HONOLULU 鈥� A Hawaii Supreme Court ruling has halted the commercial scooping of reef fish for aquariums until the state reviews the trade鈥檚 environmental impact.
Hawaii is the world鈥檚 third-largest source of commercial fish, after Indonesia and the Philippines, said Rene Umberger, an avid diver, who is among a group of plaintiffs including subsistence fishermen and environmentalists who sued the state in 2012.
There鈥檚 especially high demand for Hawaii鈥檚 yellow tang, Umberger said.
The state鈥檚 practice of doling out permits for commercial aquarium fish collection must comply with the Hawaii Environmental Policy Act, the ruling said. A lower court must determine if recreational aquarium fish collection may be exempt from the law, the ruling said.
鈥淚t certainly is the biggest step forward in getting a handle on this industry, which has been virtually unregulated,鈥� Earthjustice attorney Paul Achitoff said of the ruling. Earthjustice represented the group of plaintiffs whose lawsuit argued there should have been environmental reviews before the state Department of Land and Natural Resources issued the permits.
In Hawaii, the brightly coloured tropical fish are scooped up into nets and flown across the globe into aquariums.
The aquarium fishery off Hawaii鈥檚 Big Island is among the best managed in the world, scientists say. Yet there鈥檚 been a long-running conflict over whether it鈥檚 appropriate to remove fish from reefs for people鈥檚 viewing enjoyment.
鈥淭aking tropical fish from Hawaiian reefs harms that fragile ecosystem,鈥� Miyoko Sakashita, ocean program director for Center for Biological Diversity鈥� one of the plaintiffs 鈥� said in a statement. 鈥淢aybe now people will begin to realize that people are loving these beautiful fish to death.鈥�
Each commercial aquarium collection permit authorizes removal of an unlimited number of fish or other aquatic life from Hawaii鈥檚 coastal waters, the ruling noted. The state also issues recreational aquarium collection permits that authorize an annual catch limit of 2,000 fish for each permit.
There鈥檚 no limit on what kinds of fish are taken and how many permits are issued, Achitoff said. 鈥淵ou really have this unlimited take of public resources and they鈥檙e just taken so that people can make money,鈥� he said.
The ruling reverses lower court decisions that sided with the state.
