2026 regulation year

Hawaii Fishing Regulations 2026 — License Fees, Seasons, Bag Limits

Last updated June 3, 2026

Hawaiʻi runs a nationally-distinctive two-track recreational fishing system through DLNR's Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR): a paid Freshwater Game Fishing Licence is REQUIRED for inland waters ages 9+, but NO recreational licence is required for ocean / shoreline / nearshore saltwater angling — Hawaiʻi is the only US state that operates this open-access marine recreational model (a Commercial Marine Licence is required to sell catch). Marine recreational rules are codified in Hawaiʻi Administrative Rules (HAR) Title 13 Chapters 75 (Rules Regulating the Taking of Marine Life), 95 (Rules Regulating the Taking and Selling of Certain Marine Resources), and the per-area chapters governing Marine Life Conservation Districts (MLCDs), Fisheries Management Areas (FMAs), and Bottomfish Restricted Fishing Areas (BRFAs). The Kona Coast of the Big Island (centered on Honokōhau Harbor and Kailua-Kona) is the world's premier blue-water billfish + pelagic destination — the IGFA all-tackle Pacific blue marlin world record (1,376 lb, 1982, Capt. Cornelius Choy, Honokōhau) was caught here; deep water drops to 1000+ ft within 1 mile of shore, putting Pacific blue marlin (kajiki), striped marlin (nairagi), shortbill spearfish (a'u ku), yellowfin tuna (ahi), bigeye tuna, mahi-mahi (dolphinfish), wahoo (ono), and skipjack (aku) within a 30-minute run of the harbour year-round. Penguin Bank (the broad shallow bank northwest of Molokaʻi between Oʻahu and the main Hawaiian chain) plus the ʻAuʻau Channel (between Maui and Lānaʻi), the Kaiwi Channel (Oʻahu–Molokaʻi), and the Alenuihāhā Channel (Maui–Hawaiʻi Island) carry the deep-water pelagic + bottomfish complex (Deep 7 onaga / opakapaka / ehu / kalekale / gindai / hapuʻupuʻu / lehi — managed under DAR Deep 7 BRFA rotation with quota since 2007). Hawaiʻi's most iconic shore-cast tradition is ulua + papio fishing (the Caranx + Carangoides + Caranx melampygus + Caranx sexfasciatus trevally complex) — heavy surfcasting from cliff and reef points around all main islands, with HAR §13-95-22 requiring a minimum size of 10 in fork length for retention of any Caranx / Carangoides species (papio is the juvenile size class below ~10 lb; ulua is the adult size class above ~10 lb — both share the same rule: a 10-in minimum to take or possess, 16 in to sell, and a 20-ulua daily bag for non-commercial anglers, all under HAR §13-95-22, with 'ulua' defined to cover the whole Caranx + Carangoides complex including ʻōmilu). Bonefish (ʻōʻio — Albula virgata + Albula glossodonta, two distinct species in HI shared with Christmas Island / Kiribati for trophy stock) inhabit the Oʻahu south + west shores plus Molokaʻi north shore + Lānaʻi flats, with a 14-in minimum length and no statewide daily bag limit under HAR §13-95-10 (a bag limit has been periodically proposed as catch reports decline, and the Oʻahu + Maui flyfishing guide community runs a strong catch-and-release ethic). Three more marquee marine fisheries round out the islands' deep coverage: moi (Pacific threadfin, Polydactylus sexfilis) — the kapu fish once reserved for aliʻi — is one of the State's few genuinely restricted recreational species, carrying a closed season across the whole of June, July, and August (summer spawning protection), an 11-in minimum size, and a 15-fish daily bag September through May (HAR §13-95-23); mahimahi (dolphinfish / dorado, Coryphaena hippurus) is the fast-growing surface pelagic trolled + cast around the State's network of numbered offshore Fish Aggregating Device (FAD) buoys with NO state size or bag limit (managed under the WPRFMC Pacific Pelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plan); and ʻōpakapaka (pink snapper, Pristipomoides filamentosus) headlines the 'Deep 7' bottomfish complex — seven deepwater snappers + grouper (ʻōpakapaka + onaga + ehu + lehi + kalekale + gindai + hāpuʻupuʻu) managed jointly by DAR + NOAA Fisheries / WPRFMC under a 493,000-lb Main Hawaiian Islands Annual Catch Limit for the 2025-2026 + 2026-2027 fishing years (September 1 – August 31 fishing year), a non-commercial 5-fish combined daily bag, and twelve year-round Bottomfish Restricted Fishing Areas (BRFAs). Marine Life Conservation Districts established to protect representative reef + marine biodiversity prohibit ALL take of marine life: Hanauma Bay (Oʻahu — the most-visited MLCD, established 1967 — NO fishing, NO take, snorkeling + reef-viewing only), Molokini Shoal (Maui — the crescent submerged volcanic crater between Maui + Kahoʻolawe, NO fishing, charter-snorkel destination), Kealakekua Bay (Big Island Kona Coast — Captain Cook monument, NO fishing in MLCD waters), Pupukea (Oʻahu North Shore — NO fishing in zones marked), Honolua-Mokuleʻia Bay (Maui — NO fishing), Manele-Hulopoʻe Bay (Lānaʻi — NO fishing), Lapakahi (Big Island west — NO fishing), Old Kona Airport (Big Island — NO fishing), Wailea-Mākena (Maui — restrictions). Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve (federal+state co-managed since 1994 — the entire island and 2-mile surrounding ocean buffer is closed to access without permit, NO fishing). Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands chain — Nihoa, Necker, French Frigate Shoals, Gardner, Maro Reef, Laysan, Lisianski, Pearl + Hermes Reef, Midway, Kure — 583,000 sq miles, the largest US-protected marine area, federal NOAA / USFWS / state co-managed, NO commercial fishing, recreational fishing only by permit). Freshwater is the secondary tier — DAR's Wahiawā Public Fishing Area (Lake Wilson, the 302-acre reservoir on the Kaukonahua Stream in central Oʻahu — Hawaiʻi's largest freshwater body and the marquee FPFA water) carries an introduced sportfish community of largemouth bass + smallmouth bass + peacock bass (tucunaré, Cichla ocellaris — introduced 1957, the only US state alongside FL + TX with established peacock bass populations) + channel catfish + bluegill + redear sunfish + tilapia + carp. Nuʻuanu Reservoir No. 4 (Oʻahu) is the secondary Oʻahu freshwater venue. The Kōkeʻe state-stocked rainbow trout fishery (Kauaʻi — the high-elevation Kōkeʻe + Waimea Canyon streams plus the Pu'u Lua Reservoir, DAR-managed, stocked annually since 1957) opens for a brief season around Memorial Day with a daily-bag limit and is the only US-state stocked-trout fishery west of the Sierra Nevada. A Hawaiʻi Freshwater Game Fishing Licence is REQUIRED for ALL freshwater anglers age 9+ (resident $5 / non-resident $35 annual, with shorter terms available); the licence does NOT apply to marine waters. Aquatic Invasive Species rules (HAR Chapter 95) prohibit movement of live fish + bait between islands without DAR permit (especially relevant for tucunaré, tilapia, and shrimp) — every freshwater angler must clean + drain + dry gear between waters.