A portion of Maunalua Bay between the Diamond Head buoy near the Diamond Head lighthouse and Spitting Cave has been approved by the state as a fisheries management area — an addition that bumps up the total area protects statewide by 40%. Nighttime dive spearfishing is prohibited immediately, and limits are placed on taking or holding species including the spotted reef crab, horned helmet, Triton’s trumpet, spiny lobster and slipper lobster.

The designation, pursued and facilitated by nonprofit environmental group Malama Maunalua, springs from two decades of conservation efforts.

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