Protect Hawaii’s Reef Fishes From Unregulated Aquarium Collecting

 

BACKGROUND:

In the state of Hawaii, all it takes is a $50 permit to collect reef fish and invertebrates for the aquarium trade.

 

There is little or no regulation of these collectors, even though the practice is decimating reef wildlife populations around the state. Endemic species (species found nowhere else but Hawaii) are threatened with extinction by the aquarium trade. Almost half of the top 20 species collected are endemic. Some of these endemic species die quickly in captivity. These fish can command a high price: one  rare Hawaii endemic recently retailed for $9,500.

 

86% of all reef fish taken are algae-eaters. The loss of these fish means that the reefs suffer from an overgrowth of algae.

 

Fish in the wild can live for many years, once they get through the precarious juvenile stage. For example, Yellow Tangs can live for more than 40 years. However, up tot 40% of collected fish die before reaching the hobbyist; up to 97% of all wildlife taken is estimated to die within a year of capture.

 

ENCOURAGE GOVERNMENT TO TAKE ACTION

Hawaii's state government controls the reefs and the nearshore areas, but has not taken action to control aquarium collectors.

 

However, at the urging of residents (including Pacific Whale Foundation) the Maui County Council took steps last year to regulate aquarium collecting where it could.  A bill passed in 2010 requires collectors in Maui County to obtain county permits, meet strict standards, and provide mortality reports, tax clearances and fees. Pacific Whale Foundation is proud to have testified on behalf of this new law -- which is the first to regulate aquarium extractors in Hawaii.

 

A second county bill to require humane treatment of reef fish collected by the aquarium trade underwent its final reading on January 21, 2011 -- and it passed unanimously! Pacific Whale Foundation is proud to have testified on this bill, which ensures the humane treatment of aquatic life collected by the aquarium trade. It bans cruel practices such as starvation (dealers starve wildlife for two to ten days before shipment in plastic bags, claiming that it boosts survival rates), finning (cutting off the sharp points of the dorsal fins to prevent the plastic bag from puncture) and fizzing (puncturing the fish's air bladder with a hypodermic needle to allow the fish to be quickly carried to the surface of the ocean).

 

Both Maui County bills helped raise public awareness about this issue. Now with a new governor in office and some new faces at Hawaii's state legislature, it appears that the state of Hawaii may also take action!

 

HELP SUPPORT STATEWIDE ACTION

Hawaii Senate Bill 580, as introduced by Senate President Shan Tsutsui, D-Central Maui; Sen. J. Kalani English, D-Upcountry, East Maui, Molokai, Lanai; and Senator Roz Baker, D-South, West Maui, would have prohibited the sale of any aquatic life taken from waters within the state for aquarium purposes, It would have established prohibitions, penalties, and fines for knowingly selling aquatic life for aquarium purposes taken from waters within the jurisdiction of the State. This new law would have required an aquarium permit to take marine or freshwater nongame fish and other aquatic life for aquarium purposes. It would also have imposed new standards for aquarium permit issuance determinations.

 

The law would have exempted those who take reef fish for food or bait, as well as for scientific or educational purposes or cultural or religious use. This law would not have impacted aquariums in homes in Hawaii and display aquariums in Hawaii (where wildlife is displayed but not for sale).

 

Pacific Whale Foundation testified at a hearing on SB 580 on Thursday, February 3 at the State Capitol. Many of our friends and supporters also submitted testimony via letters and email.

 

Many representatives of the aquarium collecting trade, all wearing matching shirts, also testified at the hearing. Sadly, the Senate committee chose to dramatically alter SB 580, changing it to a bill that would establish two new marine protected areas on Maui.

 

To learn more about SB 580, please visit http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2011/lists/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=580

 

We are not giving up on statewide legislation to protect Hawaii's reef fish. Please visit again in the future for new updates on the work to save reef wildlife from the aquarium trade.

 

 

PACIFIC WHALE FOUNDATION'S TESTIMONY:

 

Scroll down to read Pacific Whale Foundation's  testimony regarding Maui County's BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 6.04, MAUI COUNTY CODE, PERTAINING TO ANIMAL CONTROL"  presented to the Maui County Council on January 21, 2011.

 

 

TO: Honorable Chair Mateo and Maui County Councilmembers, Council of the County of Maui.

 

RE: Council Meeting January 21, 2011

 

FROM: Pacific Whale Foundation, Anne Rillero, Conservation Director, 300 Ma’alaea Road, Suite 211, Wailuku, HI, 96793

 


IN SUPPORT OF: BILL NO. 99 (2010), A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 6.04, MAUI COUNTY CODE, PERTAINING TO ANIMAL CONTROL.

 

Pacific Whale Foundation is a nonprofit organization with headquarters in Maui; we have more than 300,000 supporters across the United States and worldwide. Our mission is to protect our oceans through science and advocacy. We thank the Maui County Council for your work to curb the unregulated extraction of reef wildlife for the aquarium trade. 

Pacific Whale Foundation strongly supports Bill No. 99, a bill for an ordinance amending Chapter 6.04, Maui County Code, pertaining to Animal Control – a bill that provides for the humane treatment of aquatic life collected for aquarium purposes.

 

As an organization with a 30-year history of protecting marine wildlife, we support this bill because it prevents cruelty to marine animals -- namely those fish and invertebrates that are collected from the wild by the aquarium trade to become “pets.”  There is precedence throughout the United States in establishing clear laws to prevent cruelty to pets. While laws vary from state to state, it is generally accepted that cruelty to animals includes intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly torturing, tormenting, causing substantial bodily injury, or starving any animal, or depriving a pet animal of necessary sustenance.

 

Reef fish and other animals gathered by the aquarium trade deserve this protection. On Maui, more than 17,000 animals per year fall into this category. The bill before you will outlaw practices currently employed by those in the aquarium collection trade that clearly amount to animal cruelty including withholding food for more than twelve hours; piercing or deflating a fish's swim bladder and fin or spine trimming. By banning these practices, Maui County will ensure the highest level of care for the marine wildlife that is collected. For example, feeding fish on a regular schedule may require that the collector place the fish in a larger plastic bag with more water, to allow for the build-up of waste products excreted by the fish. While inconvenient for the collector, it is healthier and less stressful for the fish.

 

Pacific Whale Foundation strongly supports Ordinance 99 as a means to reduce the unacceptably high mortality rate of fish and invertebrates collected by the aquarium trade. A 2000 report by the Trade Subgroup of the International Working Group of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force noted that: “it has been estimated that the mortality of reef species from source reef to home aquaria may be as high as 90%.” This high mortality rate creates additional pressures on our reefs, as collectors seek to replace what is dying. Forcing collectors to report on the mortality rates of the wildlife they hold will help drive down these rates.

 

Reducing this waste is important, because what aquarium collectors are taking cannot be replaced.  Coral reefs are complex ecosystems. The colorful reef fish each play an important role in maintaining the reef’s natural balance. For example, herbivores, which are collected by the aquarium trade in large numbers, play a significant role in controlling benthic algae. Without these fish, algae can grow out of control, killing the corals that are the very foundation of all reef life. 


 

Worldwide, there is ample evidence that living marine wildlife has a far greater economic value than captured or killed wildlife. This is especially true in Maui County, where our beautiful coral reefs have significance in our appeal as a world-class visitor destination. It is imperative that Maui County’s leaders recognize the economic value of our reef resources to our entire community, and not allow these precious shared resources to be squandered by the relatively small percentage of the population that engages in collecting for the aquarium trade.

 

It is said that the heart of a community can be judged by how it treats its most vulnerable members. Let us ensure the humane treatment of these vulnerable reef animals. We thank you for your leadership in regulating the aquarium trade on Maui.