No commercial aquarium collection would be allowed for other areas of the state.”

The WHRFMA spans the entire coastline of West Hawaii, from Upolu Point in North Kohala to Ka Lae (South Point) in Ka’u. Alternatives range from no action, where no aquarium fish permits would be issued for the entire Big Island, to returning to the pre-aquarium collection ban, where the DLNR would issue an unlimited number of aquarium fish permits.”Īs outlined in the RFEIS, PIJAC and the seven petitioning fishers would prefer a limited entry fishery covering just eight species in the West Hawaii Fisheries Management Area.Īgain, as summarized by Linder, “The applicant’s preferred alternative would allow seven permitted fishers to collect only yellow tang, kole, orangespine unicornfish, potter’s angelfish, brown surgeonfish, Thompson’s surgeonfish, black surgeonfish and bird wrasse within the West Hawaii Regional Fishery Management Area. Linder explains, “Upon acceptance, the board will select one of the seven alternatives outlined in the RFEIS to approve. July 8th, 2021, has come and gone, meaning that all that remains is for the Board to decide what to do as the revised, final environmental impact statement (RFEIS) is approved by default. Since BLNR’s next meeting is scheduled for July 9, the RFEIS will be deemed accepted by the next time the board meets.” However, if a decision is not made within the 30-day period mandated by law, the RFEIS will be deemed accepted the deadline regarding the aquarium fishing RFEIS is July 8. “The 3-3 tie means the board technically has not made a decision. Now, it seems, the legal questions have been settled.Īs reported by Tom Linder in the Hawaii Tribune-Herald and West Hawaii Today on June 28th, the policies and laws surrounding this EIS result in a situation where it may end up “accepted by default”. A win would mean that just seven fishing permits would be issued with a severely limited “White List” of eight fish species, including the Yellow Tang, able to be collected.Ī 3 to 3 tie vote on June 25th was the result of the Board’s meeting, creating uncertainty around the REIS. The latest EIS was presented by the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) in conjunction with a group of aquarium fishers, and both parties feel they have addressed previous areas of concern with their revised environmental impact statement (REIS).

Near the end of June 2021, Hawaii’s out-of-work aquarium fishers once again asked for public testimony in support of their occupation because a revised environmental impact statement (EIS) was to be reviewed by Hawaii’s Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) on June 25th. A nearly four-year battle is now coming to a head. Hawaii’s Marine Aquarium Fishery has been hobbled by a state-wide ban on collection imposed in late 2017. While the aquarium fishery in Hawai’i remains shuttered, the so-called AQ fishing community is hoping that change may be coming, as a new Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) hangs in limbo. Image: Screenshot from YouTube, Fishing in Hawaii-Crazy Catches!! by Ace Videos. Catching reef fishes, such as this Auriga Butterflyfish, is currently legal in the state of Hawai’i-as long as you intend to kill and eat your catch.

The information in this chapter is thanks to content contributions from Sara h Larsen. Though there have been biocontrol failures highlighted in the media, such as the Cane Toad introduction to Australia, there have also been many great successes. After the introduction of 100,000 urchins to the reefs, an 85% decrease of algae cover was observed after just 2 years! Biocontrol Successes and Failures Urchins are great at controlling algal growth because they graze on the algae. People spent up to 8 hours a day pulling algae from the reefs in attempts to control its growth to little avail.įinally researchers discovered the idea that native sea urchins could be used to control the algae. Herbivorous fish are highly impacted by this overgrowth. The algae grew so uncontrollably that it smothered out local flora and fauna and is still causing major issues for the Hawaii’s reef areas today. Two sea urchins in Hawaii by Opencage under Ī non-native species of algae was introduced to Hawaiian coral reefs in the 1970’s that quickly became invasive and invaded Oahu’s coral reefs.

Hawaiian reef fish toau