HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0140.076 2014-2016COUNTY CLERK
COUNTY OF HAWAII
RECEIVED
Opposition to Bill 318 Time /: 66,14 B
Pp Date a77-7
/5
In 0
Good Afternoon County Council Members.
My name is Bob Hajek and I am President of the BIAAF. I am here today to testify in opposition to Bill
318. I will be reading a prepared statement.
The main problem with Bill 318 is 2 fold, and that is that both parts are seriously flawed. Bill 318 is
nothing more than the product of people who are looking for a way to kill our very successful and
sustainable West Hawaii aquarium fishery.
There is no proof at all that fasting fish for a short period of time has any negative affect on them.
Fish often fast for many consecutive days when the swell is up in the winter and they cannot access
their normal feeding grounds due to the rough seas.
As a matter of fact, we know that fasting them before shipping them puts them in the cleanest water
and safest environment possible. This process virtually eliminates any chance of ammonia built up by
minimizing the amount of fecal matter and urinary discharge into the surrounding water during
transportation.
We know this to be true. We can prove it.
With respect to what would be Bill 318's requirement to ship fish in pre -designated, arbitrary
amounts of water, there is absolutely no proof of any kind that this will benefit the fish in any way. As
a matter of fact, the opposite is actually true. Decades of studies in the field have proven conclusively
that the way fish are presently being packed and shipped is the best way to do it. Our methods are
emulated around the world as they are the gold standard is fish care and transportation.
Much the same way an astronaut's space suit traps a thin layer of air around them, that is constantly
being oxygenated so they can breath, the same holds true for fish when in their shipping bags. They
only need enough water surrounding them to allow them to breath efficiently and extract the
dissolved oxygen they need from the water around them.
By keeping that amount of water around them to a minimum, we do 2 things:
We create more space in the bag for what they really need; the oxygen gas and we create a greater
percentage of surface and near surface area that will now be exposed to the pure oxygen in the bag.
This maximizing the transfer of oxygen from its gaseous state to the water, putting it into solution,
where the fish can now breath it. This is known as diffusion.
Then the movement of the water surrounding the fish during transportation does the rest by mixing
the oxygen with the water, creating an optimal environment where oxygen rich water can be
maintained in a closed system for days.
This is much the same way shallower ocean waters oxygenate themselves by interacting with the
atmosphere through wind, waves and general water movement.
The same thing is happening here during shipping, but an enriched level. Air contains only 21%
oxygen while the gas we put into the transportation bags is 100% pure oxygen. This high
concentration of pure oxygen gas makes diffusion almost 5 times more effective than normally, with
air.
It's so sad to see these people wanting to destroy our amazing fishery with such reckless abandon.
You claim to have the fishes best interest at heart yet your callous disregard for the facts, science and
what is actually good for the fish betrays you. We have a fishery that our community should be proud
of. Instead, your poisonous words over the years have just deprived us all of feeling good about how
the rest of the world actually perceive us. Shame on you for your selfishness.
Comm. No. ' T Q • 7(o
Ref. To: RFOK-sc.,
Ref. Dote t Ali 17 201!