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Hawaii reefs are a public trust and vital to Native Hawaiian culture. Hawaii reefs support thousands of families through tourism and an ecosystem that can feed our children into the future. The commercial aquarium trade devastates reef life, taking countless species with no limits.
The aquarium trade is not sustainable. It is not about catching fish to feed Hawaii and not about the future. It is simply extraction of reef wildlife for export and entertainment.
The Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Division of Aquatic Resources have long failed to regulate the aquarium trade, deferring instead to aquarium-collector management and Mainland interests, abdicating kuleana, ignoring official mandate and selling a public trust. The Hawaii Constitution protects our rights to a healthful environment and Native Hawaiian practices. Please uphold our rights.
DLNR has no policy or plan to protect Hawaii reefs. DLNR/DAR calls the aquarium trade "sustainable" with an unlimited number of collector permits and catch limits set by the aquarium trade that exceed any catch in history. The aquarium trade must end.
As a broad-based coalition, we urge the state Legislature to pass SB 1240 to permanently end state-issued aquarium collector permits, grandfathering in current permit holders who comply. We are Hawaiian cultural practitioners, tourism professionals, conservation groups, fishermen and individuals who cannot abide this failure of reef stewardship.
Please finalize SB 1240. No transfer. No sale. No more.
Robert Wintner
Kihei