Protect Oʻahu’s reefs from commercial aquarium collection- submit EIS scoping comments today!

As you may know, a bill seeking to ban commercial aquarium collection throughout Hawaiʻi (HB2101) died this legislative session, leaving the door open for collectors to continue their push to reopen Hawaiʻi’s waters to the aquarium industry. 

This includes pending Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) rules that would reopen West Hawaiʻi Island to commercial aquarium collection as soon as they are adopted, and that would reopen other islands’ waters with the completion of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

Now, on Oʻahu, collectors are preparing an EIS that could lead to the return of commercial aquarium collection to the island’s increasingly stressed reefs for the first time since 2021. Please mark your calendars for an in-person scoping meeting on Tuesday, May 26, consider submitting written comments (sample testimony below), and ask your ocean-loving friends to do the same.

The EIS “Preparation Notice” proposes allowing the collection of 35 native species of aquatic life, with permits issued to 15 anonymous permittees, and catch quotas to be set after the public scoping process. The species proposed for collection include the lau‘ī pala (yellow tang), kole (goldring surgeonfish), Potter’s angelfish, kihikihi (moorish idol), and kīkākapu (racoon butterflyfish) as well as the zebra moray, hermit crabs, and cleaner shrimp. Many of these targeted species provide critical ecosystem services, including by grazing coral-smothering algae, and are the bases of cultural and subsistence fishing practices, as well as local economic development opportunities.   

This is your chance to stand up for Oʻahu’s reefs, communities, and future resilience! 

What you can do: 

Next week, the collectors are holding an in-person public scoping meeting, and are accepting written comments through June 8. We need your voice, either verbal and/or written testimony at this phase now to inform a future draft EIS! 

1.Attend and Testify at the Public Scoping Meeting:

• When: Wednesday, May 26, 5-7pm (in-person only) 

• Where: Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) Boardroom: Kalanimoku Building, 1151 Punchbowl St. Honolulu, HI, Room 132, 1st Floor

  • Talking points:

    • BLNR can and should ban commercial aquarium collection statewide, rather than allowing this EIS process to continue, given the degraded state of O‘ahu’s reefs and herbivore populations.

    • DAR lacks data measuring commercial aquarium collection’s impacts, and has minimal management areas where aquarium collection is prohibited.

    • The EIS must examine impacts to aquatic life populations and the reefs, and the broader implications for constitutionally protected cultural practices, public trust resources, and the economy.

    • The EIS should fully examine the benefits of the “no action” alternative, in which O‘ahu’s reefs would be protected from commercial aquarium extraction in perpetuity.

    • The EIS should examine alternatives where collectors would take only non-native species (roi, ta‘ape, tō‘au) or instead collect minimal quantities of aquatic life for captive-bred aquaculture operations, which is currently being done successfully in Waimānalo. 

    • The EIS must fully account for the resources that would be needed to monitor and ensure compliance with any aquarium collection program, and the impacts this may have on DLNR’s ability to address the myriad threats to our ocean environment.

2.Submit written comments (due June 8): 

• Email: cms@hawaiiantel.net and david.sakoda@hawaii.gov

• Subject Line: Environmental Impact for the Proposed Collection of Marine Life for Commercial Aquarium Purposes on the Island of Oʻahu Pursuant to Commercial Aquarium Permits and Commercial Marine Licenses 

SAMPLE TESTIMONY: 

To Whom It May Concern, 

As a local resident who cares deeply about O‘ahu’s reefs, I urge the BLNR to ban commercial aquarium collection statewide now—and put a stop to this EIS process, before more time and money is spent on adding even more commercial exploitation pressure on our already-degraded reefs and herbivore populations.

The DLNR itself lacks data on commercial aquarium collection impacts, already struggles to fulfill its nearshore resource management responsibilities, and has only moved to reopen our waters to commercial aquarium collection because of a now debunked belief that state law somehow requires it to do so. That’s unacceptable. 

Should the EIS be allowed to continue, it must examine impacts on aquatic life, public trust resources, cultural practices, and our local economy, both generally and at any sites targeted for collection. It must also fully consider the 'no action' alternative—protecting O‘ahu’s reefs from commercial extraction forever. It must also account for the resources that will be needed to monitor and enforce compliance with any proposed aquarium collection program, and the impacts this may have on the DLNR’s other natural resource conservation and management programs.  

I also ask the EIS to look at better and much less impactful alternatives: allowing collectors to take only non-native species like roi, ta‘ape, and tō‘au, or collecting small amounts for captive-bred aquaculture (like the successful operation in Waimānalo). 

Mahalo,

(your name) 

3.Spread the word/ask your friends to do the same!

Mahalo for using your voice to protect our reefs and marine life from commercial aquarium collection.