What’s Big?
“I’m surprisingly neutral [on marine aquarium fishing],” is one of the
first things Green says to me about his bill. This catches me off guard. So why
is he proposing this bill? “I’ve watched the nonsense at the county council
level, and I can tell you the typical political back-and-forth is not working,”
Green tells me. “Both sides have gotten nasty. Those [people] at the extremes
are driving the legislation.”
While Green’s bill, if passed, would be signed into law in 2011, by his
design it would not come into full effect until 2016. “That gives industry and
conservation people a chance to collaborate before the ban goes into effect.
The intent of the legislation is to bring people together…and to let the state
bring in biologists to get data.”
Fishers on both Oahu and the Big Island express frustration and anger
when I ask them about Green’s bill. What bothers them most is that Green,
by his own admission, knows little about the fishery, and yet he is proposing
a bill that could end all of these fishers’ livelihoods. But Senator Green, I have
to remind myself, is an elected official. He strives, like most elected officials,
to continue to earn the votes of his supporters. “Tourism is number one in
Hawaii,” and an unsustainable marine aquarium trade that decimates popu-
lations of reef fishes could negatively impact tourism. Green says he doesn’t
know if the aquarium trade is unsustainable or not, but he is confident that
there is an answer to that question.
“I am a scientist,” Green says, “and I tend to defer to whoever comes in
with good science.”
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The AquAris T’s role
In a recent NPR interview, Robert Wintner said “It doesn’t mater how many
millions of fish these guys are taking. They’re taking fish…critical to a system
in decline, and that’s wrong.” Hawaii’s fishers, and not just the aquarium
fishers, believe the numbers do matter. Why? Because sustainable fishing,
like the snorkel tour business, provides important income for fishers and for
associated businesses in Hawaii. Because many fishers believe that, just like
snorkelers, educated marine aquarists and educated consumers of Hawaiian
seafood can be important advocates for reef ecosystems in decline. Because
fishers are watermen who work on the water day-in and day-out and who
appreciate and love the majesty of ocean ecosystems. For all of these reasons,
Hawaii’s fishers care about Hawaiian fisheries being sustainable over the long
term, and so they are offended when someone like Wintner is careless with
the data he uses to tell them their livelihood is “wrong.”
How can marine aquarists support the collectors’ efforts? Buy Hawaiian
fishes with confidence, knowing they are among the healthiest animals avail-
able to North American hobbyists, and that destructive fishing practices are
almost unheard of in the fishery. Be willing to pay a premium for these ani-
mals, and consider boycotting Hawaiian animals offered at suspiciously deep
discounts—this is a quality fishery, and quality livestock costs more than that
peddled by the cheap-and-dirty trade. Finally, stay informed. Ask questions
and demand opinions based on facts rather than anecdote and innuendo.
As I leave Hawaii, the image of a long-forgotten fisherman paying the ultimate price for violating ancient fishing rules haunts me. In many ways, the
lack of a contemporary system of effective science-based rules and regulations
to manage Hawaii’s marine aquarium fishery has led to the current situation
and mudslinging. We no longer have chieftains to decree death to fishing
violators, but the ancient Hawaiian tradition of protecting the sustainability
of the islands’ precious fisheries is something that must not be lost.
ret Talbot is the coauthor of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Saltwater Aquariums
(Alpha, 2008) and a frequent CORAL contributor. He lives in Laguna Beach, California.
