海角大神

In November, the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources confirmed an upcoming , in an effort to combat the extensive bleaching of Hawaii鈥檚 reefs.

But two state agencies, 16 environmental groups, and the majority of Hawaii鈥檚 residents feel the plan is pointless because it intentionally ignores a crucial aspect of reef management: the aquarium fishery.聽

Hawaii is the biggest provider of fish for the US aquarium trade, with hundreds of thousands of fish shipped to the mainland to be sold in pet stores. caught statewide come from the Kona coast. The amount of fish caught in the aquarium collection trade is almost twice as many animals caught in Hawaii in subsistence, recreational, and food fisheries combined.

鈥淲e have a lot of going on,鈥� William Walsh, an aquatic biologist with the state, tells The Associated Press. 鈥淏anning aquarium collecting would have zero effect.鈥�

But the State Office of Environmental Quality Control and members of the state Environmental Council issued a letter to Gov. David Ige and Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Chair Suzanne Case last month asking for an for aquariums because of unprecedented coral bleaching in Hawaii.

And while details of the management plan have yet to be published, officials said Monday they will not impose an emergency moratorium on fishing for aquarium collection.聽

鈥淚t鈥檚 very irresponsible and it's very short sighted,鈥� Igna Gibson, the Hawaii state director of the Humane Society, tells 海角大神 in a phone interview Tuesday. 鈥淭he number one thing that coral reef managers must do during these types of natural disasters is protect the herbivores. They keep reefs free of algae, which exacerbates bleaching.鈥澛�

Multiple calls to Hawaii's DLNR were not returned.

Critics of the moratorium request say it only serves animal welfare objectives and had nothing to do with coral bleaching.聽

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 reason with that. ,鈥� Matt Ross, an aquarium fish collector on the island of Oahu, tells the Honolulu Civil Beat. 鈥淎s a fisherman and someone who really does care about conservation, it鈥檚 really frustrating.鈥澛�

But Ms. Gibson argues moratorium supporters really are just thinking about the reefs.聽

鈥淭his is not an animal welfare issue,鈥� she tells The Monitor, 鈥淭his bleaching event means the state needs to take all necessary steps to protect the reefs. A six-month moratorium would let us get much more information, and finally do an environmental assessment [on the aquarium fish trade] which has never been done in its 50-year history.鈥澛�

She adds, 鈥淣o one is saying that the aquarium trade is causing bleaching. Bleaching has to do with ocean temperature rise, so we have to take all the other steps we can to protect our reefs.鈥�

In a , Ms. Case confirmed that herbivores, which make up 92 percent of the aquarium catch, have increased in Hawaii waters and collectors catch only five parrotfish each year.

Ms. Gibson does not disagree, but she says these statistics are irrelevant. She says the state fails to add that population growth is only evident in protected areas, whereas the population of popular Yellow Tangs, for example, are down 90 percent.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 dispute that parrotfish are important. But why would the state exclude all these other kinds of fish that are being taken?鈥� she asks. 鈥淲e need to look at all herbivores, they are all algae eaters and they are all apart of a larger ecosystem.鈥�