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The issue of tropical fish collectors stripping our shores of fish for money kind of faded from the news. Is it still legal?
Understanding that DLNR is incapable of making a decision or doing anything I will assume the collectors are still plundering the shore lines unabated.
Assume the best and ask questions.
Punaweb moderator
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"In Hawaii, only Oahu, Maui and the Big Island Hawaii have any tropical fish collected from them. Nearly 80 percent of dive accessible oceans around these three main Islands are untouched by tropical fish collectors."
Read on:
http://hawaiitropicalsaltwateraquariumfi...index.html
To answer your question: Yes. But lets add, according to this website it looks like this is due to change shortly.
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Hawaii did pass a law limiting collecting of aquarium fish and banning spear fishing for West Hawaii.
http://blog.aquanerd.com/2013/07/hawaii-...-fish.html
http://hawaiitribune-herald.com/sections...rules.html
As far as I know Abercrombie has yet to make a decision about the fishery rules package.
http://state.hi.us/dlnr/dar/announcements.html
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Spearfishing... is that worth doing?
comin' your way soon!
comin' your way soon!
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I don't know what I'm doing.....
comin' your way soon!
comin' your way soon!
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You can't spear aquarium fish unless you use a very very small spear :-)
Seriously, though, aquarium collecting in the Wai 'Opae (Vacationland tide pools)is not allowed because it is a Marine Life Conservation District. Elsewhere - I don't know. For info call the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources 974-6201.
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In 2020 aquarium fish harvesting is still legal, but regulated:
Hawaii County man arrested for illegal catch of aquarium fish.
DLNR and DOCARE officers on Hawaii Island arrested 47-year-old Jason Beevers of Naalehu on Thursday for allegedly possessing hundreds of fishes and other fishing-related violations.
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2020/08/28...rium-fish/
Law enforcement officials however offered the criminal offender a courtesy he never extended to his prey the fish (who broke no laws) - - catch & release:
Beevers was booked and released on his own bond.
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I had no idea the aquarium fish business was so lucrative:
Steve Howard, 57, was arrested Tuesday for possessing illegal collection gear, and resisting arrest.
State enforcement officers say they found 235 fish in an underwater collection basket. The estimated value of the fish was about $17,000.
Among the species in the illegal haul included Yellow Tangs, Kole, Lavender Tang and more.
Officials say even though the ban on aquarium collection in West Hawaii is clear -- collectors continue to skirt the law.
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2020/09/17...angerment/
He also abandoned two women divers while trying to make his getaway.
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As for the value of the fish, I suspect it's like drug busts. The cops inflate the value to the highest possible retail price (and add 50%) rather than going with the wholesale price the dealer would likely get. Makes things more dramatic. Having said that, it must be lucrative for people to keep doing it, especially in the face of a ban.
I'm really quite shocked that they actually caught somebody. I was told by a DLNR agent that their usual practice is to sit in the office and wait for people to call in violators' license plate numbers.
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DLNR... their usual practice is to sit in the office and wait for people to call
Is this the same agency that chased Puna homeowners through the lava fields during the 2018 flow, because they were “trespassing” on their own property during an emergency?
