DLNR UPDATE ON POHOIKI BOAT RAMP
News Release from DLNR, Oct 23, 2025
HONOLULU – As of Friday, October 10, contractors had opened a clear channel at Pohoiki Boat Ramp for the first time since black sand blocked ocean access during the 2018 Kilauea Lower East Rift Zone eruption. From October 16 – 19, 2025, the entrance channel filled with black sand, cobbles, and larger lava rocks carried by ocean swells.
“We acknowledge the community’s disappointment. We are terribly disappointed too,” said Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) Chair Dawn N.S. Chang. “The Department of Land and Natural Resources recognizes how significant the Pohoiki Boat Ramp is to the Big Island community. Because it is one of the only places for boats to enter the ocean from Hilo to South Point, it has tremendous strategic importance for responding to a variety of emergency situations. It is also a lifeline for traditional and subsistence fishers. We will continue to work with the community and elected officials to find a path forward.”
Multiple community meetings that took place after a 2019 study of the Puna coastline by the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation resulted in the decision to focus efforts on restoring ocean access at the Pohoiki Boat Ramp – rather than construction of a new boat ramp at a different location – because of the natural protection and calmer waters that Pohoiki Bay provides.
Since 2021, project engineers have observed the black sand at Pohoiki steadily eroding, with material moving south along the shoreline. Pohoiki had not accumulated any additional rock or sediment in approximately four years.
In the final environmental assessment, completed in July 2023, several project options for reopening the boat ramp at Pohoiki were considered:
Option 1 (cost estimate $4.1 million) involved dredging a very narrow channel.
Option 2 (cost estimate $5.4 million) involved dredging a wide channel.
Option 3 (cost estimate $46 million) involved the construction of two large breakwater structures to protect the entrance channel.
Option 4 (cost estimate $40 million) involved removing a majority of the volcanic debris from Pohoiki Bay.
Options 1 and 2 were less preferred because of the potential for ocean swells to fill the channel with new deposits of black sand, cobbles, and lava rocks. DLNR staff and project consultants reiterated this at meetings throughout the planning process and also published this in the final environmental assessment.
Options 3 and 4 provided the greatest potential for long-term solutions to reopen the Pohoiki Boat Ramp. Option 4 was DLNR’s preferred alternative because it was less costly than Option 3, involved less time to obtain the required project permits, and required less time for construction work.
During the 2023 Legislative Session, $35 million was set aside for the project, but lower revenue forecasts that year led to $1.1 billion in state budget cuts. The Legislature was able to provide $6.645 million for the project, which was only sufficient to fund Option 2, and was consistent with the scope of work approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
“We realized that if we waited for full funding for our preferred option, it might never come,” said BLNR Chair, Dawn Chang. “For decades, Pohoiki has been one of the most important fishing ports along Hawai‘i Island’s east coast, and with no other emergency ocean access from Hilo to South Point, the overall community sentiment was that it was better to try something than to do nothing, with everyone acknowledging there was no guarantee this would work or how long it would last.
“This project was progressing very well. The contractor, Goodfellow Bros., have been outstanding partners in this endeavor,” Chang added. “The completion date was set for February 2026, but by October 10 they were nearing completion in record time. DLNR is now examining the site conditions and evaluating options for long-term solutions. We thank the community for their patience and understanding during this process.”
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RESOURCES
(All images/video courtesy: DLNR)
Images from Final Environmental Assessment for the Pohoiki Boat Ramp Dredging of Volcanic Debris in the Pohoiki Bay Area, Puna District, Hawaiʻi, July 2023
HTH: State admits Pohoiki Boat Ramp dredging effort has failed - Hawaii Tribune-Herald
CB: Will Bailey: State's Dredging Of Pohoiki Bay Fails Quickly And Completely - Honolulu Civil Beat