610 Fish Thrown out at Honokohau

[Lisianski]

Here is the latest news on the dumpster fish:

westhawaiitoday.com/articles/2010/02/12/local/local02.txt

 

[Black_3000psi]

the greatest act of conservationism is population control.an over populated planet is already stretching natural resources to brink and unless someone comes up with a realistic solution to that problem, you will be hugging the tree while they rip it from the ground....but people (in general) are too busy watching lost, american idol and all those other reality shows to take a moment to ponder the path of our future, and i hate to be the one to say it but that future dont look all that great. want to conserve something? how about the human race? hmmm on second thought just hug the tree and pray.

 

[octodiver]

However, he also says (on the same website) that fish from Hawaii do not suffer this fate:
"Hawaiian livestock is a winner. They are worth every penny; they live due to better handling, public regulation, shorter flight times, and better initial quality."

However, this is the exception rather than the rule - most fish in the wild are killed long before reaching that age. the same paper in the above link states: "Only about 1% of recruits may survive to adulthood when protected from fishing." Those are terrible odds, and much worse than their survival rate in captivity.

Well that's just not true. There are no 40 year old yellow tangs in captivity. There are no 20 or 30 year olds either. But, what if there were 10 or more, would that mean that they are ok to keep in captivity? No, it would not. If the majority of these animals lived for more than a year in captivity, collectors would not be shipping them out by the hundreds of thousands every year. If the aquarium trade was "sustainable" the big island would not have had to close of 30% of the coastline to keep aquarium collectors out! Meanwhile it's a free for all everywhere else in the state.
What diver, not affiliated with the aquarium trade, thinks that the health and beauty of a reef should be sacrificed for a mainland hobby? Hello.... remember the diver's pledge "Take only photos - leave only bubbles"? It's not: "Take only photos unless you're an aquarium collector, then take as much as you want." It's not: "Don't harass the marine life unless you're an aquarium collector and then you can harass and take as much as you want"

The Big Island aquarium fishery, although controversial, is very well monitored by the state. Fish populations have not declined since the FRA system was put in place ten years ago; the fishery is sustainable and this is consistently reflected in the scientific literature. Nor has reef health in the area been affected - open and closed areas have consistently shown the same levels of coral cover and algal abundance. You can always pick out some statistic that makes it look like the resource is in trouble, but it's not the conclusion that the scientists are reaching.

It is not well monitored - since aquarium collectors illegally don't file their reports and the report is NEVER compared with the actual catch. And monitoring doesn't mean conservation - it means you watch while everything falls apart. Only conservation action = conservation. Fish populations HAVE declined. For instance, at times, collectors have hit the yellow tangs so hard, their numbers are WORSE than before the closures. See:View attachment West Hawaii Yellow Tang Abundance.pdf

This isn't a "fishery" - it's wild reef animals caught for use in a disposable pet industry. It's unethical and illegal. It's just that no one wants to enforce it. Here's a lesson in politics: who do the researchers, scientists and resource managers work for? Here's another example: one former DAR researcher reported that the entangled gear left on the reef from slide bait fishing is, in fact, killing the coral (duh). But guess who he blamed it on? Tourists! Yeah, those tourists need to stop slide bait fishing. See:View attachment Damage to Cauliflower Coral by Monofilament Fishing.pdf

 

[friscuba]

Fish populations HAVE declined. For instance, at times, collectors have hit the yellow tangs so hard, their numbers are WORSE than before the closures. See:View attachment 72288

Your graph shows no such thing. It shows that on occasion the populations are down in the openly collected areas, but overall it appears to be relatively unchanged in those openly collected areas. It shows long existing marine protected areas are relatively unchanged but if anything they're slightly up. It shows newly created protected ares are much more densely populated than prior to establishment of the FRAs. I see no indications of overall yellow tang populations anywhere on that graph.

If anything, about all you can take out of this graph is that it took 3-4 years to take an area open to collection to the point where yellow tang populations match long term uncollected areas in density once it became an FRA.... pretty good argument the FRAs can work.

Now if you had said that on occasion the yellow tang populations drop in the openly collected areas to below what they were at the time of the closures, you'd be accurate. It would be curious to see what the actual study connected with the graph you posted concluded... it would help put things in context.

 

[ncchuck]

I personally would rather see fish breed in captivity. I've had several aquariums over the years (fresh water) and I have no idea where the fish originated. I suspect it's a lot different however in the salt water world of aquariums.

Since I'm a diver, I like to see the fish. However, since I'm a diver invading the homes of these fish, I'm contributing to some extent to their problems too. I've seen dozens if not hundreds of photographers tear up huge portions of the reef "taking pictures and leaving bubbles". If anyone is a "TRUE" conservationist, they should just stay out of the ocean. Diving shouldn't exist.

Conspiracy theories area always interesting. Making the jump researchers, scientists and the like being somehow connected to "politics" is streaching the truth. The vast majority of lower level people have no idea how politics works and care less about it. I suspect these lower level people make up 90% of the population of this group. They are just doing thier jobs mostly because the love the ocean and animals. Use facts to support arguments but don't take the easy way out and use "politics" as the only answer to the problem. I'm sure politics plays a role as it does in all our lives but the ocean and reef are complex. I doubt anyone has all the answers.

One of these day, I hope to come see your Hawaiin fish assuming there are any left from whatever cause or causes.

 

[friscuba]

One of these day, I hope to come see your Hawaiin fish assuming there are any left from whatever cause or causes.

This is why I hate seeing threads like this. One person spreads hand picked bad numbers from one or two of the many many studies out there, and others extrapolate it to where Hawaii suddenly has a reputation that it's fish are disappearing. Now you might have said this in sarcasm to make a point, but I'm running into people who've never been here who think that's the case. In my opinion it's far from the truth.

By the way, I agree with you on your other points. I think if people focused their efforts into captive breeding programs, creating Marine life conservation districts, marine protected areas and fish replenishment areas and touting the benefits of those programs rather than focusing on attacking one user group, a whole lot more positive might be accomplished.

Aloha,

 

[caymaniac]

I've been over 10 years without an aquarium, I don't plan on getting one back as I really don't want to contribute to those who are taking fish off the reefs. I used to keep yellow tangs in my aquarium and usually they would live for about four years but I had one that lived for seven years as the longest.
Does anyone know the actual lifespan of the yellow tang?

 

[Black_3000psi]

seriously, i did the fish collecting thing for about a year never found it all that profiting for me maybe i sucked at it and althoug yellow tangs are very popular with the dealers, if you get away from the every day dive sights you will see they continue to do very well. people say the same thing about the tiger cowlerys but i know a spot on this Island there theres one every two feet everywhere you look. do i tell people about it or take anyone there? no. i know spots where there are more dragon morays than you can shake a stick at again i tell nowone and show nowone lest they start moving from that spot. or get liberated. my point is this its a very big sea and nobody is exploring and counting fish in every inch of it. secondly researches get paid to research do you think they are ever going to say its ok....? job security is their first priority. monk seals are a different story much easier to keep track of than your garden varity reef fish.want to talk about daily rapage of the sea what about the charter fishing boats that hammer the fishing on a daily basis.when they get on to a pile of fish they will not stop.

 

[friscuba]

I
Does anyone know the actual lifespan of the yellow tang?

The 30-40 year number that's been mentioned in this thread does appear to be accurate in the wild. I used to be in the pet biz a decade and a half ago, I've met lots of aquarists that have kept them the range you were keeping yours, longest I can think of was a guy that said he had one for 13 years at the time I talked to him. Who knows how long public aquariums have kept them for. The problems with tangs in aquariums is they are herbivores that need to "graze" much of the day because they don't store fat in the way fish or other animals traditionally do. You'll see people that try to keep some spinach, kale or romaine in the tank with them, but it just doesn't quite do the job over time, especially when people get lax at keeping it available.

 

[95 Lbs Diver]

Misinformation

I happen to know this diver very well. I’ve gone diving with her on numerous occasions. She is a diver of enormous integrity and professionalism. She works very closely with the D.A.R and never transplants fish from the reef in a harmful or reckless way.

All of you need to get your facts straight, chill the hell out, and get a real life.

Aloha Steve,

I wish we could ban aquarium collecting all together here, and that the DLNR would enforce the no-collecting rule.

I just heard that the boat captain I mentioned in my last post has quit the dive shop last week and now she's aquarium collecting full-time. Scary and sad.