SUPPORT HB2101: Stop Commercial Aquarium Collection
/On Wednesday, February 18 at 8:45am in room 411 the House Committees on Energy & Environmental Protection and Water & Land will hear HB2101, which would permanently ban the harmful collection of critical marine species for the aquarium trade across the islands.
Please take a moment to support this measure! Sample testimony and instructions below.
What this bill does
HB2101 which would prohibit the commercial collection of marine life for the aquarium trade, and prevent the Division of Aquatic Resources from re-opening the aquarium collection industry after it was shut down for most of the last decade.
Why it is important
HB2101 would make it clear that the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources must not waste its extremely limited time and resources developing, implementing, monitoring, and enforcing proposed regulations to reopen the commercial aquarium collection industry, which has already been shut down for nearly a decade - and to instead focus on much more important priorities, as our fisheries and reefs face unprecedented threats.
Sample testimony for HB2101
Aloha Chairs Lowen and Hashem, Vice Chairs Perruso and Morikawa, and Committee Members,
My name is [your name] and I STRONGLY SUPPORT HB2101.
After years of controversy and concern, including from Native Hawaiian subsistence fishing communities, the aquarium collection industry was finally shut down by court order in 2017 - and has remained shut down for the better part of the last decade. Please enact this now longstanding status quo into law, and make clear that Hawaiʻi’s waters should not be reopened for the ornamental aquarium trade, as the Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) is currently proposing.
Reef fish - including and particularly the herbivorous species targeted by aquarium collectors - are essential components of a healthy nearshore ecosystem, including the coral reefs that protect our shorelines from rising seas and coastal erosion. They are also critical components of traditional and customary subsistence fishing practices, have cultural and spiritual significance, and are a precious resource for residents and visitors alike.
When the industry was still active, commercial aquarium collection - driven by the immense profit to be made by selling certain reef species for purely ornamental purposes - had a disproportionate and significant impact on our nearshore waters. The removal of hundreds of thousands if not millions of reef fish per year undermined coral reef biodiversity and ecological functions; compromised our cultural, subsistence, and recreational practices; and promoted the belief that our public trust resources should be prioritized for corporate exploitation. Accordingly, the majority of Hawaiʻi residents as well as the Board of Land and Natural Resources itself has voiced support for the permanent ban of commercial aquarium collection in Hawaiʻi’s waters.
Nonetheless, DAR is now moving forward with rules that would immediately reopen West Hawaiʻi Island’s waters to commercial aquarium collection, and that lay the groundwork to do the same throughout Hawaiʻi. DAR’s justification for this costly, time-consuming endeavor is that state law somehow mandates it to do so. It is now incumbent on the legislature to make clear that DAR should not and must not expend more of its limited resources attempting to re-start an already defunct industry, and instead focus on addressing our myriad and much more pressing marine resource management needs.
Therefore, I strongly urge the Committees to PASS HB2101. Mahalo nui for the opportunity to testify.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Testimony instructions
Register for a capitol website account if you haven’t yet (youʻll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email).
Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the "Submit Testimony" button.
Enter “HB2101” where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."
Input your information, select “SUPPORT”, write or copy/paste your testimony, and select your testimony option(s)—in-person + written, remotely + written, written only. Please consider providing verbal testimony (in-person or remotely) if you are able!
Note: Virtual testimony option may be disabled 24 hours before the hearing.
If you are testifying via Zoom, be sure to review these instructions (page 4).
Don’t forget to spread the word!