Hawaii Fish Ban Update

[Hawaii hobbyist]

I completely agree! We have proved that we will destroy reefs I’m happy with local breeders.

That isn’t proven. You have it backwards but hey as long as you feel good, right?

Screw those Hawaiian fishermen and how they sustain themselves

 

[lubeck]

And most of the islands don’t suffer from localized pollution issues like in Maui or Oahu. Here on Big Island, our rugged coastline is fresh black lava flows so it’s undeveloped, inaccessible by shore and acts as a safe guard for the fringing reefs from land based man made pollution. I’ve dove the most remote parts of the islands and most of our coastlines are in outstanding shape

People speaking as if there’s a resource problem are in denial of the science and or just don’t know anything about our reefs/resource here in Hawaii. It’s a shame they’ll wade into a topic they don’t know much about and take positions so strong they’ll support shutting someone’s livelihoods down on a rock thousands of miles away from them. Couldn’t be me.

This isn’t really on topic to the thread but ……. 2 step is my favorite place to snorkel out of the three islands you mentioned. In my opinion, The big island is hands down the best island for fish and coral for the reasons you mentioned above.

 

[MnFish1]

From a couple of sources . . . . . . .
The Hawaiian aquarium fishery has been shut down due to a court order requiring an environmental review. The court requirements have been satisfied and the State is moving forward in the permitting process. This is a two part meeting. The first is April 12, where DAR (Division of Aquatic Resources) will present the status of the fishery to the Land Board in a 92 page scientific analysis. Pending the outcome of the meeting Friday, a second meeting will occur in 6-8 weeks.

Nothing has gone according to plan in this process, so we should
not be surprised the opposition has requested the Board to ban the fishery at the April 12 meeting as well.

We need your assistance, now, and in a few months. We urge you to send a simple email to the Land Board.
CLICK HERE to send an email. (Correct email included)

You can elaborate as much as you like, but be clear in your position in the first sentence.

Click here for a Link to the recent findings by DAR that will be presented on Friday that you can review.

Thanks for the information!!!

 

[MnFish1]

I may be in the minority here, but I hope the ban stays in place, unless it truly is sustainable for the fish populations. Maybe another decade of the ban would be best. I personally don't care if certain fish aren't available for my aquarium or if captive breds aren't as nice. I own 3 Biota YTs and they look just fine to me..if that means not plucking them from the ocean, I'm not selfish enough to demand a bright yellow to stare at for my own personal enjoyment at the expense of the YT wild populations.

This is a great 'sentiment' - fortunately, yellow tangs are neither threatened nor endangered, so - the 'ban' doesn't make sense (to me)

 

[MnFish1]

Can you please elaborate on why you have the position of never reaching aquaculture sustainability?

This seems like a broad statement that follows some sort of slippery slope fallacy. Just because we can't captive bred all species, does not corelate to never successfully transitioning to aquaculture. All corals in the hobby right now can be aquacultured. Clams can be cultured with a large facility, as well as urchins, surgeonfish, gobies, blennies, angelfish.... Hell, even fuzzy chitons and abalones can be aquacultured.


While I would like to believe that many people on R2R are of sound mind, (and I want to be clear, you are) , you're making some broad generalizations. I think it's best to avoid making them because while in this specific case it was demonstrated there was an increase of fish in the last 30 years of collection, there will always be a study or article that shows the views we would like to see. It's important to review both sides and determine who has better scientific methods, however skeptical we may be of them.


These sorts of fishing licenses, depending of local regulations, be sold, bought, and traded to manipulate the prices of fish. If this is the case, then it makes sense to keep the current licencing in place because it prevents access to the legal path of commercial fishing licencing for the purpose of local food.

The real reason the ban is being pushed is so corporations with way more money than locals can step in and farm them for locals. This allows these corporations to extort the local population's food supply and ultimately potentially deprive them of their heritage. This is fairly common and it ends up creating people who sit on their licenses year over year while the actual fishermen bust their butts on the open ocean for a fraction of what the true market value of the catch is, and then the middle man who sits and owns the shares but doesn't actually fish makes most of the cut of the fish profits.



This all said, there is not any good reason to ban this fishery, and logistically speaking Hawaiians should be angry that this is even getting time on the floor as opposed to actual scientifically proven economic and social problems. They should probably look and see if there's some corruption going on there that is preventing them from actually addressing what their constituents as a majority care about.

two points. 1. a few vocal groups want to ban aquaria in general - This is one step towards that. 2. Breeding does not solve the issue - because - lets pretend - I have a piece of elk stag horn in my tank - and want to sell a frag (first I don't believe I could have it in the first place) - but - I can't sell or even give it away. Much like eagle feather possession. This is the future - maybe decades in the future (or sooner) - of this hobby. Why? Because it's impossible to prove that fish x was not imported/caught vs. bred. (I suppose with advanced genetics one could). Thus - if/when a fish is threatened/endangered - it's entirely possible (and coral) - that the whole hobby collapses - before the argument - I'm not saying this is happening - but. in the future - who knows. This particular ban made no sense to begin with - and even now - people on a reefing site are supporting it to a degree.........

 

[MnFish1]

@Kona Diver
So, currently, can people living in Hawaii go fishing in local waters?

This is an old picture - but I believe it tells a story

 

[litsoh]

This is an old picture - but I believe it tells a story

Not gonna lie though, tangs taste pretty good

 

[MnFish1]

Not gonna lie though, tangs taste pretty good

Curious - I'm not from Hawaii - are tangs sold in stores (to eat)

 

[Reefering1]

This is an old picture - but I believe it tells a story

Gorgeous fish. I would love an Achilles. Wish I couple trade them some of this gulf of Mexico grouper for them(alive of course)

 

[litsoh]

Curious - I'm not from Hawaii - are tangs sold in stores (to eat)

Yep, you'd mainly see Convict Tangs, called Manini, at the stores but I do remember seeing Achilles Tangs on occasion

 

[ToastPuppy]

This is an old picture - but I believe it tells a story

This is an old picture - but I believe it tells a story

God awful. I hate that the Fishkeeping industry is villainized when people can just do this. It’s such a pile of feel-good crap while ignoring the fact that even artisanal fisheries are infinitely more destructive to the fish populations than what’s being targeted.

Gorgeous fish. I would love an Achilles. Wish I couple trade them some of this gulf of Mexico grouper for them(alive of course)

 

[MnFish1]

Yep, you'd mainly see Convict Tangs, called Manini, at the stores but I do remember seeing Achilles Tangs on occasion

I guess I would question (and again - I'm not there) - whether one could survive without the local fish - i.e. stores. I understand a family needing to fish for food of course

 

[Reefering1]

God awful. I hate that the Fishkeeping industry is villainized when people can just do this. It’s such a pile of feel-good crap while ignoring the fact that even artisanal fisheries are infinitely more destructive to the fish populations than what’s being targeted.

Idk if I would call it awful.. if that's what the native people eat, then so be it. But then to ban us, like most government actions, doesn't solve anything but let's them feel like their doing something. If they wanted solutions, they would import fish/ food from elsewhere and export these beautiful fish that the world wants to cherish

 

[Jasonak]

Curious - I'm not from Hawaii - are tangs sold in stores (to eat)

Ive not bought from a store while there but caught while out fishing and they are very good. I told captain oh man we need to put it back, it was a dussumieri beautiful fish. He said no way those taste amazing. Which is what confuses me about this argument. You can catch and kill with NO LICENSE NEEDED but if you want to keep one alive that's against the law.

 

[Reefering1]

Ive not bought from a store while there but caught while out fishing and they are very good. I told captain oh man we need to put it back, it was a dussumieri beautiful fish. He said no way those taste amazing. Which is what confuses me about this argument. You can catch and kill with NO LICENSE NEEDED but if you want to keep one alive that's against the law.

Exactly

 

[litsoh]

God awful. I hate that the Fishkeeping industry is villainized when people can just do this. It’s such a pile of feel-good crap while ignoring the fact that even artisanal fisheries are infinitely more destructive to the fish populations than what’s being targeted.

Lol

 

[litsoh]

Idk if I would call it awful.. if that's what the native people eat, then so be it. But then to ban us, like most government actions, doesn't solve anything but let's them feel like their doing something. If they wanted solutions, they would import fish/ food from elsewhere and export these beautiful fish that the world wants to cherish

The costs to import everything that we need here are already way too expensive. It’s not that simple

 

[sfin52]

Thanks for sharing this!

Funny you say that because we don’t listen to these people. We were being held hostage by a court order and now being held hostage by a handful of activist and ideological bureaucrats that agree with them.

Thats most of the states right now.

 

[litsoh]

I guess I would question (and again - I'm not there) - whether one could survive without the local fish - i.e. stores. I understand a family needing to fish for food of course

Keep in mind that photo is from many years back, ever since then I believe there’s been a hold on targeting the Achilles, at least for certain areas, so that the population can rebound.

 

[albano]

These yellow tangs will be available at the old prices…