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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0345.007 2010-2012Murashige, Laura LLMri 34 From: Inga Gibson [igibson@hsus.org] Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2011 9:28 AM To: counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us Subject: Reso 140-11 Testimony Support, 9-21-11 9am Attachments: HCC Testimony Support Reso 140-11.pdf Aloha, Page 1 of 1 Nonfat. Attached please find testimony in support of Reso 140-11 for consideration by the Council tomorrow, Wednesday, September 21 at 9am. Please contact me with any questions. I will be present to testify. Thank you, Inga Inga Gibson Hawaii State Director, State Affairs igibson@humanesociety.org o 808-922-9910 c 808-354-3211 f 808-922-9911 The Humane Society of the United States P.O. Box 89131, Honolulu, HI 96830 humanesociety.org Join Our Email List Facebook Twitter THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES COctrat mg Animals Corrfrcerting Cruelty 9/20/2011 rrl ; 4 comm. 140.3 45 . Ref. To: Presellood CotA4CA 1 Ref. DateSEP 2 1 Mil 11711,111"%_1`af 1'‘ THE HUMANE SOCIETY M OF THE UNITED STATES To: Honorable Chair Yagong and Council Members Hawaii County Council September 21, 9:OOam ofFre*Ilitii4 l‘rSlicri HUMANE SOCIETY 111,4 INTERNATIONAL From: Inga Gibson, Hawaii State Director, The Humane Society of the United States / Humane Society International, P.O.Box 89131, Honolulu, HI 96830, igibson(humanesociety.org or 922 -9910. RE: STRONG SUPPORT FOR RESOLUTION 140 -11: Requesting the Hawaii Association of Counties to Include Legislation in the 2012 Legislative Package To Prohibit the Sale of Aquatic Life for Aquarium Purposes On behalf of our 11 million members and supporters worldwide and our more than 50,000 supporters in Hawaii, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), and our international arm, Humane Society International (HSI), strongly supports Reso 140 -11, requesting the Hawaii Association of Counties include legislation in its 2012 Legislative Package to prohibit the sale of aquatic life for aquarium purposes. 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, our fragile reef ecosystems, our marine tourism based economy and the lives of millions of animals in Hawaii. Hawaii Reef Wildlife: Populations in Peril Nearly fifty percent of the top 20 species collected are endemic, and found only in Hawaii. Some heavily targeted endemic species are disappearing due to collection (DLNR, 2010). Others are threatened with extinction by the aquarium trade and are listed in the State's Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy (Mitchell, 2005). In addition, the husbandry needs of the fish species collected from Hawaii reefs simply cannot be met in captivity. Collection and export of animals that have virtually no chance of survival in captivity should cease. Commercial collection of reef wildlife is harmful to reef health and ecosystems and wild populations The U.S. Coral Reef Task Force has recognized that U.S. demand for aquarium species can indeed threaten the sustainability of coral reef species and ecosystems (U.S. Coral Reef Task Force 2000). Furthermore, 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; Walsh et. al 2010); in one study, seven of ten fish species targeted by collectors were found to be significantly reduced in abundance 1 (ibid); and, a number of species targeted by collectors are continuing to decrease despite management efforts designed to protect them (Walsh et. al 2010). 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. 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 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. Furthermore, collectors in Hawaii have been observed breaking coral to capture fish and even using bleach, both of which are illegal (Tissot and Hallacher 2003). Reef wildlife collected for the pet trade suffer unacceptably high death rates. The means by which our reef wildlife are captured, held and transported to consumers causes unacceptable levels of injury, damage to health and cruel treatment; with up to 40% of these animals dying before reaching their final destination, and continuing to die at rates that would never be acceptable for any other "pet" animal. Those animals who survive the journey from the wild to the living room may fare no better. Wild animals are difficult to care for in a home environment with the majority living only a small fraction of their natural lives on our reefs. Industry practices, implemented to save time and money, contribute to the stressors and injuries that lead to the pre- mature deaths of our reef wildlife and put undue pressure on wild populations: for every animal that dies before reaching the market, more are taken to fill the demand. In addition we are opposed to cruel practices employed by fish collectors and exporters in Hawaii such as piercing the swim bladder, starving for extended periods prior to export and fin /spine trimming: practices recently prohibited in Maui County and each with existing, less harmful, and conventional alternatives that don't cause injury or lead to higher mortality rates. The more than 700,000 animals (reportedly) collected alive from Hawaii's reefs every year for the pet trade deserve better treatment than what they are currently receiving. When the basic needs of captive animals are being met, their long -term survival is ensured. This is not so for fragile reef wildlife, with the vast majority of these animals experiencing temporary, not long -term, survival. Though many would survive for decades if left on the reef, the lives of most in captivity are measured in weeks or months. Why a Prohibition is Needed: Inability to Regulate the Trade To our knowledge, the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DNLR) has never conducted any environmental analysis as to the effects of its permitting of the take of coral reef wildlife for commercial aquarium purposes. However, the take of aquatic life for aquarium purposes has significant environmental effects on one of Hawai'i's most treasured natural, cultural and economic resources. 2 Statewide population assessments, required to protect species from over - exploitation, have yet to be conducted by DLNR because of staffing and budgetary constraints and other higher priorities. At $200,000 and 7 months per species, these assessments would require approximately $52 million and more than a decade for the more than 260 species taken by the trade (Thielen, 2009). With the trade generating less than $250,000 per year in State tax revenue (based on collector and wholesaler /dealer sales), after covering licensing administrative costs, likely little is left over to help with resource management. Without the requisite environmental review, the State cannot know the extent of the impacts caused by its continued authorization of the take of coral reef wildlife for commercial aquarium purposes and thus cannot require mitigation measures or consider alternatives to the action, including the pending "white- list" alternative. HSUS /HSI thanks the Committee for taking up this important issue. We urge the Councile to support Reso 140 -11 Thank you for this opportunity to provide testimony. 3