You are hereProposed Bills on Hawaii Aquarium Fishery Dead for 2012
Proposed Bills on Hawaii Aquarium Fishery Dead for 2012
Humuhumu Nukunuku Apuaa, Rhinecanthus rectanglus: State Fish of Hawaii. Illustration by A.H. Baldwin/Fishes of Hawaii
By Ret Talbot - Special to CORAL Magazine
Thursday, February 16, 2012 
Thirteen of the 14 aquarium-related bills introduced to the 2012 Hawaii State Legislature—including all of the so-called ban bills that would have made aquarium livestock collection illegal—have stalled in their respective house and senate committees, making their forward movement very unlikely.
Because of the 48-hour public notification policy for committee hearings, any bill with more than one referral and no scheduled hearing by the end of the day Thursday February 16th could not make the Friday First Lateral deadline without a waiver. The First Lateral is the deadline by which a bill must move to the final referral committee. A waiver would need to be granted before the close of business on Friday, February 17th.
One Regulatory Bill and Four Resolutions Still Active
Senate Bill 1387 (SB1387), which would require the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) to develop a so-called "White List" of aquatic species that may be collected or sold for aquarium purposes, was referred to a single committee and is therefore not required to meet the Friday deadline. SB1387 is one of the bills carried over from last year, as Hawaii’s Legislature has a two-year term always beginning in an odd-numbered year and ending in an even-numbered year.
The Friday deadline only applies to bills, so the four marine aquarium fishery-related resolutions (SR2, SCR1, HR6, and HCR8) remain active at this time.
Aquarium Fishery Advocates Celebratory
Aquarium fishery advocates are generally happy with this development. “[A]ll aquarium fishermen here in Hawaii are pleased that the State of Hawaii is recognizing the difference between fact and fiction,” said Bob Hajek, president of the Big Island Association of Aquarium Fishermen (BIAAF), when asked about the passage of the Wednesday deadline.
Endemic Masked Angelfish, Genicanthus personatus, at Waikiki Aquarium, above.
“With the overwhelming evidence that continues to prove that our fishery is, and always has been, a healthy and sustainable one, we can only hope that people don't stop educating themselves, and others, as to the true state of affairs of tropical fish collecting in Hawaii.” Big Island’s marine aquarium fishery is the largest aquarium fishery in the State.
General enthusiasm for the passing of Wednesday’s deadline was also expressed by aquarists and industry insiders by way of social media and email Wednesday night and Thursday morning. In the past year, the interest in Hawaii’s marine aquarium fisheries has grown significantly, as aquarists and other fishery advocates express concern that a closure of the marine aquarium fishery in Hawaii could have serious consequences for aquarium fisheries in other states like Florida and even internationally.
“If it is determined that one of the most studied and better managed marine aquarium fisheries in the world should be closed by legislative decree,” said one Los Angeles-based importer, “then I’m guessing many other aquarium fisheries would not fare very well in the face of these activists who have it in for the trade.”
Disappointments for Some
Some advocates of a sustainable marine aquarium fishery expressed disappointment at the fact a handful of regulatory bills did not get heard this year.
“We’ll try to get our two bills in again next year,” Tina Owens, above, of Lost Fish Coalition and the West Hawaii Fisheries Council tells CORAL.
“Perhaps some of the big players in the national industry can put some positive pressure on the legislators about the ‘good’ bills. We could all stand some good press on this issue.”
A number of national and international organizations and associations, including the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), the Marine Aquarium Societies of North America (MASNA), and the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) all became more involved in the debate over Hawaii’s marine aquarium fishery this year, and all expressed interest in taking a more proactive stance by supporting positive legislation in addition to reacting to ban bills unsupported by the science.
While DLNR, fisheries managers with the Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) and outside scientists maintain the fishery is currently being fished sustainably, many experts say that additional regulation is essential to insure future sustainability.
Regulatory bills introduced in 2012 such as HB2129 and HB2067 sought to give fisheries managers greater authority to manage the fishery through limiting the number of fishers (i.e., limited entry), allowing inspection of potential fish-holding containers like livewells and coolers without probable cause, mandating changes to the commercial aquarium catch reporting system, and giving DLNR the authority to impose temporary management measures (i.e., bag limits, closed seasons and moratoriums) within the West Hawaii Regional Fisheries Management Area without adhering to the usual administrative rule-making process.
Anti-Aquarium Activists Still Optimistic
Anti-aquarium activists like Rene Umberger of For the Fishes had a lot to do with drafting and promoting many of the anti-aquarium fishery bills introduced during the 2012 legislative session. While Umberger says she has not been tracking the legislative session closely this year, she tells CORAL she did not have high expectations.
“We expected zero movement at the leg[islature] this session,” she says, “so no surprise there. I’m still optimistic and believe 2012 will be a great year for the fishes.”
In 2011, anti-aquarium activists were instrumental in getting two county councils—Hawaii (Big Island) and Kauai—to pass resolutions urging the State to close the aquarium fishery. The Kauai resolution is responsible for the active anti-aquarium fishery resolutions now in both the House and the Senate.
A Hail Mary Needed to Move Forward
While procedural experts in both the House and Senate told CORAL Magazine it is unlikely any of these jointly-referred bills will move forward after yesterday’s deadline, they were careful to say that “no bill is absolutely dead until May 3rd.” May 3rd is the end of the 2012 legislative session.
According to these experts, there are a number of procedural options available to legislators to keep bills alive even after the various internal deadlines. For example, bills can be re-referred all the way until the respective decking deadlines, when a bill in its final form is made available to members of the Legislature prior to being voted on for passage. The first decking deadline is March 2nd. As one legislator told CORAL, “Any of these bills moving forward would be the equivalent of a Hail Mary pass.”
