Hawaii passes aquarium fish collection limits
- Thread starter Deinonych
- Start date
Deinonych
New member
Agreed. I would love to see more tank-bred fish available.
alton
Well-known member
Incase you don't subscribe to Coral
http://www.reef2rainforest.com/2013...ptive-bred-marine-fish-species-list-for-2013/
The list is growing
Da Maui life
New member
Unfortunately, some greedy/closed-minded/self-righteous people will try to show their 'superiority' ... Talk about clueless!!!!
What's really needed is a permit for 'better than you/know it alls'...
Yes, I have applied!
Permits and License are, already in place.
(DAR) the Division of Aquatic Resources issues various permits and licenses for fishing, selling aquatic life, and other activities involving aquatic resources.
Commercial Marine License are required for anyone to take marine life for commercial purpose. "selling aquatic life"
Aquarium Permit - required for any person to use fine mesh net for collecting aquatic life for an aquarium. Report required if commercial.
Aquaculture Dealer License - required for any dealer, retailer, wholesaler, or restaurant to resell requlated marine life faised in a licensed aquaculture facility
Da Maui life
New member
Hawaii's Kona side not island wide, this can affect the other seven island.
how so?
Deinonych
New member
Thanks!
coralreefdoc
New member
[violation]
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Borchers
Reefer Who needs Help!!!
I see no harm in Hawwii trying to limit what is taken from their waters as with any place placing the restrictions. We have to look at it this way...they are not banning the collection. It will take time to properly get the laws enforced. Will we see higher prices at the LFS, maybe . But the question is will the average buyer think more on the purchase and make sure he or she is ready to pay the premium price for a beautiful fish and have the proper system to maintain him? I know I would. It's like any other thing in life we have to get used the change. Just my 2 cents.
Quirkyeyes
In Memoriam
I think a message that needs to get across is that those who get fish need to be responsible keepers sure you can take a fish out of the ocean for your tank but its a lot differnt if you do that and it dies and you replace it 5 times completely differnt ecological factor
That's not an ecological factor, it's an emotional factor. As far as the ocean concerned, any fish taken out of the ocean is as good as dead...even the one that lives in a well kept fish tank for 20 years.
Thank you Bill for posting the link to the white list from Hawai'is Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) I want to point out none of the four bills introduced into the Hawai'i legislature in 2013 passed that would have had significant impacts on the aquarium collection trade. This is an update to legislation that already exists and from my understanding applies primarily Kona and the West Hawai'i Regional Management Areas which only applies to the west coast of the island Hawai'i. This area already has both older Fishery Management Areas (FMA) and Fishery Replenishment Areas (FRA) which were established in 1999, nieither of which have allowed any collection since their establishment. As I understand it besides the white list it seems is largely clarifiying boundaries and not changing much else. With regard to the white list I would refer readers to DAR's 2010 report which stated Yellow and Kole Tangs account for 91% of the ornamental fish catch and showed an increase in population through 2009 in the FMA, FRA and open areas http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/dar/pubs/ar_hrs188F5v2.pdf (A chart including the 2010 population increase is here: http://hawaiibanfactcheck.org/?page_id=114 ) While I find "white lists" potentially more troublesome than "black lists" this one doesn't seem to me will have much impact for marine aqaurists as it stands.
Looking at table 3 in the DAR report it's curious to note that while the Yellow and Kole Tang populations increased while populations for others including the ever popular Achilles and Clown Tangs dropped. In my mind this raises the question of what overall tang population is sustainable in these protected areas? What are the natural or preferred species distributions for the reef ecosystems and how do we maintain them?
Looking at table 3 in the DAR report it's curious to note that while the Yellow and Kole Tang populations increased while populations for others including the ever popular Achilles and Clown Tangs dropped. In my mind this raises the question of what overall tang population is sustainable in these protected areas? What are the natural or preferred species distributions for the reef ecosystems and how do we maintain them?
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wii64brawl
New member
So how many commonly collected fish are endemic to hawaii? I don't mind this as long as we don't lose the ability to get any commonly kept fish.
As someone who spent a number of years knee (or hip) deep in the freshwater side of the hobby, I think this is probably a good idea.
Just because a species is available in the wild does not mean that wholesalers should net most of the natural population, move them to their holding tanks and drop ship them to every retail establishment in the world.
It makes me cringe when I see freshwater rays for sale in a LFS and hearing Joe Bob Hobbyist asking the "oh so helpful" clerk if he can keep a Motoro ray in 55 with his large cichlids. (this species gets up to around 36").
Reading this doc, reading between the lines, it looks like they want collectors / wholesalers to have a permit and the correct equipment, stay out of the preservation areas, and don't collect fish that nobody has any business keeping in your average home reef aquarium (many sharks and rays). One could interpret that paying for the correct permit / license would give the government money to spend on preservation (but yeah, we all know how that works out sometimes).
Looking at the white list, there's a lot of smaller fish on that list (wrasses, etc.) but they're putting some limits on collecting yellow tangs. It also looks like they're limiting collection of corals in the reserve areas which is also a good thing in my opinion.
Reefkeeping is NOT the same as freshwater, I think the species are even more delicate and keeping a healthy environment requires a lot more work / research.
I'm not sure if something like this exists in the saltwater / reefkeeping world, but if Hawaii could set up something like Project Piaba, that would be of some benefit.
Just because a species is available in the wild does not mean that wholesalers should net most of the natural population, move them to their holding tanks and drop ship them to every retail establishment in the world.
It makes me cringe when I see freshwater rays for sale in a LFS and hearing Joe Bob Hobbyist asking the "oh so helpful" clerk if he can keep a Motoro ray in 55 with his large cichlids. (this species gets up to around 36").
Reading this doc, reading between the lines, it looks like they want collectors / wholesalers to have a permit and the correct equipment, stay out of the preservation areas, and don't collect fish that nobody has any business keeping in your average home reef aquarium (many sharks and rays). One could interpret that paying for the correct permit / license would give the government money to spend on preservation (but yeah, we all know how that works out sometimes).
Looking at the white list, there's a lot of smaller fish on that list (wrasses, etc.) but they're putting some limits on collecting yellow tangs. It also looks like they're limiting collection of corals in the reserve areas which is also a good thing in my opinion.
Reefkeeping is NOT the same as freshwater, I think the species are even more delicate and keeping a healthy environment requires a lot more work / research.
I'm not sure if something like this exists in the saltwater / reefkeeping world, but if Hawaii could set up something like Project Piaba, that would be of some benefit.
Reading through the Piaba website and Hawai'i DLNR/DAR website http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/dar/index.html it seems to me Hawai'i already has well established programs.
If you're pro aquarium, then you're anti environment. Can't spin it any other way, even if you would like to.
Study fish in natural environment, unless you're an licensed expert trying to figure out how to breed fish. Too many Joe Schmoes have wild fish because there pretty. Only buy captive bred fish not raised or wild caught, that way all us basement hobbyist don't harm environment (me included).
You can try and spin it, but reality is if your pro aquarium hobby you're then anti environment.
Study fish in natural environment, unless you're an licensed expert trying to figure out how to breed fish. Too many Joe Schmoes have wild fish because there pretty. Only buy captive bred fish not raised or wild caught, that way all us basement hobbyist don't harm environment (me included).
You can try and spin it, but reality is if your pro aquarium hobby you're then anti environment.
I'm sorry but I have to disagree and to be honest your comments strike me as very poorly informed. One of the things that seems to be ignored in criticisms of the aquarium trade is in many of the third world island countries the aquarium trade offers not only an economic incentive to manage their reefs wisely but also a means for locals who's only natural resource is the reef to lift themselves out of a subsistence life and poverty. These numbers are from an United Nations Environment Program study: In the Maldives in 2000 a kilogram of fish for food had a value of $6 while a kilogram of fish for the aquarium trade had a value of $500 and a ton of limestone collected for construction material had a value of $40 - $0 per ton but the same material sold as live rock had a value of $4000 to $8000. (1)
Just looking at the list of speakers for this years MACNA shows researchers that are able to do research on reef systems and expand our understanding of reef ecosystems in the wild SPECIFICALLY because of marine aquarists. One of the foremost experts and taxonomist on octocorals in the world is Micheal Jaines who PRIVATELY funds his own peer reviewed research by running one of the foremost aquarium maintenance services in the country, http://www.aquatouch.com .
(1) http://www.unep.org/PDF/From_Ocean_To_Aquarium_report.pdf
Just looking at the list of speakers for this years MACNA shows researchers that are able to do research on reef systems and expand our understanding of reef ecosystems in the wild SPECIFICALLY because of marine aquarists. One of the foremost experts and taxonomist on octocorals in the world is Micheal Jaines who PRIVATELY funds his own peer reviewed research by running one of the foremost aquarium maintenance services in the country, http://www.aquatouch.com .
(1) http://www.unep.org/PDF/From_Ocean_To_Aquarium_report.pdf
Corals being reared in research labs for study and propagated for nurseries are all being done so with methods first discovered by reef aquarium hobbyists. I also know quite a number of marine biologists (I'm one of them) with tanks at home. Be hard pressed to really consider any of us anti environment.
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