A simple Google search yields a big batch of local, national and international articles confirming that in the last year, Hawaii Supreme and Circuit Court rulings shut down Hawaii’s aquarium trade when they banned the commercial and recreational use of fine mesh nets for the capture of the state’s coral reef wildlife pending environmental review. This was because the state had been allowing the trade to operate illegally, outside of environmental laws.
Unfortunately, the shut-down has never materialized under the Ige administration, which instead gave the North American pet industry the green light to continue to take Hawaii’s marine life in limitless numbers.
Common species heavily targeted by aquarium collectors include fish such as yellow tangs and invertebrates such as hermit crabs. Hawaii’s coral reefs are delicate ecosystems and it is critical to maintain their biodiversity.
A recent comprehensive review of collection reports shows that more than 166,000 reef animals— averaging 20,000 per month — have been taken since these rulings, and the governor and Department of Land and Natural Resources are well aware. The total number of reef animals potentially trafficked in violation of the court order could conservatively exceed 200,000 by the end of the year, not including non-reporting and under-reporting of take, which is a known problem with this trade.
The collection reports also reveal that the state is not enforcing the sea cucumber rule Gov. Ige signed in 2016. With that rule, commercial sea cucumber take for aquariums became illegal without the aquarium permit, but the state’s data shows that more than 850 sea cucumbers have been taken since the court invalidated the permits in October.
The Ige administration has taken the illogical position that limitless, or even illegal, take is OK as long as the now-prohibited nets aren’t used. Yet the government has failed to police the use of this equipment in the pillaging of these animals, even as it has acknowledged the harms of wide-scale take of aquatic life. In fact, the state is allowing limitless collection of our reef wildlife despite its own recent determination that the pet industry’s environmental assessments of the trade were inadequate, that commercial aquarium collecting does significantly and adversely affect our marine environment, and that full environmental and cultural impact studies are required.
Last year Gov. Ige justified his veto of a bill to phase out the nets, stating that without their use, “the worldwide demand for aquarium species could lead to new and more destructive ways of collection.” With collection rates as high as they are there are only two possible explanations. Either collectors are continuing to use illegal methods or they have adopted still more destructive methods.
Rather than do its job to protect a key part of our endangered coral reef ecosystem, our government continues to go out of its way to cater to special interests seeking short-term profit at the expense of people and marine wildlife.
In a recent poll of registered voters in Hawaii, 84 percent said they wanted to see an end to the aquarium trade, citing environmental, cultural and ethical concerns. We urge the governor to immediately intervene to protect Hawaii’s coral reef wildlife and halt all capture of marine animals for aquarium purposes.
If the administration lacks the conviction to do so, then an immediate moratorium on collection is in order, until the industry complies with the court-mandated environmental review. There is no excuse for allowing this ongoing destruction of our natural resources, and given the extent of the damage already done, there’s no time to waste.
Keith Dane is the Hawaii policy advisor for The Humane Society of the United States. Mike Nakachi is a native Hawaiian practitioner for Moana Ohana. Rene Umberger is Executive Director at For the Fishes. All are among the plaintiffs in the successful Supreme Court case against DLNR.