Subj: Reply to Kalkbreth's comments
Date: 10/17/2002 9:01:35 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From:
[email protected]
To:
[email protected]
Mary, Please post this on the Reefs.org bulletin Bulletin Board under If you build it they will come Industry Concerns Section. I am not sure that it went up on the site after I submitted it (for reasons that I can not understand)
Sincerely,
Peter Rubec
Email
[email protected]
Hello Mike King,
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My question to Kalkbreth was a genuine question rather than an attempt to shoot him down. I have a study published by the State of Hawaii, Dept. of Land and Natural Resources,Division of Aquatic Resources published in 1999 titled Hawaii's Stafe of the Reefs 1998 (which I obtained from one of their biologists at the 1st Marine Ornamental Conference held in Kona on the Big Island in 1999). The report summarizes a variety of programs concerning coral reef research and monitoring conducted by Hawaii DLNR. Pages 21-23 of the glossy report (lots of images and graphs) discusses aquarium fish.
The Overview states that Hawaii is a major supplier of wild-caught maine ornamental fish with a reported value of $800,000 to 900,000 annually. The top species collected statewide are Yellow Tang, Kole, Achilles Tang, Feather duster worms, Orangespine Unicornfish, Longnose Butterflyfish, and Moorish Idols. Of the 214 kinds of animals reported Yellow Tang represent more than 75% of the animals collected statewide. The majority of yellow tang are collected off West Hawaii. Kawaihae, Kona, and Miloli'i on the Island of Hawai'i are the most productive areas statewide, reprenting nearly 60% of all animals collected.
Under Current Status, the report explained that the number of commercial collecting permits has risen steadily over the past few years by 39% between 1995 and 1998 from 167 to 274. Commercial collection conflicts with other uses of the reefs in two ways: 1) some of the fish collected when small for the aquarium trade (eg. Kole) are also caught when larger by subsistence fishermen for food, and 2) collectors have removed from favored dive sites territorial species that dive tour operators may have used as attractions toshow their customers unique reef organisms. Although the direct sale of Hawaii's tropical reef fish represents a significant economic contribution, dive and snorkel operations gross nearly five times as much revenue annually just from the sale of snorkel and dive tours. In the past five years, conflicts between tropical reef fish collectors, subsistence fishermen, and dive tour operators have intensified; threats and violence have been alleged, especial!
ly on the big island of Hawaii.
Tropical reef collection can damage reefs in the following ways
a) Barrier nets used for collecting can entangle on reefs, branching corals can be damaged when nets are set and retrieved.
b) Colletors chasing fish with hand or dip nets often .. make contact and their fins and other dive gear on the reef.
c) Some collectors break up the coral to get at fish hiding in the reef.
d) Fish left unattended in traps can die.
e) Rare or solitary fish in high demand are most vulnerable to depletion.
f) Many fish and inverts have complicated relationships with the overall ecology of the reef. Their removeal may effect the long-term stability of these ecosystems.
Under Management Status (Current/Future) the report stated: To address concerns expressed by dive-tour operators over marked decrease in some species at sites collected regularly with populations at sites where these fish are protected DLNR/DAR funded a study with the Universty of Hawaii-Hilo researchers. The results of this study indicatd signigican population decreases in areas where fish were collected, suggesting a major shift in the species diversity in coral reef areas where collection is occurring. Many of the species targeted for collection are herbivores. Removal of a significant number of these species could result in an increase in algal growth, due to the lack of grazers to keep the algae in check and a corresponding decrease in coral cover.
A graph on Page 23 of the report summarizes changes in fish abundance over 20 years at Honaunau. The 10 most abundant fish species declined by 40%. The top 10 aquarium fish species decreased by 59% (from 1975-78 to 1998 in both cases).
The mplication here is not that removal of groupers allowed aquarium fish to increase in numbers (assertion by Kalkbreath). Rather it is that aquarium fish collectors have overfished many species (despite the use of hand nets and barrier nets). Hence, the stocks have decreased rather than increased and the State of Hawaii blames the aquarium fish collectors.
DLNR/DAR set aside areas along the Kona Coast, Hawaii where tropical reef fish collection was not be allowed. These Fishery Management Areas (FMAs) worked relatively well to separate the competing groups of users until the past five years when growth of the aquarium trade increased in the areas wher collection occurred. In 1996 a working group was established to set aside additional FMAs. In 1998 the State Legislature passed Act 306 to create a West Hawaii Regional Fishery Management Area in nearshore waters between Upolu Point and Ka Laew.
There was 51.8 miles of nearly 150 miles of coastline along West Hawaii closed to tropical fish collection. Areas have been zoned as Marine Protected Areas (no fishing allowed). The article goes on to state that Hawaii is funding research on the rearing of marine fish species to help reduce pressures (such as collecting) on the coral reefs.
While this is not good news for IMA (which conducted net-training in the Philippines) I present this information here to make people aware that even net-collecting can be harmful, if the numbers of licences issued for collecting result in overfishing that exceeds sustainable levels on the reefs.
Sincerley,
Peter J. Rubec
International Marinelife Alliance
Email:
[email protected]
