551 dead yellow tang

[Rob Tucker]

Did anyone see the article in the paper the other day about Honokohau Harbor and the discovery of several hundred dead tropical fish in a dumpster by the boat ramp? 551 dead tang included?

http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/articles/...ocal01.txt

I have to say I am personally against people harvesting these fish for sale to pet shops and wish it was illegal in total. While many people come here and seem to be pleased with the diving experiences in all my snorkeling experience in Hawaii the ocean and reefs are rather devoid of fish. I have always felt that too many people are plundering the tropical fish here for purely selfish reasons. Just another case of over exploitation of finite resources.

Most of my diving experience in my youth was at the Channel Islands off Ventura/Santa Barbara. That location has sence become a protected area and if you want to see fish in the millions that is a place to go. Unfortunately I have no way to know what it might have been like on our Hawaiian reefs years ago but my sense is that before long our waters will be empty.

Someone tell me I am wrong.... please.

[james weatherford]

quote:

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Someone tell me I am wrong.... please.

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No can do.

Yes, I saw the article.
Plunder is the only word for it.

James Weatherford, Ph.D.
15-1888 Hialoa
Hawaiian Paradise Park

[missydog1]

I saw the video on television of all the dead fish laid out in rows and columns. Really disturbing.
There are CITES lawes in many countries about harvesting coral for aquariums; fish should be protected too.

[Devany]

I saw it on the news and it made me physically ill.

Why the creeps threw them in the dumpster is more of a question, maybe they were afraid of getting caught. Sadly, I believe that this kind of theft has been going on at Kapoho in the reserve where this is especially kapu. The last few times we have been there we have seen less and less fish. This of course could be due to other factors such as pollution.

We have dived all over the world, best coral was in the Yasawa islands in Fiji(lots of fish too, but the coral was absolutely amazing) and best fish populations were in Bonaire (the entire coast of the island is a preserve, but the coral was not as beautiful as in other places we have been), though a few places like the Blue Hole in Belize were pretty good too. There are areas on the Kona side that have a good combination of coral and abundant fish. Other than the occasional rough water and poorer visibility, the reef just outside of Richardson's also has a good mix of fish and coral.

Any place that has lifeguards or rangers watching probably has less of a problem with fish thievery and that is perhaps our only hope against stopping these idiots, other than educating the public to watch out for them as well. What a lot of people do not realize is how much it upsets the balance of the reef and the ocean itself when specific fish or corals are removed or damaged. Hundreds of thousands of "ornamental" reef animals are exported from Hawaii every year. Many die in transit or soon after. They are not food; they become a short-term decoration—“ornamental.” Most captive fish die within a year in a tank; but live decades on a reef, working to keep the reef healthy. Hawaii reefs are now in peril, unbalanced between coral habitat and fish. Surgeonfish—yellow tangs are 73% of the aquarium catch—eat algae. Others, like cleaner wrasse, eat parasites. The parrot fish that eat the coral are making white sandy beaches... it goes on and on of course.

The bottom line is that there are many organizations (including the DNR) that you can volunteer with to help protect Hawaii's Reefs and fish. And there are groups that need $$$ as well as time for this very cause.

http://www2.hawaii.edu/~carlm/reeffish.html, http://www.reefprotect.org , www.SaveHawaiisReefs.org Carey can probably add a lot to this discussion as well.

Aloha au i Hawai`i,
devany

www.myhawaiianhome.blogspot.com
www.eastbaypotters.blogspot.com

[Greg]

A sad irony is that farm raised aquarium fish are readily available, better adapted to aquarium survival than "wild" fish, and a much more sustainable way to enjoy marine animals.

I would support a total ban on local gathering(and selling)of wild aquarium fish.

Stoneface

[Guest]

The Lack

I was one of these boneheads that collected tropical fish here in Hawaii. We started a company called Salt and Sea back in 1969 in Kona. We captured thousands of fish and sent them to L.A. to be distributed all over the world. It took me years to realize just what we were doing, when I did we should have just closed out. We didn’t, we sold out to some other fool and he continued. The same company which has changed name many times still exist today, sad but true.

The Lack

The Lack Toons

[DoryGray]

When discussing this w/ a friend, she theorized dumping fish would have an effect on tropical fish prices e.g. supply & demand. That makes me even more disgusted. []

[dmbwest]

WOW Lack, that took balls to come say that. Glad you checked out though.

aloha,
pog

[Rob Tucker]

Yes. I certainly appreciate Tom's honesty on the topic. It takes honesty and wisdom to fess up to past practices and change them.

Assume the best and ask questions.

Punaweb moderator

[Kapohocat]

We do have some currently protected areas:

http://www.malama-kai.org/birf/reef-reso...#protected