Protecting Hawaii's Reefs
- Thread starter andynyc
- Start date
No, actually you don't. No license is required for taking marine life for non-commercial purposes (not counting restricted stuff like coral).
For collecting fish, a "recreational aquarium collecting permit" is generally required. However, this permit really allows the use of fine mesh barrier nets and fish traps - if you are able to catch marine animals without using them then technically you don't need the permit.
So, as long as you aren't using barrier nets, don't plan on selling the things you collect, and don't plan on taking any live rock/coral, then you don't need to worry about a permit.
Do you have a link to this article? I remember reading something in the Advertiser last fall, but it didn't say anything about closing the fishery.
It's around. Hawaii has one species of Sinularia - it looks like a rubbery version of finger coral. It's not too common though, so it's probably best to leave it on the reef if you see it.
I'm not familiar with Maui, but you can probably find aquarium shops over there by looking in the phone book. You should be able to leave the island with fish, as long as they're properly packed (a good fish store ought to do this for you). There are few restrictions on importing/exporting marine specimens so you should run into minimal hassles.
I've never had people complain when I've gone fish collecting. Usually they're curious, think the fish are cute, and ask questions about what they eat, how big they'll get, etc. Most locals enjoy fishing and are friendly enough unless you have a rude attitude.
Modern Pet is very good, as some have mentioned. Make sure to look carefully before you buy anything though, because some of their fish are a little messed up! Coral Fish Hawaii is OK too, but I'm not too fond of the staff.
RGBMatt, there are a several items in your above post that are incorrect.
First, a license is REQUIRED to collect any fish for Aquariums. According to the Department of Land and Natural Resources: http://www.hawaii.gov/dlnr/dar/licenses.htm
"10) Aquarium Permit - required for any person to use fine mesh net for collecting aquatic life for an aquarium. Report required if commercial. HRS Ã"šÃ‚§188-31."
This does not limit it to ONLY barrier nets or fish traps.
Second, you say that "There are few restrictions on importing/exporting marine specimens so you should run into minimal hassles." That is completely incorrect, as Hawaii has the STRICTEST regulations for at least importation of marine animals. Exportation is supposedly lax with the Department of Land and Natural Resources, but the State Department of Agriculture who conduct the Agricultural inspections of ALL outgoing baggage at the Honolulu Airport, does not necessarily allow all exportation.
In addition, the reason I am asking about the Sinularia isn't to collect it, but because it was my impression, based on my years of diving, that there are no Sinularia species in Hawaii. So I contacted the Bishop Museum, who notates all items, native or not, found in Hawaiian waters and the Waikiki Aquarium, and both said that they are not aware of Sinularia in Hawaii. So if, in fact, you have seen it, I would report it to the DLNR.
Also, now this is just personal opinion, but I would only purchase fish from Modern Pet Center and not Coral Fish Hawaii, as Coral Fish Hawaii purchases fish from several collectors that use Cyanide to catch their fish, and promote the use of several destructive reef collecting techniques that I personally do not condone. Modern Pet Center ONLY purchases fish from collectors who use hand nets to collect their fish. They also question any deep-divers regarding their decompression techniques. Sure the fish end up being more expensive, but the quality and health of the fish are #1 importance to me.
Furthermore, I am actually fairly offended by your post:
"I've never had people complain when I've gone fish collecting. Usually they're curious, think the fish are cute, and ask questions about what they eat, how big they'll get, etc. Most locals enjoy fishing and are friendly enough unless you have a rude attitude."
Yes, locals enjoy fishing, as fishing is a pasttime of the Hawaiian people. But what you dont know, are that several species of fish that are readily collected for the Aquarium Trade are considered sacred. My post above was to make sure that you and everyone else acknowledge respect for the land and the ocean and especially the locals. Now I can go on and on about this, but I wont. If you or anyone else wants information regarding this, then I will be happy to share.
I am sorry if this post sounds hostile, but there are certain subjects that you brought up, that being a person who has lived in Hawaii all my life, do not find respectful.
First, a license is REQUIRED to collect any fish for Aquariums. According to the Department of Land and Natural Resources: http://www.hawaii.gov/dlnr/dar/licenses.htm
"10) Aquarium Permit - required for any person to use fine mesh net for collecting aquatic life for an aquarium. Report required if commercial. HRS Ã"šÃ‚§188-31."
This does not limit it to ONLY barrier nets or fish traps.
Second, you say that "There are few restrictions on importing/exporting marine specimens so you should run into minimal hassles." That is completely incorrect, as Hawaii has the STRICTEST regulations for at least importation of marine animals. Exportation is supposedly lax with the Department of Land and Natural Resources, but the State Department of Agriculture who conduct the Agricultural inspections of ALL outgoing baggage at the Honolulu Airport, does not necessarily allow all exportation.
In addition, the reason I am asking about the Sinularia isn't to collect it, but because it was my impression, based on my years of diving, that there are no Sinularia species in Hawaii. So I contacted the Bishop Museum, who notates all items, native or not, found in Hawaiian waters and the Waikiki Aquarium, and both said that they are not aware of Sinularia in Hawaii. So if, in fact, you have seen it, I would report it to the DLNR.
Also, now this is just personal opinion, but I would only purchase fish from Modern Pet Center and not Coral Fish Hawaii, as Coral Fish Hawaii purchases fish from several collectors that use Cyanide to catch their fish, and promote the use of several destructive reef collecting techniques that I personally do not condone. Modern Pet Center ONLY purchases fish from collectors who use hand nets to collect their fish. They also question any deep-divers regarding their decompression techniques. Sure the fish end up being more expensive, but the quality and health of the fish are #1 importance to me.
Furthermore, I am actually fairly offended by your post:
"I've never had people complain when I've gone fish collecting. Usually they're curious, think the fish are cute, and ask questions about what they eat, how big they'll get, etc. Most locals enjoy fishing and are friendly enough unless you have a rude attitude."
Yes, locals enjoy fishing, as fishing is a pasttime of the Hawaiian people. But what you dont know, are that several species of fish that are readily collected for the Aquarium Trade are considered sacred. My post above was to make sure that you and everyone else acknowledge respect for the land and the ocean and especially the locals. Now I can go on and on about this, but I wont. If you or anyone else wants information regarding this, then I will be happy to share.
I am sorry if this post sounds hostile, but there are certain subjects that you brought up, that being a person who has lived in Hawaii all my life, do not find respectful.
Note the "fine mesh net" part of the above clause - that's technically what the permit allows. Otherwise, nets must have a minimum 2 3/4" mesh size. As far as I know, activities like picking hermit crabs off rocks or scooping fish from tidepools don't require permits, as long as it's not for commercial purposes.
Most of us will end up using these nets when catching fish, so getting an aquarium permit is a matter of course.
I am speaking from the experiences of people I know who have shipped fish (and other animals) to the mainland or taken them on planes. Nobody I know who has tried to take fish home with them has run into trouble. There are likely to be exceptions, of course.
But you are right - importing is not as easy. Typing "importing/exporting" was a mistake on my part.
Either the people you spoke to at the aquarium & museum were misinformed, or the coral in question has changed names recently (not unlikely). It's generally believed to be native and has been reported from Hawaii for quite some time.
Pictures can be found in John Hoover's "Hawaii's sea creatures" book, and here:
http://www.coralreefnetwork.com/stender/marine/cnidaria/cnidaria.htm
You can see it at 30-50' or so near Halona Blowhole and various other spots with similar habitat. It does look similar to some Porites corals, however, so it's easy to miss if you're not looking for it.
Can you elaborate? I'm curious about the collecting techniques you're referring to. I don't know of any Hawaiian collectors who use cyanide - are these cyanide-collected fish from here or elsewhere?
I do know that I've seen feather duster worms for sale at both shops. Collecting these usually involves breaking up coral and I'd be surprised if all of Modern Pet's feather dusters were collected ethically. I have also seen species offered for sale at both stores that are supposed to be restricted.
How on earth can you be offended by that? Saying that people have been friendly to me after collecting fish? I'm sorry, but I don't see what your problem is.
I like to think that I respect the ocean and the people I meet when I go there. This may or may not come across when typing stuff on the Internet to people whom I don't know.
Please do. I haven't heard concerns about culturally important fish being collected but it would be interesting to know more.
I just got off the phone with the DLNR and they said ANY collection of marine animals for the purpose of putting them into recreational aquariums requires a permit. Now I understand that the DLNR doesn't give the most uniform answers but that thas been the general consensus from the people that I have talked to.
I see that we agree with the importation of animals into Hawaii, but as for the exportation...I know that several species native to Hawaii is ok to remove from Hawaii by plane, but many species from the South Pacific are confiscated by the Dept of Agriculture unless you can prove that it was legally purchased and inspected upon arrival to Hawaii. Because this proof is nearly impossible to receive, they just tend to be confiscated. I have heard several cases of exportation problems with wrasses especially.
As for the Sinularia, I will need to check John Hoover's book when I get home. I do know him personally so I can ask him regarding it when he comes back from a trip to the mainland. However, I dont find Keoki Stender's site the most accurate as to his ID process as he has misidentified certain species several times. Mostly with snails or nudi's, although this would be the first coral that may be misidentified. However, I am inclined to believe the responses from the Waikiki Aquarium and Bishop Museum as the people I have spoke to have proven to be trusted resources to me in the past.
By Destructive Reef Collecting, I dont necessarily include removal of feather dusters from rock...although I personally wouldn't do it. However, I believe that most of the featherdusters sold are from Pearl Harbor where they just strew over the ground and aren't actually in the rock. But then again, that is why I wont purchase a featherduster from either of them because Pearl Harbor has some pretty nasty toxins in the water...that I don't want in my fish tank. I am generally talking about the use of Cyanide and explosives to destroy the reef. There actually are several fish collectors that use Cyanide to collect fish in Hawaii, however I will not name names. And when I refer to Coral Fish purchasing Cyanide caught fish, the majority of them are not from Hawaii. Furthermore, Modern makes sure that any fish purchased have gone through proper decompression. Coral Fish purchases fish that have been poked with a needle to decompress. There are few scientific studies as to detrimental impact of this, but it is well-known to fish collectors that proper decompression is necessary. If you look at several deep-sea angels and other fish at Coral Fish, you can sometimes see the hole where a needle was inserted for decompression. Now I understand that Modern and Coral Fish both have a reputation of selling illegal species...however, after Modern was cited for possession of Xenia, I have not heard of them selling prohibited species.
The reason I was offended by your post was because mcontemp was completely correct in his comment. There are many locals who are upset by the rampant fish collecting in Hawaii. I am one of them. I mean, you see how many species are collected from Hawaii that are sold on the mainland and around the World. It is a small place (Hawaii) supplying the entire US. Now I am not saying that it should be restricted or anything...but I see so many fish collectors here that have their eyes on the money and not about the land. I have been on several dives where I see divers using a knife to scrape an entire colony of beautiful zoos off the rock....or others who use the "fish vacuum", basically a vacuum cleaner that sucks up water into a mesh net carrier in the back to capture the fish. This machine basically kills fish in the long-run because of the stress that it puts the fish through. I was offended, maybe because I am slightly over sensitive about the subject, but because it sounded like you are saying that locals don't care about about what you are collecting. I personally want people to have fun in Hawaii and enjoy the ocean, and collect what they want for themselves, keeping in mind that not every person around them appreciates what they are doing...and that showing that they are collecting these fish for themselves but with the proper respect for the land. I try to employ proper habits about fish collecting, but I know that many do not.
As for the "sacred" fish, there are several fish that are collected for the aquarium trade and consumption. Many of them are fish for consumption, like Moi. As the fish is supposed to be caught in a certain way and to be prepared for in a certain way. Now I admit, that I am not too familiar with the procedure on Moi, but it is an example. One fish in particular that is considered sacred is the Dragon Wrasse. There is a Hawaiian legend that actually depicts the Dragon Wrasse as an embodied form of one of their gods. If you go to the Bishop Museum and look in their Hawaiian artifacts you can see pictures of the Dragon Wrasse in several items. I learned about this because one day I collected a Dragon Wrasse and a person at my usual dive spot, who I became friends with, told me that I should not show the other people this fish. I asked why, so he told me. Many of the locals know that people are out there to collect fish, sometimes employing non-respectful techniques, but what can they really do. It is like, what they cannot see won't hurt them.
This is just a sensitive subject to me, so please excuse me if I over-reacted a bit.
I see that we agree with the importation of animals into Hawaii, but as for the exportation...I know that several species native to Hawaii is ok to remove from Hawaii by plane, but many species from the South Pacific are confiscated by the Dept of Agriculture unless you can prove that it was legally purchased and inspected upon arrival to Hawaii. Because this proof is nearly impossible to receive, they just tend to be confiscated. I have heard several cases of exportation problems with wrasses especially.
As for the Sinularia, I will need to check John Hoover's book when I get home. I do know him personally so I can ask him regarding it when he comes back from a trip to the mainland. However, I dont find Keoki Stender's site the most accurate as to his ID process as he has misidentified certain species several times. Mostly with snails or nudi's, although this would be the first coral that may be misidentified. However, I am inclined to believe the responses from the Waikiki Aquarium and Bishop Museum as the people I have spoke to have proven to be trusted resources to me in the past.
By Destructive Reef Collecting, I dont necessarily include removal of feather dusters from rock...although I personally wouldn't do it. However, I believe that most of the featherdusters sold are from Pearl Harbor where they just strew over the ground and aren't actually in the rock. But then again, that is why I wont purchase a featherduster from either of them because Pearl Harbor has some pretty nasty toxins in the water...that I don't want in my fish tank. I am generally talking about the use of Cyanide and explosives to destroy the reef. There actually are several fish collectors that use Cyanide to collect fish in Hawaii, however I will not name names. And when I refer to Coral Fish purchasing Cyanide caught fish, the majority of them are not from Hawaii. Furthermore, Modern makes sure that any fish purchased have gone through proper decompression. Coral Fish purchases fish that have been poked with a needle to decompress. There are few scientific studies as to detrimental impact of this, but it is well-known to fish collectors that proper decompression is necessary. If you look at several deep-sea angels and other fish at Coral Fish, you can sometimes see the hole where a needle was inserted for decompression. Now I understand that Modern and Coral Fish both have a reputation of selling illegal species...however, after Modern was cited for possession of Xenia, I have not heard of them selling prohibited species.
The reason I was offended by your post was because mcontemp was completely correct in his comment. There are many locals who are upset by the rampant fish collecting in Hawaii. I am one of them. I mean, you see how many species are collected from Hawaii that are sold on the mainland and around the World. It is a small place (Hawaii) supplying the entire US. Now I am not saying that it should be restricted or anything...but I see so many fish collectors here that have their eyes on the money and not about the land. I have been on several dives where I see divers using a knife to scrape an entire colony of beautiful zoos off the rock....or others who use the "fish vacuum", basically a vacuum cleaner that sucks up water into a mesh net carrier in the back to capture the fish. This machine basically kills fish in the long-run because of the stress that it puts the fish through. I was offended, maybe because I am slightly over sensitive about the subject, but because it sounded like you are saying that locals don't care about about what you are collecting. I personally want people to have fun in Hawaii and enjoy the ocean, and collect what they want for themselves, keeping in mind that not every person around them appreciates what they are doing...and that showing that they are collecting these fish for themselves but with the proper respect for the land. I try to employ proper habits about fish collecting, but I know that many do not.
As for the "sacred" fish, there are several fish that are collected for the aquarium trade and consumption. Many of them are fish for consumption, like Moi. As the fish is supposed to be caught in a certain way and to be prepared for in a certain way. Now I admit, that I am not too familiar with the procedure on Moi, but it is an example. One fish in particular that is considered sacred is the Dragon Wrasse. There is a Hawaiian legend that actually depicts the Dragon Wrasse as an embodied form of one of their gods. If you go to the Bishop Museum and look in their Hawaiian artifacts you can see pictures of the Dragon Wrasse in several items. I learned about this because one day I collected a Dragon Wrasse and a person at my usual dive spot, who I became friends with, told me that I should not show the other people this fish. I asked why, so he told me. Many of the locals know that people are out there to collect fish, sometimes employing non-respectful techniques, but what can they really do. It is like, what they cannot see won't hurt them.
This is just a sensitive subject to me, so please excuse me if I over-reacted a bit.
You can say that again! My impression, based upon talking with informed people, was that if you catch something to eat vs putting it in a tank there's no difference between the two - the aquarium permit allows people to use otherwise prohibited gear. Since the aquarium permit is free there's no reason not to get one anyhow.
This is the sort of problem we have to deal a lot with at UH, where collecting stuff for research often requires permits where none are required for the general public.
In practice, I don't think this happens a lot. I know a number of people who send fish to the mainland, and there doesn't seem to be much scrutiny. I think the DOA folks are better educated about terrestrial/freshwater organisms than on marine stuff.
John has it listed as Sinularia too, but it's under a different species name than on Keoki's site. This species has been renamed a lot, and by now it's almost certainly called somethng else and may be under a different genus.
I was under the impression that a lot of featherdusters came from Kaneohe bay, where collectors break up finger coral to get at them. Is diving in Pearl Harbor even allowed? I had thought that it wasn't.
I've seen collectors sawing up coral heads to get at fish, but never anybody using cyanide locally. If you do know collectors who use it, that's very sad
"Proper decompression" can mean different things depending who you ask.
It's my belief (and that of several very good collectors whom I know) that needling fish is usually better in the long run than staged deco. Leaving fish hanging in crowded buckets for hours is very stressful; IMO bringing them up as quickly as possible, relieving the pressure on their internal organs, and getting them into the holding tanks right away is easier on them in the long run. If the fish are properly held, the pinhole heals very quickly (usually less than a day) and won't be visible by the time the fish reach the shop. Obviously, it is possible to injure fish if they're pinned incorrectly so it's not surprising that the practice has a bad rap.
This is especially true for deep-water species, most of which cannot be properly collected without needles. Decompression times for these fish can be as long as several days! That isn't healthy for any fish and it's not surprising that many have poor survival records (eg Bandit Angels).
I know one collector who religiously pins his fish and does sell to Modern Pet. He is a brilliant diver and his fish have the best survival rate I've seen. IMO when it comes to healthy fish, care while handling and holding are more important than the method of decompression.
I've seen vaccum devices used by shell collectors, but never for catching fish. I can't even imagine what the fish must look like afterwards!
Most collectors I know are very sensetive to overexploiting their "spots" and taking care of what they catch, which makes sense because their own livelihoods are on the line. It's the minority that doesn't care who spoil things for the rest of us.
IMO stiffer regulations would be a good thing, as long as they're designed to maintain the fishery and not sell out to tourism.
No worries! I'm sure that if I were pulling out huge numbers of fish when I went diving, people would raise their eyebrows a bit.
I've also seen divers coming back and bragging loudly about fish they've caught (both aquarium and food fish) - this never gets a good response from anybody, myself included.
Oddly enough, I've found that much of the time when I've been diving, I get asked whether or not I caught anything, followed by blank stares when I explain that it was just for fun. A lot of people don't seem to understand that you don't have to kill fish to enjoy yourself diving.
Hmm - that's interesting. I don't think most Hawaiians know this sort of stuff, though.
Well I have to say that this thread has brought out lots of great information and good debate.
As for the exportation of items, I was generally speaking of taking animals with them on the plane. I know several outfits that ship species to the mainland with no problem. The problem I have heard of mostly was with passing through Agriculture Inspection at Honolulu Intl Airport. To be honest, in many cases where I have heard someone getting a fish confiscated...it is probably because the Department of Ag doesnt even know what they are looking at so they decide to confiscate it rather than let it pass. That is another problem with this State. They have unknowledgeable people creating and enforcing the rules.
I actually went through my copy of John Hoovers book and I did not see any reference to Sinularia. Can you give me a page number and I can look at it again? I believe he comes back this weekend, so I will try and contact him then.
As for Feather Dusters, they actually are collected reef-walking in like waist-deep water in Pearl Harbor. I know that the main location is out behind the new Best Buy, but I am not sure if they still collect there, since they started construction. I know only 1 collector that collects from Kaneohe Bay and he does sell to Modern, but Modern also buys from the Pearl Harbor guy. The difference is that the Pearl Harbor guy brings in hundreds at a time, compared to the Kaneohe Bay guy who can bring in maybe 20.
As for the local collectors who use Cyanide. I know personally, after going out on a dive with him once, that a very popular local fish collector who was recently on the news for his "strong business skills" and had an article about him in the USA Today, uses Cyanide in his collection process. It is really sad, and I have lowered all respect for this person who outright said on the news that he is trying to make sure that fish aren't overcollected and that he wants to help save Hawaii's reefs.
As for the Decompression methods. I have not studied enough regarding the subject to say that if done properly, using a needle for decompression is wrong, but I know that many times it is done improperly, and there are many casualties because of it. When I first started the hobby, I did not know better...and purchased a wrasse that had a rather large hole on its body. That hole slowly got bigger and i consulted a friend regarding it. He said that it was an infection from improper decompression. The problem is that, how do you know whether a fish was properly decompressed using a needle or not? Maybe your way is done properly and the fish will be fine, but who is to say I am purchasing your fish over the guy who does it improperly? I think it is a chance that I am not willing to take, as if you look at Coral Fish's fish, you can see many fish with infections and I can visibly see the holes from the needles from decompression. At Modern, I have never seen one. If your friend does indeed sell to Modern (the one that decompresses with a needle), then at least he does a good job so that it does not leave visible holes in the fish.
Furthermore on this subject, the fish vacuum is probably one of the worst fish collection techniques in this trade. And I feel sorry for any person who buys these fish. One day after a Kaneohe Bay dive, I saw this guy at Heeia Kea who used the fish vacuum, his fish were in really bad shape, and I asked how he expects to sell the fish because they were in such bad shape. He said that only the fish that get stuck in the net are in bad shape, and the fish that get piled on top of it are usually ok, so he sells those, and kills the fish that look like they cannot be sold. I was literally almost ready to punch that guy.
I can tell that you understand where I am coming from when it comes to the people who brag about their "catch" to others. I guess, from your previous post, I thought you were one of those people, so you can see why I was a little upset. I am glad that you understand the difference between those people and the fish collectors who respect the ocean.
EDIT: for a grammatical error
As for the exportation of items, I was generally speaking of taking animals with them on the plane. I know several outfits that ship species to the mainland with no problem. The problem I have heard of mostly was with passing through Agriculture Inspection at Honolulu Intl Airport. To be honest, in many cases where I have heard someone getting a fish confiscated...it is probably because the Department of Ag doesnt even know what they are looking at so they decide to confiscate it rather than let it pass. That is another problem with this State. They have unknowledgeable people creating and enforcing the rules.
I actually went through my copy of John Hoovers book and I did not see any reference to Sinularia. Can you give me a page number and I can look at it again? I believe he comes back this weekend, so I will try and contact him then.
As for Feather Dusters, they actually are collected reef-walking in like waist-deep water in Pearl Harbor. I know that the main location is out behind the new Best Buy, but I am not sure if they still collect there, since they started construction. I know only 1 collector that collects from Kaneohe Bay and he does sell to Modern, but Modern also buys from the Pearl Harbor guy. The difference is that the Pearl Harbor guy brings in hundreds at a time, compared to the Kaneohe Bay guy who can bring in maybe 20.
As for the local collectors who use Cyanide. I know personally, after going out on a dive with him once, that a very popular local fish collector who was recently on the news for his "strong business skills" and had an article about him in the USA Today, uses Cyanide in his collection process. It is really sad, and I have lowered all respect for this person who outright said on the news that he is trying to make sure that fish aren't overcollected and that he wants to help save Hawaii's reefs.
As for the Decompression methods. I have not studied enough regarding the subject to say that if done properly, using a needle for decompression is wrong, but I know that many times it is done improperly, and there are many casualties because of it. When I first started the hobby, I did not know better...and purchased a wrasse that had a rather large hole on its body. That hole slowly got bigger and i consulted a friend regarding it. He said that it was an infection from improper decompression. The problem is that, how do you know whether a fish was properly decompressed using a needle or not? Maybe your way is done properly and the fish will be fine, but who is to say I am purchasing your fish over the guy who does it improperly? I think it is a chance that I am not willing to take, as if you look at Coral Fish's fish, you can see many fish with infections and I can visibly see the holes from the needles from decompression. At Modern, I have never seen one. If your friend does indeed sell to Modern (the one that decompresses with a needle), then at least he does a good job so that it does not leave visible holes in the fish.
Furthermore on this subject, the fish vacuum is probably one of the worst fish collection techniques in this trade. And I feel sorry for any person who buys these fish. One day after a Kaneohe Bay dive, I saw this guy at Heeia Kea who used the fish vacuum, his fish were in really bad shape, and I asked how he expects to sell the fish because they were in such bad shape. He said that only the fish that get stuck in the net are in bad shape, and the fish that get piled on top of it are usually ok, so he sells those, and kills the fish that look like they cannot be sold. I was literally almost ready to punch that guy.
I can tell that you understand where I am coming from when it comes to the people who brag about their "catch" to others. I guess, from your previous post, I thought you were one of those people, so you can see why I was a little upset. I am glad that you understand the difference between those people and the fish collectors who respect the ocean.
EDIT: for a grammatical error
Agreed! It's great to meet other people who are knowledgeable about the local aquarium trade.
It's on page 33 (soft corals section) in my copy. Like I said, it may have changed names so if yours is a newer edition it could be different. The common name is listed as "leather coral" (I've also heard it called "rubber coral")
Ah. I'm not really surprised, to tell the truth.
Are you sure it was cyanide, though? There are other fish anaesthetics available that aren't nearly as toxic as cyanide (but still illegal to use in Hawaii).
That's odd, because the usual method of pinning wrasses is to do it through the butt. Generally they respond very well to it and I haven't seen any cases of damage or infection in the ones I or my friends have caught.
Pinning a wrasse through the side sounds near imbossible the way their swim bladder is located. They also squirm around a lot when you're holding them so I imagine a lot of damage could be done.
You can't. The same holds true for fish that haven't been pinned, though - they can still be injured internally from collection or decompression even though they might look fine on the outside. I think it's best to just stick with somewhere that you know has a good history of healthy fish. Or you can collect everything yourself
I wouldn't buy a fish with visible pinholes. If they haven't healed it's either a sign that the fish either hasn't acclimated yet or is having other health problems.
That makes my brain hurt!
RiddleLabs
New member
Aloha,
Sinularia abrupta is fairly common off the Kona coast.
Dana
Sinularia abrupta is fairly common off the Kona coast.
Dana
acroporid23
In Memoriam
i agree with riddlelabs shes right been there a few times myself
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