The Hawai‘i Board of Land and Natural Resources approved a request on Friday, Aug. 22, for the extension of the closed fishing season for main Hawaiian Islands bottomfish through Friday, Nov. 14. The closed fishing season, which began April 14, was originally scheduled to reopen on Sept. 1. The revised recommendation was based on the need for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries to recalculate its stock assessment using more recent commercial catch data from 2005 to 2007. The Council also recommended that this recalculation include Northwestern Hawaiian Island bottomfish catch data, and to account for a reduction of fishing effort there, over time. The Council, which includes the State of Hawai‘i, agreed with this analysis and voted unanimously to support the recommendation. This approved rule change has now been filed with the Lt. Governor’s office in accordance with state policy, and will become law in 10 days. The extension of the closed season applies to only seven deepwater bottomfish species: ehu, gindai, hapu‘upu‘u, kalekale, lehi, onaga and opakapaka. For more information, visit the Department of Land and Natural Resources Website at www.hawaii.gov/dlnr.