New rules for visitors to historic Kealakekua Bay will go into effect next week.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources plans to institute a simple permit system for people seeking to land vessels along the Ka‘awaloa shoreline or to moor at the wharf adjacent to the Captain Cook Monument in the bay.

Through the new process, visitors will be informed about the area’s sensitive coral reefs, and will be given guidance on preserving the historic and cultural sites at the location.

The DLNR has conducted recent law enforcement actions at the bay in cooperation with Hawaii County Police to address illegal commercial rental of kayaks. Several illegal kayaks have been confiscated.

File video by David Corrigan, voice of  Tim  Bryan

A 57 year old female and her 13 year old daughter were rescued  about 1/2 mile off Mahukona after their inflatable kayak “got caught in wind line” and they were unable to paddle back in, according to Hawaii County Fire officials.

The family, who the fire department says was apparently unfamiliar with the wind conditions at the North Kohala state park, was uninjured during the incident on Sunday. The initial alarm went out at 2:57 p.m., and the fire department says one bystander on his own kayak attempted to help with the rescue as county rescue personnel arrived.

Chopper 2, which arrived on scene after Company 15, flew over the victims and reported that the mother and daughter appeared alright, but fatigued.

Fire officials say Chopper 1 arrived on the scene shortly there after and put a rescue swimmer in the water and deployed the billy pugh net to rescue the family. The mother and daughter were brought safely to nearby Lapakahi State Park, and later transported back to Mahukona State Park.