Hawaii fish ban update

[Kona Diver]

Was she breeding the flames in Hawaii? Someone else mentioned that the flames were from Christmas Island spawning with recruits drifting to Hawaii where they settled. Amazing fish knowledge on here! I’m thinking that when talking about “Hawaiian flames” these fish may be born far away from Hawaii but they have a known population of highly desirable fish that are found in the wild around Hawaii.

Syd Krawl, Karen’s mentor, was breeding the flames. We worked with him on the project. Karen may have done some small batches later on but Syd was the guy

 

[albano]

Karen Brittain is who you are talking about.

Thank you Sir! I stand corrected

 

[albano]

Syd Krawl, Karen’s mentor, was breeding the flames. We worked with him on the project. Karen may have done some small batches later on but Syd was the guy

Hadn’t heard that before, but I believe you.

 

[albano]

BTW , #KonaDiver, did you know of a guy/diver, that I used to order from, I think in Oahu, named Leslie

 

[Kona Diver]

Hadn’t heard that before, but I believe you.

Pacific Planktonics. Close friend of ours who passed away a few years ago

BTW , #KonaDiver, did you know of a guy/diver, that I used to order from, I think in Oahu, named Leslie

nope

 

[metalle]

As this thread is once again active, Realize Kona Diver is both a diver and resident of Hawaii and is getting the very latest info and has been accurate thus far.

Thanks, I still believe there is a lot of misinformation and statements made regarding the reef business that are unfair and not true. You have few fisheries and divers entangled in an expensive process.
Did anyone participate in the hearings or provide live testimony? There was a very important comment by a committee member towards the end regarding the regulation of “long net fishing” and that this was more of an issue than the aquarium collecting ban.
At the end how can we help? Suggestions?

 

[Tcook]

Pacific Island Aquatics was another good guy out there. Bought several fish from him. Was always helpful and top quality fish. Wonder if he left due to all the impending restrictions. I don’t thing he was the same group that was in Oregon. Maybe they just scooped his name when he closed.

 

[Zionas]

Do true Yellow Tangs exist around Indo / Philippines or are they just yellow Scopas? I know true Flavescens exist in Japan and Guam and Palau, but not sure about the Indo-Pacific.

 

[Dave1993]

Those you can get.

Not in the UK

 

[Eric Cohen]

Not in the UK

What can’t you get? Lost track of the thread

 

[albano]

What can’t you get? Lost track of the thread

He was referring to Black tangs

 

[i cant think]

Those you can get.

You can get them but they’re harder to get nowadays as most of the ones we got in the past were from Hawaiian imports.

 

[i cant think]

What can’t you get? Lost track of the thread

Black Tangs are rarely imported (if at all) to the UK now as our main import for them was from Hawaii.

 

[Dave1993]

there is currently 1 for sale in the UK but it is not true it is a hybrid and the price is astronomical

Black Tang

Shop Online For Black Tang at Abyss Aquatics UK. The Retailer You Know You Can Trust For Healthy Livestock

www.abyssaquatics.co.uk

 

[C4ctus99]

there is currently 1 for sale in the UK but it is not true it is a hybrid and the price is astronomical

Black Tang

Shop Online For Black Tang at Abyss Aquatics UK. The Retailer You Know You Can Trust For Healthy Livestock

www.abyssaquatics.co.uk

Just a couple pounds…

 

[Crabby48]

To be honest how fish health is neglected? From holding after collection, boxing them poorly to ship, wholesalers and lfs the fish are better in the ocean until everyone in this industry start to care about them and the health.
Everyone blames fish for fragile or it’s how it is but we kill them because we are worried about money and not the well being.
that said even customers are at fault supporting places that don’t do the right thing

 

[Eric Cohen]

Not in the UK

Tell your local fish store to order from Dejong. They have black tangs and can ship to the UK. Hope that helps. Black tangs come from Tahiti and are fairly common……just super hard to get smaller ones under 4”. Seasonal issue.

 

[Bdog4u2]

I have several wild caught yellow tangs I've had for a long time. I was thinking of selling my 10 year old one if it is worth enough and goes to someone who has been in the hobby long enough to take proper care of it. It's probably 4-5 inches and very fat and bright yellow. What would it's value be?

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have several wild caught yellow tangs I've had for a long time. I was thinking of selling my 10 year old one if it is worth enough and goes to someone who has been in the hobby long enough to take proper care of it. It's probably 4-5 inches and very fat and bright yellow. What would it's value be?

Where are you located? I have 6 over 5 years and would like up to three more as they will be in a super large tank in the future

 

[littlefoxx]

Posted by Reef builders:

Hawaii aquarium fish update: renewed request for a ban​

JEREMY GAY
9 SECONDS AGO
0

The Hawaiian ornamental fishery saga continues as we have just watched a State of Hawaii public hearing once again calling for a total ban on aquarium fish collection, just as we thought we might be getting our beloved Yellow Tangs and friends back, so what’s happened? Here’s the story so far:
In January 2021 a ruling came in that completely banned the collection of ornamental fish in the entire state of Hawaii, immediately invalidating any existing permits for commercial aquarium fishing. Since then a group of aquarium industry advocates backed up by 30 years of peer-reviewed scientific data have been trying to get that ban reversed, and in October last year, a court ruled to lift the injunction that was preventing fishing permits from being issued.

Potters angelfish feature on the revised quota list.

Catch quotas​

To get that through, the aquarium industry and their fisher-people went for even tighter self-regulation (Hawaii is already one of the most regulated fisheries in the world,) restricting the possible permits to just seven, the number of fish species allowed to just eight, while also limiting potential catch and individual catch across those seven potential fishing permits. It’s not fair, but at least we may get Yellow tangs, Kole tangs, and Potters angelfish back.
But as we predicted, as soon as the injunction preventing permits was lifted (and no permits have been granted so far,) advocates for banning the collection of ornamental fish started legal proceedings again, and once again there are calls for a bill to ban all saltwater aquarium fish collection in Hawaii. It’s a vicious circle.
Those requesting a ban include multi-generational indigenous Hawaiians who want to protect their native fauna while also having the right to fish them for food, and Earth Justice, an environmental group that wants to ban the trade in wild-caught aquarium fish in its entirety. Those fighting to reopen the ornamental trade in Hawaiian fish include aquatic livestock importers and wholesalers, aquatic companies, and those who make their living from catching fish like Yellow tangs for the aquarium trade, some of whom are also multi-generational indigenous Hawaiians.
See also Super Scopas is the Australian Version of a Yellow Tang

The species available for catch have already been decided.
The argument for the ban is the environmental impact. The argument against the ban is that 30 years of scientific data has proved unequivocally that there is no environmental impact. None of the collected fish are on any threatened or endangered lists, they are still there after 30 years of sustainable collection, and some experts opposing the latest call for a ban have told the State of Hawaii on the record that there are more fish after 30 years of collection than there were before.
Lengthy court cases are very expensive and we must point out that the case for lifting any collection ban has been paid for by a select few aquatic companies who are paying on behalf of the whole saltwater industry. They will remain unnamed at this point but if we ever get wild Yellow tangs back it will be due to their funding and huge effort, and that should not go unacknowledged.
There is talk online about which species we want back, which we would like etc, but one stakeholder told Reef Builders that due to the process if any fish ever come back, the species selected and their numbers are already set in stone. The eight species will be; Yellow tang, Black surgeonfish, Orangespine unicornfish, Kole tang, Bird wrasse, Potters angel, Thomson’s surgeonfish, and Brown surgeonfish. No more, no less, with quotas capped too. It’s based on a 1500-page Environmental Impact Statement.
See also Japan is Sourcing Some Big Juicy Yellow Tangs from Ogasawara

We weren’t desperate for the Birdmouth wrasse but it too could return to aquariums in the future.

When are Yellow tangs coming back?​

Where we should be right now is that with the injunction on permits being lifted, fishers can request a permit from the Department of Land and Natural Resources. It should be one final hurdle to clear to get wild-caught Hawaiian yellow tangs back into stores and our aquariums. Where we are actually at is back in court opposing a new proposal to ban them all again. So once again advocates for the collection of ornamental fish from Hawaii need your support and are asking for you to go to the following link, register and state something as simple as “I oppose banning marine aquarium ornamental fisheries in West Hawaii.” Your City, State, or Country is not necessary.
https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=505&year=2023

Key points on the Hawaii ban​

• Licenses still aren’t available and it isn’t ok to fish at the moment.
• The decision to issue licenses is reserved for the DLNR and this needs to be respected.
• There are groups now trying to ban the fishery…. again. After the recent win
• It’s important to show support for the fishery by visiting the link

I just dont get it cause us fish lovers take care of our fish in our tanks! And none of them are endangered kinds as far as I know. And yellows adapt well from what Ive seen! I finally was able to find someone locally selling his on FB and was able to get a yellow that way. Beautiful fish!