Image courtesy of NOAA under Creative Commons License
The marine aquarium trade is based in large part on wild fishes harvested from aquarium fisheries around the world. While most aquarium fishes originate in the Philippines and Indonesia, the third largest supplier of aquarium fishes to the U.S. is Hawaii, and there are currently eight bills before the Hawaii State Legislature that could significantly affect that fishery. Aquarists should be concerned that three of those bills—the so-called “ban bills,” because they would essentially ban the fishery—seek to close the fishery outright. Several others would regulate it to such an extent that it may no longer be financially viable. Sustainably minded aquarists should be concerned that one of the best-studied, managed aquarium fisheries in the world could be legislated out of existence based on allegations inconsistent with the data. Two of these bills (HB 873 and HB 606) will be heard Wednesday before the House Committee on Ocean, Marine Resources and Hawaiian Affairs, and aquarists, as well as other stakeholders, are encouraged to submit testimony before Tuesday’s deadline.
Losing Hawaii – At What Cost? Controversy over the Hawaii aquarium fishery is nothing new. In the late 1990s, the debate over Hawaii’s aquarium fishery had already become so controversial that the Legislature stepped in and passed Act 306. Act 306 set out to improve the management of the aquarium fishery and led to the formation of a multistakeholder community advisory group (the West Hawaii Fisheries Council), the creation of a series of so-called fish replenishment areas (FRAs) throughout the State’s largest aquarium fishery, and the mandate for ongoing monitoring. More than 15 years later, the data show that the West Hawaii Regional Fishery Management Area (WHRFMA), where around 70% of the State’s catch is landed, is a sustainable fishery and that current management is working. Is there room for improvement? Absolutely, but HB 873 and HB 606 are not about improvement; they are about closing the fishery. Sustainably-minded aquarists recognize that losing Hawaii as an aquarium fishery goes far beyond the loss of endemic fishes that would all but disappear from the aquarium hobby if the fishery is closed. Losing Hawaii would mean losing one of the best models for a sustainable fishery. Rather than serving as a template for much needed reform in the largest source countries, the closure of Hawaii’s fishery could instead lay out a blueprint for ending the global trade in wild-harvested fishes.… More:
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