HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 1145.124 2012-2014P/AWM
November 17, 2012
RE: Testimony in Opposition to Bill 318
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2014 NOV 18 PM I: 35
Aloha County Council Members,
I am writing in opposition to Bill 318 regarding the treatment of aquarium life.
For my master's research at Washington State University, I studied the West Hawaii aquarium trade
from 2010-2012. Part of my study focused on holding and transport of live yellow tang in the West
Hawaii aquarium trade.
My research on fish holding and transport indicated that the practices implemented by Hawaiian fish
exporters do not cause mortality in yellow tang. In lune of 2012, 1 collaborated with fishers and
exporters in Kona, and caught 60 yellow tang from the reef, held them in a working export facility, and
shipped them from Kona, HI to Portland, OR. The fish were then transported to the Hatfield Marine
Science Center in Newport, OR where they resided for 6 months. My study shows 100% survival rate of
these tangs during collection, holding in the export facility, air transport, and after a 6 -month holding
period. In fact, the fish have now become part of an exhibit at the Hatfield Marine Science Center about
sustainability in the aquarium trade and I have received no reports of mortality after 2.5 years.
In addition, I now would like to specifically address Sections 4b1 and 4b2:
Section 01 would prohibit the withholding of food from aquarium life for 24h. In my study, fish were
withheld food for 96h in the export facility, and an additional 35h during transport. Withholding food
serves a very important purpose for fish transport. Withholding food prevents fish from fouling their
bags. If they are unable to "clean out" their system prior to transport, they will foul their bags, creating a
buildup of ammonia, which is toxic to fish. Therefore, withholding food is a best practice to be used prior
to shipping fish and any regulation prohibiting food withholding is uninformed and would be detrimental
to fish health.
Section 4b2 would prohibit transport of fish in less than one gallon of water. In my study, aquarium
exporters used the standard volume of water to transport the tang, and discussed above, no mortality
occurred. The requirement of a gallon of water for fish transport is unnecessary and unfounded.
I would like to speak to the sustainability of the Hawaii aquarium trade. The exhibit I helped create at
the Hatfield explains the practices of the Hawaii aquarium trade, and how Hawaii's trade differs from
other areas of the world. If we take a global perspective, Bill 318 is damaging to the ocean. This is
because the demand for aquarium fish is not decreasing, and such a bill would simply shift the demand
for aquarium fish from Hawaii where they are collected using nondestructive methods, to places like the
Philippines where fishers regularly use cyanide to stun and capture fish and have a tremendously
negative impact on reefs there. Though this might seem like just a local or state issue, the reality is that
the aquarium trade is a global trade and Hawaii contributes a sustainably sourced product to aquarium
fish hobbyists.
Thank you for hearing my testimony.
Sincerely,
Emily S. Munday, M.S.
Comm. I I q j. 12ARef. To:P/AWF--�Sr-
Ref.
Date NOV —18 2014