HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0862.057 2008-2010 Murashige, Laura
From: Inga Gibson [igibson @humanesociety.org]
Sent: Monday, July 19, 2010 7:53 AM
To: counciltestimony @co.hawaii.hi.us
Subject: Testimony HCC Support Reso 363 -10, July 20, 130pm
Attachments: Hawaii County Testimony HCC Reso 363 -10 Reef Fish Collection.doc
0-
Hawaii County
restimony HCC Re..
Dear Sir /Madam,
Thank you for your attention to the attached testimony in support of Reso 363 -10, for
consideration by the HCC tomorrow July 20, 130pm.
Please contact me with any questions.
Mahalo,
Inga Gibson
Hawaii State Director
The Humane Society of the United States
808 - 354 -3211
www.humanesociety.org
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To Honorable Chair Naeole- Beason, Vice -Chair Yoshimoto f''y 1-4
Committee on Human Services and Economic Development
Hawaii County Council
Submitted via mai): counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us co.hawaii.hi.us Co i . nt [TV Need to insert
RE: Council Meeting July 20, 2010, 1:30pm
IN SUPPORT OF COMM. 862: Resolution 363 -10 -s
A RESOLUTION TO RECOMMEND THAT THE DLNR DISALLOW THE
COLLECTION OF REEF FISH FOR EXPORT IN THE WATERS SURROUNDING
THE ISLAND OF HAWAII
From: The Humane Society of the United States / Humane Society International
Inga Gibson, Hawaii State Director, Humane Society of the United States, P.O. Box
89131, Honolulu, HI 96830, igibson@humanesociety.org humanesociety.org or 808 - 922 -9910
Teresa Telecky, PhD, Wildlife Director, Humane Society International: 2100 L Street
NW, Washington, DC 20037 ttelecky @hsi.org or 301 - 258 -1430
In Support: Resolution 363 -10, Disallowing the Collection of Reef Fish for Export from the
Island of Hawaii
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS /HSI), the nation's largest animal protection
organization, with more than 11 million members and constituents, including 49,770 in Hawaii,
and The HSUS's international arm, Humane Society International (HSI), fully support
Resolution 363 -10: to disallow the collection of reef fish for export from Hawaii County.
We deeply thank Councilmember Greenwell and the Council for addressing this important
matter which affects the lives of hundreds of thousands of animals per year.
The global trade in live wild animals as pets— including live fish for display in home aquaria —
involves billions of animals every year. The trade threatens the survival of wild populations and
causes unacceptable levels of mortality for these animals.
The wild - caught fish trade results in high fish mortality rates. The global trade in marine fish
involves between 20 and 24 million individual animals annually, 99 percent of whom are wild -
caught (Wabnitz et al. 2003). The means by which these wild fish are captured, held and
transported to consumers causes unacceptable levels of injury and often, mortality. Those
animals who survive the journey from the wild to the living room may fare no better. Many wild
reef fish species are difficult to care for in a home environment. In many cases, the husbandry
needs are unknown or impossible to meet.
High levels of mortality of marine fish in the aquaria trade, associated with inadequate handling
and transport, have been widely recognized as a problem (Wabnitz et al 2003). One study
demonstrated mortality rates of fish from Sri Lanka to the United Kingdom of 15 percent during
and immediately after collection, 10 percent during transit, and 5 percent in holding facilities
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(Wood 1985). This means that 30 percent of the fish collected died before reaching the market.
Once in a home aquarium, mortality rates continue to climb due to inadequate husbandry and
stress suffered on the journey from the coral reef to the home aquarium. The industry treats fish
like cut flowers to be displayed until they die (often of starvation), then discarded and replaced.
It should also be noted that the majority of collectors do not accurately report mortality rates and
may misrepresent species or quantities since they are not verified by onsite inspections.
Consequently, the numbers and species reportedly collected may be a considerable
underestimate.
The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) has recommended practices to
Collectors that cause injury, damage to health and cruel treatment of marine fish. These include
piercing the swim bladder and starving the fish prior to export.
The DLNR has testified that "The piercing of the swim bladder "or venting" is done to help fish
acclimate to the reduced pressure of at the ocean surface, relative to the depths at which they are
collected. Bladder expansion from changes in water pressure can cause severe injury, by pushing
out eyes from their sockets and expelling the stomach through the mouth" (Polhemus, 2010).
However, many U.S. States have policies against venting, or "fizzing" as it is sometimes called.
For example, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department states, "During fizzing, there is an
increased chance of infection to the fish and the potential to pierce other internal organs.
Additionally, although the most obvious sign of rapid depressurization is an over inflated swim
bladder, there is also internal damage that occurs to the brain and heart (as a result of gas bubbles
in the blood). Damage to the brain and heart is often the cause of death in these fish and fizzing
will not correct for this type of injury" (New Hampshire Department of Fish and Game 2010).
The DLNR has also testified that "shippers of live aquatic life regularly withhold food for 12
hours prior to shipment. This is intended to reduce the amount and concentration of waste ... the
fasting procedure is an accepted industry practice to reduce mortality due to degraded water
quality and there is no information that this practice is inhumane "(ibid). On the contrary, the
published industry standards for the shipment of live animals known as the International Air
Transport Association's Live Animals Regulations (IATA 2009) do not include starvation prior
to shipment of tropical fish. There is no scientific basis for the claim that withholding food from
a tropical fish before shipment is necessary to improve water quality. For tropical fish who graze
regularly throughout the day, several days without food before being exported, plus up to 48
hours without food during shipment, mean that fish are starving by the time they reach the
importer.
Collection of animals from the wild for the pet trade is harmful to wild populations. Among
marine fish species whose survival is threatened by collection for the aquaria trade are the
Banggai cardinalfish of Indonesia (Pterapogon kaudermi), the scribbled angelfish of Australia
and Papua New Guinea (Chaetodontoplus duboulayi), and the mandarinfish of The Phillipines
(Synchiropus splendidus). In Hawaii, researchers have raised concerns about the collection of
uncommon or rare species for the trade including Tinker's butterflyfish (Chaetodon tinkeri), the
Hawaiian turkeyfish (Pterois sphex) and the flame angelfish (Centropyge loricula). The U.S.
Coral Reef Task Force has recognized that U.S. demand for aquarium species can indeed
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threaten the sustainability of coral reef species and ecosystems (U.S. Coral Reef Task Force
2000).
There are many problems with the current management of collection of fish for export from
Hawaii. The number of fish exported from Hawaii annually is actually unknown. For example, in
1995 the official export figure was 422,823 according to DLNR. However, this figure was based
on reports filed by only 40 percent of people permitted or licensed to export fish, and therefore is
believed to significantly underestimate the actual number of fish exported (Boggiatto et al.
2004). The fact that 60 percent of permit and license holders disregard the requirement to
provide monthly catch reports to DLNR apparently without consequence is of concern. The lack
of such basic information as the number of fish exported on a species- specific basis does not
allow effective management.
Although allowed by law, DLNR has not adopted regulations that limit the number of fish
collected by each permit holder (a bag limit), size limits, open and closed seasons, or other
common management tools adopted by other jurisdictions that export marine fish for the aquaria
trade, such as Florida. DLNR requires collectors to have permits, and commercial collectors to
have licenses, but permit holders can collect any number of fish of any species. They can also
collect fish anywhere with the exception of Marine Life Conservation Districts and Fish
Replenishment Areas. As a result, although the industry is regulated in the sense that permits are
issued, except as noted in the previous sentence, there is no management system being applied
that would ensure that wild populations are not harmed by levels of collection. This is troubling
given the apparent high level of trade.
There is ample scientific and anecdotal evidence that the level of collection of marine fish for the
home aquaria trade has had significant detrimental impacts on wild fish populations in Hawaii.
Research has established that collection of fish for the aquarium trade is a major source of over -
fishing on the island of Hawaii (Tissot 1999; Tissot and Hallacher 2003); in one study, seven of
ten fish species targeted by collectors were found to be significantly reduced in abundance (ibicl).
Anecdotally, independent divers and dive tour operators have been reporting declines in fish
abundance for at least the past decade. Although every area where collection occurs has not been
studied in order to scientifically determine the impact of collection on the abundance of species,
this should not be used as an excuse for inaction. When it comes to extractive wildlife use,
precaution should be applied in cases of scientific uncertainty in order to protect species from
over - exploitation.
In addition to concerns about the sustainability of collection and the survival of collected species,
current aquarium collection practices in Hawaii raise significant concerns about the effects of
aquarium collection on Hawaii's valuable coral reef ecosystems. For example, Collectors in
Hawaii have been observed breaking coral to capture fish and even using bleach, both of which
are illegal (Tissot and Hallacher 2003).
Among the top Hawaiian exports are the yellow tang (Zebrasoma flavescens), kole
(Ctenochaetus strigosus), chevron tang (Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis), Achilles tang (Acanthurus
achilles), and clown tang (Naso lituratus), all of which are important herbivorous species that
have experienced significant population declines in areas were fish are collected for export.
Herbivorous fish play a crucial role in reef ecosystems by preventing algae to outcompete living
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corals. On other reefs around the world, overfishing of herbivores has resulted in ecosystem
shifts in which corals and other important reef - dwelling benthic invertebrates become smothered
by overabundant fleshy algae.
In conclusion, Hawaii's DLNR is not adequately ensuring that collection of reef fish for the pet
trade is not causing a detriment to wild populations. Thus, we fully support the need for a
moratorium on the collection of reef fish for export from the Island of Hawaii.
Thank you for this opportunity to provide testimony.
References Cited:
Boggiatto, K, Rieser, A., Moffie, K. and L. Paul. 2004. The Marine Aquarium Trade in the
Western Hemisphere and the Indo - Pacific Region: Impacts on Coral Reef Ecosystems and a
Summary of Governing Legal Instruments and Policy Options. Hawaii Audubon Society,
Honolulu, Hawaii.
International Air Transport Association. 2010. Live Animals Regulations. Container Requirement
51. Quebec, Canada.
New Hampshire Department of Fish and Game. 2010. Fizzing of fish.
http: / /www.wildlife. state. nh. us /Fishing/fisheries management/fizzing.htm. Viewed on 1 June
2010.
Polhemus, D. 2010. Testimony of Division of Aquatic Resources on Proposed Bill for an
Ordinance Amending Chapter 6.04, Maui County Code, Pertaining to Animal Control. 26
February 2010.
Tissot, B., 1999. Adaptive management of aquarium fish collection in Hawaii.
SPC Live Reef Fish Information Bulletin 6: 16 -19.
Tissot, B.N. and L.E. Hallacher. 2003 Effects of aquarium collectors on coral reef fishes in
Kona, Hawaii. Conservation Biology 17:1759 -1768
Tissot, B.N., Walsh, W. and L. E. Hallacher. 2004. Evaluating the effectiveness of a marine
reserve network in Hawaii to increase the productivity of an aquarium fishery. Pacific Science
58(2): 175 -188.
U.S. Coral Reef Task Force 2000. The National Action Plan to Conserve Coral Reefs.
Wabnitz, C., Taylor, M., Green, E. and T. Razak. 2003. From Ocean to Aquarium: The Global
Trade in Marine Ornamental Species. UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Center.
Walsh, W. J., B. N. Tissot and L. E. Hallacher. 2004. A report on the findings and
recommendations of effectiveness of the West Hawai'i regional fishery management area. Report
to the 23rd Hawaii Legislature. 38 pp.
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