Board of Land and Natural Resources
We are writing to reaffirm our support for the West Hawaiʻi Aquarium fishery. In 2020 we joined our
colleagues in a letter published in West Hawaiʻi Today outlining why we accept the data demonstrating
that this fishery is clearly sustainable. Since that time, nothing has changed to alter that conclusion.
In this era of social media, it has become easy to affect public opinion with campaigns of disinformation,
hyperbole, and untested hypotheses presented as facts. The public is often confused or unwilling to
critically evaluate such statements, and too often accept false evidence on face value. The West Hawaiʻi
Aquarium fishery has been under assault by such a campaign for many years, even though the populations
of key aquarium species, such as the Yellow Tang and Kole, have increased over the past twenty
years. The fishery has not been without fault during its 50 years in existence, but these incidents have
been the exception and do not, in our experience, represent the high ethical standards that these
fishermen exercise during the collection, care and handling of live fishes.
The BLNR has a rare opportunity to turn this controversy into a teachable moment for the public. You
have access to decades of data methodically collected by DLNR biologists, as well as detailed reports
presented every five years to the Legislature. Compare these data, analyses and conclusions to the
statements made by opponents to the fishery. They have no comparable, long-term data sets and
therefore resort to using anecdotes, fear, and untested hypotheses to support their agenda. At this
pivotal moment, you can act in the public interest to separate facts based on data, from arguments that
are data-free and therefore baseless.
Science can provide conclusive evidence supporting this fishery as sustainable. There is also ample
evidence that the fishermen act ethically in their treatment of the animals from the moment they are
collected until they are shipped to their destination. Philosophical, moral, and cultural arguments are
mostly beyond what science can resolve. However, we feel that the fishermen and their advocates have
provided an excellent review of these topics in their EIS. In addition, we find it difficult to justify shutting
down a fishery that strives to keep fishes alive and in good health, while continuing to permit many of the
same species to be killed and eaten. We do not contest the argument that killing fish for food is
acceptable (provided it is done sustainably), but aquariums also have significant value, as evidenced by
the number of aquatic biologists who were inspired by their home aquariums to pursue careers in
science. It is hypocritical to claim killing fishes is moral but keeping them in aquariums is not.
Please take the time to study the data reports prepared by your staff biologists based on thousands of
transects that required many, many hundreds of man-hours to collect and to analyze. They did not set
out to demonstrate that the fishery is sustainable but that is clearly the conclusion after 20+ years of
effort. Campaigns of disinformation should be recognized and rejected. Use your authority to establish
a process whereby data and science become the basis for decisions. Permanently closing what many
consider the best monitored and regulated inshore coral-reef fishery in the world, would be a precedent
with significant implications for all other Hawaiʻi fisheries.
Bruce A. Carlson, Ph.D.
Richard Pyle, Ph.D.
William J. Walsh, Ph.DThe 1998 law which established the West Hawaiʹi Regional Fishery Management Area
(WHRFMA) required the DLNR/DAR to present a report to the Legislature every five years on
the effectiveness of the WHRFMA. To do so it was necessary to study how the new regulations
were working. To accomplish this, DAR in association with the University of Hawaiʹi Hilo,
established a rigorous, scientific monitoring program in 1999 to track changes in reef fish
populations and coral reef benthic communities. Over the past 20 years, 82 survey divers have
conducted over 2,100 underwater surveys for this monitoring project. Additionally, a number of
other scientists have conducted research in West Hawaiʹi relating to aquarium issues and/or
targeted species.
The monitoring data show that the regulations put in place have been very effective in managing
aquarium collecting in West Hawaiʹi. The West Hawaiʹi Regional Fishery Management Area is
among the best studied and most effective fishery management efforts to date, and scientific
data clearly show that management is working with population increases of the primary
targets. For example, as noted in the 2019 DLNR/DAR legislative report, the populations of the
two most heavily collected species of West Hawai'i aquarium fish, Yellow Tang and Kole, which
collectively made up 92% of total aquarium catch in (FY17/l8), more than doubled over the past
two decades. Their populations even increased in the areas open to collecting likely due to
spillover from protected areas.
Concern expressed about the threat of climate changes such as coral bleaching on reefs
warrants extreme caution in reviewing activities such as aquarium collecting. This concern over
coral bleaching is certainly warranted but somewhat surprising given that the Department of
Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) leadership has not implemented the 2017 Coral Bleaching
Recovery Plan which was developed by DAR and the University of Hawaiʹi based on the input of
over 100 scientists and resource managers from around the world. The goal of the Recovery
Plan was to implement management actions to promote coral recovery after bleaching in
Hawaiʹi and the scope of the Plan was much more comprehensive than just focusing on
aquarium collecting.
As experienced Hawaiʹi marine science researchers with a direct/intimate understanding of this
issue, we want to re-emphasize that the strong support we are expressing for the fishery is due
entirely to the survey efforts and results of the DAR research team. There is a huge amount of
data and other information showing that the aquarium fishery is sustainably managed and that
the system works. This type of science-based management should be a model for other
fisheries in Hawaii.
William Walsh Ph.D. Ivor Williams Ph.D. Brian Tissot Ph.D. Leon Hallacher Ph.D. Bruce Carlson Ph.D. Charles Birkeland Ph.D. Jeremy Claisse Ph.D. Mark Christie Ph.D. Richard Pyle Ph.D. Leighton Taylor Ph.D. Randy Kosaki Ph.D. .
Cynthia Hunter Ph.D.
Brian Bowen Ph.D.
Brian Zgliczynski Ph.D.
Jeff Ebel Ph.D.
Alan Friedlander Ph.D.
Kosta Stamoulis Ph.D.
Delisse Ortiz Ph.D.
Jan Dierking Ph.D.
Rob Toonen Ph.D.
Jim Beets Ph
