a good thing for the world bad for us

[buzzbombtom]

i dont know if this is old news but my lfs just told me that EVERYTHING coming from hawaii is going to skyrocket in the next few weeks. the local government has really reduced the amount of fish and coral exportation. they have shut down between an estemated 30-40% of the farms, they are only alowing a MAX of 20 fish per boat per trip and such fish as yellow tangs and achilies are now outragous in price. a tang that was at the shop 2 weeks ago for 50 is now selling for double that price. i know that it is a very good thing for the enviorment but it so gonna suck for us... anyone hear of this news?

[mcsassy]

But don't fish come from all over the world? I don't think it should affect EVERYTHING...the same species that live in hawaii don't live anywhere else in the world? Yellow tangs ONLY live in Hawaii? If that's true then **** that totally blows...

[buzzbombtom]

that is exactly how it is.... just like any other animal or plant some things are only found in one part of the world.

[clown-lover]

I would say that the majority of the yellow tangs sold in the US are from Hawaii. According to fishbase their distribution is in the following areas :

Pacific Ocean: Ryukyu, Mariana, Marshall, Marcus, Wake and Hawaiian islands. Has been reported off the coast of Florida in the Western Central Atlantic.

I haven't noticed an increase in price but I did notice that the local PetCo didn't have ANY in their tanks for the last couple of weeks which is really strange. They normally have at least three at any given time.

[TropicalNorth]

Saw this news on an Aussie reefing forum.
Link about the legislation.
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2008/bills/SB3225_.htm

Just my thoughts.
With reefs around the world under such environmental pressures lately protecting it through legislation can only be a good thing. Admitedly I would say the damage on most reefs doesn't come mostly from aquarium collection, I think they did many studies on the GBR and found controlled aquarium collection causes next to no impact, but still. Maybe more expensive fish will cause a push to more captive breeding programs, which can only be a good thing and maybe make fish cheaper in the end.

[clown-lover]

I agree with that sentiment TN..

[buzzbombtom]

it will be noticed in the coming weeks... i know that the fish that are coming in to my lfs this week are some of the last cheap ones and some of the first expensive ones if that makes any sense..

[Grynox]

Your LFS is a bit of a sensationalist I believe. None of this has happened.....at least yet. Yes, someone is introducing a bill in Hawaii regarding collection of ornamental fish. But as far as I have heard it isn't like it has passed so prices won't skyrocket until or unless it does and to this point the amount of fish coming out of Hawaii is the same

I first read about the potential bill about a week ago...
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1306550

[mandy21]

I'm all for it happening, to be honest. Of course, I'd be lying if i wouldn't say part of the reason I like it is to keep people that don't know what they're doing from buying fish due to a high price and having them die due to ignorance.

[Grynox]

I kinda agree Mandy. As far as I'm concerned the world's reefs and their health should come first. Hobbyists can and should bear the burden of raised prices if it help promote reef growth in nature. And if a tang costs $150, maybe new hobbyists will stop buying them for 20 gallon tanks only to have them die.

But with reading the thread about all of this at reefcentral, I also get the impression that the person introducing this legislation is doing it in an uninformed manner to garner publicity for himself and his business. If that's true (and I don't know that it is...all I have are the conflicting opinions on that discussion board) I am very much against his tactics and doubt he has the world's reefs or the our best interests in heart.

[salty420]

im all for it happening as well, however i hope it doesn't happen for a little while longer so i can stock up my 75g that im upgrading into!

[BeelzeBob]

man, i wonder how much helfrichi fire fish and dragon morays will cost now!?!?!

[Riverserver]

Yeah I can't imagine Dragon Morays being anymore expensive.

[Grynox]

So does the following language mean that these species cannot be caught at all in Hawaii?
(b) No person shall catch, net, or trap certain ornamental fish in a no-take category, including but not limited to, all puffer fish, all box fish, potter's angel, cleaner wrasse, all coralvores, and all eels.
Isn't the Potter angel only found in Hawaii? If it can't be caught there, then it will no longer be available for aquariums at all...correct? What other species would no longer be available from the listed categories (puffers, box, eels, coralvores) because they are only found there?

What exactly is the definition of coralvore (fish that eats coral I assume? but nips at coral? eats only coral? what exactly?) and which species would it barr from being caught?

[buzzbombtom]

grynox you are correct, those would be no catch fish, and yes that angle is ONLY found there so it will become no longer avaible to the hobby. i forsee this for a couple of decades then it will become laxed as the fish population seems to respond to protection very well. i am really suprised to see no sharks on that list though as they are the ones that have the hardest time rebounding.....

but you are saying that it is not going to happen for a few months if at all? i will have to start to check my other lfs, i just know that the most eco friendly one, one that deals with lots of parent coloneys and frags in store with rare coral said this to me. there are about 2-3 other really reputable shops that i will ask.

[Grynox]

but you are saying that it is not going to happen for a few months if at all? i will have to start to check my other lfs, i just know that the most eco friendly one, one that deals with lots of parent coloneys and frags in store with rare coral said this to me. there are about 2-3 other really reputable shops that i will ask.

I have no idea on timing or how possible it is to happen. All I know is that the bill hasn't been voted on yet at least from what I have read. So it is not yet in effect. I don't even know if what we've seen is the final language of the bill or if that language is being debated or would eventually change. (I personally find it weird that legislation would refer to fish species by common names ("yellow tang," "Potter's angel," "Cleaner wrasse" etc.) rather than use their scientific classifications...)

Do we have anyone from Hawaii on this site who has more local hands-on info on what exactly is happening? I don't want to sound like an authority on what is happening because honestly I'm not....all I have is second hand information that I've read on other websites...

[buzzbombtom]

yeah that is a good point about the names, there is no real reason for a common name to be used in this instanse...