WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT AGAINST; Resolution 363-10 "Ban on Reef Fish Collection on Hawai'i's Big Island 7/18/10
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT AGAINST; Resolution 363-10 "Ban on Reef Fish Collection AND Export for the Island of Hawaii"
All of us in the tropical fish industry in Hawaii need your testimony and support against Resolution 363-10 (being heard 1:30pm Tuesday, July 20) to ban the collection of fish for export from the island of Hawaii. Please fax and email your testimony against Resolution 363-10 before 12:00 noon (Hawaii Standard Time) on Monday, July 19 .
You can submit your testimony by email or by fax:
Public testimony must be submitted before 12:00 noon Monday, July 19 :
- by facsimile to (808) 961-8912
-by email to counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us
Thank you all for your support, we need it!
Julie Klaz
Tropical Fish Collector,
Big Island Aquarium Collectors Association
mobile: 310-800-7258
email: julie.klaz@gmail.com
<A total ban on trop. collection on Kona?! Ludicrous, unwarranted... There is no data that delineate such collection as a principal source of stock deplenishment or environmental degradation. Will post on WWM, and urge all to send in their testimony. Now, how do we "vote" to limit gov't... Bob Fenner.>
Link to Cover Letter,
Link to Proposal itself

Testimony re ornamental marine life collection on Kona/Big Island  7/18/10
Aloha, my name is Robert (Bob) Fenner. I want to contribute input toward your decision-making on Resolution 363-10. The record will show that I own property and have lived off and on in Holualoa (mauka of town) for years, have advanced studies in Fisheries and am a very long time content provider in pet fish (I am the author of the Conscientious Marine Aquarist and other works), dive/natural history, and travel genres. I have spoken out in favour and in opposition to both the pet-fish trade and the consumer-scuba industries at times.

There have been numerous discussions... verbal, official and casual, as well as proposed legislation and much public wrangling... more like finger-pointing concerning the trop. industry as a/the source of mortality of some species on Kona's west/lee shore. Particularly Yellow Tangs (Zebrasoma flavescens), among other easily-identifiable and desirable species have been labeled as over-harvested. Other sources of mortality, particularly habitat destruction (through sewage effluent particularly), casual/local fishers (who target many tropicals), have not been well-elucidated as to their likely complicity. Where studies have been conducted, there has not been conclusive, high-confidence (statistical) indication that pet-fish collection is a consistent cause of depressed stocks. Indeed, the almost entirely non-fished windward side of Kona serves as a ready stock to maintain higher numbers of individuals (these species are egg/sperm scatterers w/ young having long planktonic phase life cycles) to prevent population losses. Further, the gear employed by tropical fish collectors (largely fence nets, secondarily night hand-net fishing) are too inefficient to exceed levels defined as optimum and maximum sustainable yields in fisheries.

Further comment should be made to the positive "effects" and ripples of ornamental collection in the islands. Not only does this bring in much needed hard currency, with these tropicals being exported, re-exported around the world, but a huge amount of interest and draw for tourism to Hawai'i' is generated by showing people/aquarists the beauty, and high degree of endemism (about a quarter of the species on the reefs are found only there) of Hawai'i'.

For the above stated reasons I am principally in favour of promoting the tropical fish industry in Hawai'i' as well as the sport diving businesses run there. Both serve to inform and inspire humans, aiding in awareness and ultimate support for conservation/wise use, at a minimal rate of sustainable use of habitat and stocks.

A hu'i hou,

Robert (Bob) Fenner