
section 94, providing for the investigations upon which this paper is 
based, and already quoted, and sections 95 and 96, as follows: 
REPEAL OF LAWS CONFERRING EXCLUSIVE FISHING RIGHTS. 
Sec. 95. That all laws of the Republic of Hawaii which confer exclusive fishing 
rights upon any person or persons are hereby repealed, and all fisheries in the sea 
waters of the Territory of Hawaii not included in any fish pond or artificial inclosure 
shall be free to all citizens of the United States, subject, however, to vested rights; 
but no such vested right shall be valid after three years from the taking effect of this 
act unless established as hereinafter provided. 
PROCEEDINGS FOR OPENING FISHERIES TO CITIZENS. 
Sec. 96. That any person who claims a private right to any such fishery shall, 
within two years after the taking effect of this act, file his petition ina circuit court of 
the Territory of Hawaii, setting forth his claim to such fishing right, service of which 
petition shall be made upon the attorney-general, who shall conduct the case for the 
Territory, and such case shall be conducted as an ordinary action at law. 
That if such fishing right be established, the attorney-general of the Territory of 
Hawaii may proceed, in such manner as may be provided by law for the condemna- 
tion of property for public use, to condemn such private right of fishing to the use 
of the citizens of the United States upon making just compensation, which compen- 
sation, when lawfully ascertained, shall be paid out of any money in the treasury of 
the Territory of Hawaii not otherwise appropriated. 
Except in a few isolated instances these exclusive fishery rights are 
of not much importance on any of the islands except Oahu. On this 
island, especially in the vicinity of Honolulu, they are of considerable 
value, owing to the easily accessible market afforded by the city. On 
the other islands the population is too scattered to make the fisheries 
valuable. The owners of fishery rights usually lease them to Japanese, 
Chinese, and Hawalians. 
The abolishment of these fishery rights will, in some instances, work 
very serious damage to the commercial fisheries if proper laws are not 
provided to take the place of the old restrictions. Under the laws gov- 
erning these fisheries at present, the owner can, and in some places does, 
protect certain species, particularly the mullet, during the spawning 
season by placing a tabu on them, and as everybody had to account 
to him when fishing he could easily prevent the use of destructive forms 
of apparatus or overfishing. 
