Collecting fish in Hawaii????

[79chopperdr]

Awhile back I thought I read where someone was talking about collecting fish and inverts in Hawaii for personal use using a permit process.

My wife and I are taking a trip to Maui in October and plan on spending as much of my time snorkling/diving as possible which will be great. If I can collect some fish/ corals it will be even better!

Please share on how the process works!

Thanks

 

[CoralsAddiction]

I'm not a lawyer in Hawaii so can't give legal advice. If I were you I would stay away from collecting and removing any corals, inverts and live rock directly from the ocean. It is illegal. What I believe you can do is collect rubble and live sand that fits into a 1gal bucket.

 

[NTP66]

It's illegal to collect coral and live rock in Hawai'i unless you have a commercial permit. I'm not sure about the sand, but my personal opinion is that nothing outside of fish should ever be removed from the islands.

 

[79chopperdr]

Found the regs, rock and coral are off the table. I did apply for a permit for fish.

Still curious in hearing about similar experiances.

 

[Deinonych]

i'm not sure about the sand, but my personal opinion is that nothing outside of fish should ever be removed from the islands.

+1

 

[Shawn O]

What does the permit cost and what fish are you allowed to collect?

 

[Reef Frog]

I think the proper packaging, acclimation, flight connections, hotel set up would all be very daunting. While not impossible, the chances of survival even if you catch something is low unfortunately. I would love to experience collecting one day but that one will probably stay on the bucket list. Enjoy the trip.

 

[IowaReefer]

I think the proper packaging, acclimation, flight connections, hotel set up would all be very daunting. While not impossible, the chances of survival even if you catch something is low unfortunately. I would love to experience collecting one day but that one will probably stay on the bucket list. Enjoy the trip.

The OP lives in Cali, it is not a long flight home, especially if he has an evening flight and can do the collecting the day of departure. I have always thought about road tripping down to FL to do some collecting, sounds like a great trip!

 

[enchelycore808]

When I worked at a petstore on the big island, we occasionally packed up fish for people who do just that. Personally done it as well. Need collection permit, then to ship out you need a Dept of Ag permit plus inspection label to tape on box. After that you can ship it on your airline, fedex etc Shouldn't be in boxed more then 10hours or so but if it was bagged properly, should be able to do 24hr in bag no problem.

 

[enchelycore808]

Also soft coral, zoas, most nems are legal to collect. Just can't take or damage the rock that they are on. No liverock or reef building corals are permitted. Hawaii is pretty lacking in coral variety compared to other locales however due to being so isolated and geographically young.

 

[CoralsAddiction]

Also soft coral, zoas, most nems are legal to collect. Just can't take or damage the rock that they are on. No liverock or reef building corals are permitted. Hawaii is pretty lacking in coral variety compared to other locales however due to being so isolated and geographically young.

I also think it's a cultural issue for the native population of Hawaii but I am not thoroughly enlightened on this subject.

 

[79chopperdr]

What does the permit cost and what fish are you allowed to collect?

Not 100%, the application was free to fill out. I think you pay per animal when you go to send out of state. I'm hoping for more info when I hear back on the permit application.

It's illegal to collect coral and live rock in Hawai'i unless you have a commercial permit. I'm not sure about the sand, but my personal opinion is that nothing outside of fish should ever be removed from the islands.

I am respectful of all laws related to collecting these animals and natural resources. Unless your FOWLR is stocked with only manmade rock, and aquarium bred fish, your comments sound pretty hypocritical. Where exactly do you think this stuff comes from?

When I worked at a pet store on the big island, we occasionally packed up fish for people who do just that. Personally done it as well. Need collection permit, then to ship out you need a Dept of Ag permit plus inspection label to tape on box. After that you can ship it on your airline, fedex etc Shouldn't be in boxed more than 10hours or so but if it was bagged properly, should be able to do 24hr in bag no problem.

IF I can catch a fish (they swim a bit faster than me) and it is compatible with my tank and current inhabitants I will have it shipped home to a fellow reefer. I'm not going to try to keep anything alive in my hotel room, it won't be good for the animal or me (the wife is only tolerant of this hobby).

I'm not looking at this as a cheap way to get a fish, but a fun activity and a great way to remember my trip and enjoy our great hobby. I take the care of my animals seriously and know that proper care and shipment can end up with me spending big bucks on a fish I could buy for $20 at the LFS.

Thanks for your inputs, I'm still interested in some first-hand experience on the subject.

 

[NTP66]

I am respectful of all laws related to collecting these animals and natural resources. Unless your FOWLR is stocked with only manmade rock, and aquarium bred fish, your comments sound pretty hypocritical. Where exactly do you think this stuff comes from?

I wasn't inferring that you weren't respectful of the laws at all. Two of my fish were collected in Hawai'i, but none of my live rock or sand was. I also wasn't saying that live rock/coral/sand shouldn't be harvested from the wild - just Hawai'i. If you ask most locals, they feel the same way.

 

[79chopperdr]

I also wasn't saying that live rock/coral/sand shouldn't be harvested from the wild - just Hawai'i. If you ask most locals, they feel the same way.

:deadhorse1: You must be popular on all other reefs in the world.

 

[sfsuphysics]

Do you have any experience with collecting fish in the wild? My trips to Hawaii I couldn't get within 3 arms lengths of most fish that I might deem "collectable", a few close calls with a REALLY large Naso tang but other than that sounds like a lot of work to do what you're hoping.

 

[bertoni]

Moved on request.

 

[kkittredge]

curious what happened with this. Did you wind up collecting anything?

 

[AZRippster]

Check out the March/April 2015 issue of Coral Magazine. It will clarify this threads question along with identifying obviously where the best diving and life exists within the Hawaiian Islands.

 

[79chopperdr]

I never did any collecting when I visited Maui. Buckets and air pumps in the hotel would have put a large damper on the trip for my much better half!

I found flipping rocks over while on the bottom makes you very popular with the fish. They start coming out of the woodwork to see what's under there.

Hawaiian DAR sent me a letter yesterday that outlined some new limits on nets and banned collecting on three butterfly species on Oahu. Make sure you double check the regs before you go.

 

[OhMatic]

79chopperdr
I am lucky enough to be able to collect fish (non commercially)in Hawaii 2-3 times a week.
I have changed my technique over the last year and have become a lot more successful, even with the new DAR restrictions you can pretty easily catch all you need. I release everything these days. (Since I got attached to my Moorish Idol), There seems to be a real problem with Aoumyloodinium ocellatum here. I assume this is why exporters treat their water/fish before shipping.
You could come on a visit and collect fish, work with a LFS/exported to ship the fish to you when you leave. No buckets or pumps in your room.
Catching the fish in a net can be challenging and may prove more difficult than expected.
Good luck, enjoy.