Extension agents distribute reports, pamphlets and conference proceedings to the general public.
Certain recommendations in the Beach Management Plan for Maui will be formalized as changes in the rules and regulations of the Maui Planning Commission. Coordinated by coastal processes extension agent Rob Mullane, Sea Grant will co-sponsor a series of workshops on the proposed rule changes with the Maui County Council to formalize other recommendations that will require changes in county ordinances. Sea Grant hosted the Coastal Erosion Management in Hawai'i and Other Pacific Islands conference on Maui in April 1997 and intends to make this an annual event with plans for a July 1999 conference on Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands and a 3rd annual conference on Maui in September 2000. Sara Peck has acted as a liaison for the community-based management process working with Hawai'i's Department of Land and Natural Resources on the Big Island to set the agenda for the creation of the West Hawai'i Regional Fishery Management Council. The 1998 Hawai'i State Legislature enacted a bill which requires the West Hawai'i Regional Fishery Management Area Plan to effectively manage fishery activities, enhance nearshore resources and minimize conflicts of use in this coastal area.