Later that day, I ask the president of the Big Island
Association of Aquarium Fishermen (BIAAF), Bob Hajek,
what he thinks of Walsh’s proposals. Two of the other
three fishers who are sitting with us have been part of the
Big Island fishery for more than 30 years. Like the other
fishers I have met, Hajek expresses frustration with the
continual attacks on the trade, and he tells me that is
why aquarium fishers have formed associations like the
BIAAF—“to give our side a singular voice.”
“We used to fight everything on a grassroots level,”
Hajek says. “We’ve had gentleman’s agreements with
the dive companies, and they didn’t work. Then the state
stepped in more aggressively with the passage of Act 306.
What you need to understand is that these current rule
changes are on top of decades of changes where we, the
fishers, have made concession after concession.”
Nonetheless, the BIAAF is ready to accept the rule
changes Walsh wants to see enacted. The White List
seems acceptable so some—but by no means all—collec-
tors, as the 40 approved species account for an estimated
99% of the value of marine species.
“We want people to know we are both reasonable
and responsible,” Hajek says. He
hopes that now, with an Association
in place that gives the fishers a unified
voice, the slate can be wiped clean.
“The swap is a great example,” he goes
on to say. “The BIAAF worked very
hard on that part of the deal. While
an actual swap did not occur, in less
than four months the BIAAF man-
aged to give the community of Pebble
Beach what they had been trying to
get from the West Hawaii Fisheries
Council for the past six years. We are
proud of what we did for their com-
munity.”
Earlier in the day, before meet-
ing with the Big Island fishers, I sat
down with Tina Owens, the executive
director of the LOST Fish Coalition,
a citizen’s group whose battle cry is
Leave Our Shallow Tropical Fish In their
Sea Habitat. LOST Fish has been one
of the most active and organized of
the anti-trade groups. Owens told me
that LOST Fish would not continue to
fight for a ban on marine aquarium
collecting if the agreed-upon rule
changes came to fruition. Could this
be a new dawn?
Lingering CLouds
It may not be clear sailing yet for Hawaiian marine collectors—Wintner is
not likely to go away, and there are
other powerful forces working to ban
all collection.
On my very first morning in Hawaii, I went to the State Capital in
Honolulu to meet with Senator Josh
Green about his bill to end the marine aquarium trade in Hawaii. Green
greeted me in his office wearing jeans
and a hospital-blue scrubs top—he is
an ER doc, and he usually deals with
health bills.
