The Hawaii Department of Agriculture is responsible for inspecting plant material arriving from the U.S. Mainland.

Read all about what you cannot bring to Hawaii here.

An hour or so before you arrive in Hawaii, the flight crew will pass out Agriculture Declaration Forms to every passenger (or family) on the plane.

Bring a pen.

To safeguard our local flora (and fauna), the state wants you to declare any/all plants and animals you are bringing with you.

The most common declaration is produce. For example, Californians might bring a banana or a small bag of grapes, visitors from Florida, some citrus. If it’s a small quantity, the flight crew will tell you to just eat it. Or if you don’t care, just give it over to the crew. Much of what’s on the restricted produce and plant list is because of the destructive pests that attack them. For example, Hawaii doesn’t have the cabbage maggot, a pest that invades the turnip family.

If you do not have anything to declare, just check the box that says NOTHING TO DECLARE.

The other side of the form is for the Hawaii Tourism Authority (Platinum Sponsor of Gay Bowl XXII). Please complete it.

Hawaii is one of the few states that is able to effectively survey its domestic visitors arriving on airplanes and cruise ships. It gives us an advantage; we know how many visitors are coming, from where, but also foreign visitors that come through the United States … From there, our marketing partners can target markets much more effectively.

As you might expect, surveys show 78 percent of domestic visitors come to Hawaii for vacation, 11 percent to visit family and friends, and only 7 percent come on business.

Note: On your way back to the mainland, after you pass through TSA, you will be required to put your carry-on baggage through an Agricultural Inspection scanner. Turns out, the US farmlands aren’t copacetic with Hawaii flora, either.