Hawai’i Has A ‘Blue’ Fee. What Can It Tell Us About The New Green Fee?

Divers prepare to descend after entering the water from a Waikīkī Dive Center boat. (Leilani Combs/ Civil Beat/2025)

By Leilani Combs for Honolulu Civil Beat

As Hawaiʻi prepares to collect a first-of-its-kind green fee to protect the environment — one aimed mostly at short-term visitors — a similar conservation fee on ocean users established last year offers insights.

Since 2024, state land and water officials have been charging an extra $1 to people who parasail, take dolphin tours or join snorkel excursions, Waikīkī cruises and other recreational outings in Hawaiʻi’s waters. The money is intended to help offset their impacts on coral reefs, fish, turtles and other marine life.

That Aloha i ke Kai Ocean Stewardship User Fee has received strong support from some of the ocean tour operators tasked with collecting it from their customers, who see the fee as a way to bolster their own improvement projects already underway. Other operators remain skeptical that it will work as advertised.

Click here to read the full story in the June 27 Honolulu Civil Beat.