Measure aims to add transparency to trade that lacks regulation
By CHRIS HAMILTON, Staff Writer
POSTED: July 15, 2010 Save | Print | Email
WAILUKU - Council members Wednesday took a step closer to regulating the aquarium fish trade, when a committee approved a bill to require county licenses for people who take reef fish to sell.
Led by Public Services Committee Chairman Wayne Nishiki, Council Members Sol Kaho'ohalahala, Jo Anne Johnson, Mike Victorino and Bill Medeiros voted in favor of the amended licensing measure, which advances to the full County Council.
People who fish for food, eradicate invasive species, sell and maintain freshwater koi ponds - such as those at resorts - and owners of home aquariums will not be affected by the measure if it passes and is signed by Mayor Charmaine Tavares.
It would take effect Jan. 1.
"This bill also is not about creating loopholes that would allow for the exhibition of captive marine mammals or about putting pet stores out of business," Nishiki said. "This licensing bill is simply about protecting our fragile marine environment and fairly regulating those businesses that profit from taking our wild aquatic life from the natural environment."
Nishiki recently was forced to rehear the bill after the County Council narrowly voted to send it - and an accompanying bill by Council Member Mike Molina on the humane treatment of aquatic life - back to his committee. However, the council voted to separate the bills and proceed with the less-controversial licensing idea.
"This is a wonderful step in letting people know we don't like what's going on, and we want to stop it," said Council Member Gladys Baisa, a nonvoting member of the committee. "What's going on is unconscionable."
Kaho'ohalahala said council members are trying to create transparency in a business that has virtually no accountability now and intentionally operates out of the public eye.
However, Victorino and Council Member Joe Pontanilla said they worried that if county regulations are strictly imposed immediately that collectors will scurry underground.
"One day we want a total ban," Victorino said in proposing a $500 fine for not having a visible permit in a vehicle, rather than the up-to-$2,000 first-time fine being discussed.
The main elements of Nishiki's bill would set up a Maui County application and annual permit system for anyone who intends to catch fish and other aquatic life for aquariums. During the county budgeting process, the council will determine the permit cost.
Collectors must submit regular reports that include collection totals; number sold by species; number that died while in permit holder's possession; their destinations, and number of collection traps.
If the bill becomes law, collecting fish without a permit would be a misdemeanor with possible imprisonment up to a year and a possible fine of at least $1,000. The county also could suspend and revoke permits.
About a dozen people testified Wednesday about the licensing bill, but unlike at past meetings, nearly everyone spoke in favor of its passage. Old-timers said the number of fish has declined drastically in their lifetimes.
And people noted that pollution is another major factor in the decline, estimated to be 60 percent in the past three decades.
Reportedly, two to four active collectors took 17,000 fish from Maui County waters last year, although bill proponents say the numbers are underreported greatly.
Proponents of the bill said the county had to get involved because Gov. Linda Lingle and legislative leaders have not taken industry-regulatory action via state laws that would impose fish-catch limits, place prohibitions on certain species and establish permit quotas.
Council members asked the collectors and environmentalists to form a task force to hammer out their differences in a second bill on the humane treatment of collected fish.
The expectation is that the task force will submit its recommendations this fall, Molina said.
Please be very careful what you say to anyone involved. There is very heavy opposition to the aquarium trade in Hawaii. Trust me, I've met with people on both sides of the issue. Keep in mind the old "What you say can be used against you..." thing.
Aquarium fish bill advances in council
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