Thoughts on Hawaii Ban

[ThatPhillyReefer]

As many of you have heard about the Hawaii Ban. So Tangs will no longer be taken from the ocean.
My thoughts...
I feel this is going to make a huge impact on our hobby and not just the decrease in these specimens but the price. Now we are going to rely on breeders for these fish the price in the next few weeks is going to rise significantly IMO. I feel this Ban is unnecessary because there are 10’s of thousands of specimens out in our oceans, by us taking a few thousand out every week is not going to hurt their environments. It’s not the hobby that’s hurting the environments it’s the fisherman, pollution, and weather change.

I also feel our hobby is slowly falling apart, and some may disagree but here’s why i feel this. By all the changes happening and going to happen and eventually everything 100% aquaculture is going to make all of livestock not “uncommon or rare” anymore. Breeders are going to now breed fish like crazy for money which is going to make every specimen population go sky high. This is going to make the hobby less interesting because we will now have all these specimens by breeders

What are your thoughts on this and how is it going to affect our hobby?

 

[Zionas]

For Zebrasoma, LFS will start importing more Purple and Scopas Tangs, eventually (I hope) CB Yellow Tangs will become like our Clownfish. And eventually, I hope more and more varieties of Tangs and other fish will come in CB.

IMO this borderline invokes the 2A for me and I’m not even American. Pandemics are a hoax and it starts in these people’s brains (yes being semi-sarcastic here).

We’re easy to target because they see us as a bunch of rag tag nerds with a fetish for marine life. The food fishing industry? That’s where they can’t afford to upset the places where bigger money is.

 

[ThatPhillyReefer]

For Zebrasoma, LFS will start importing more Purple and Scopas Tangs, eventually (I hope) CB Yellow Tangs will become like our Clownfish. And eventually, I hope more and more varieties of Tangs and other fish will come in CB.

IMO this borderline invokes the 2A for me and I’m not even American. Pandemics are a hoax and it starts in these people’s brains (yes being semi-sarcastic here).

We’re easy to target because they see us as a bunch of rag tag nerds with a fetish for marine life. The food fishing industry? That’s where they can’t afford to upset the places where bigger money is.

Agreed, Well said

 

[Zionas]

I can vouch for the fact that far more fish will end up dying in a Hong Kong seafood restaurant not necessarily for the taste as much as prestige and money flaunting (I’m from that part of the world, well not HK but close) than in the tank of caring and informed hobbyists like us. Some of those food fish species there are also hobbyists who keep them.

This calls for more unity from us as a community. If we’re constantly under the pressure of being stomped by the boot heels of governments around the world, we have to push back.

 

[ThatPhillyReefer]

I can vouch for the fact that far more fish will end up dying in a Hong Kong seafood restaurant not necessarily for the taste as much as prestige and money flaunting (I’m from that part of the world, well not HK but close) than in the tank of caring and informed hobbyists like us. Some of those food fish species there are also hobbyists who keep them.

This calls for more unity from us as a community. If we’re constantly under the pressure of being stomped by the boot heels of governments around the world, we have to push back.

Like it updated my thoughts ^^. I feel our hobby is falling apart and in 5-10 years we will have so many specimens by breeders we will have to release or kill them because their breeding like crazy. This is make the hobby more boring and common

 

[kylef]

While there is certainly more risk to the fish species than the aquarium trade I am on board with this ban. Our coral reefs and fish population are in such decline whatever helps helps. For your concerns of this fish becoming to common through captive breeding?? Isn’t our goal here to recreate a slice of the ocean? No matter how popular a clownfish or yellow tang becomes it’s still a natural part of the ocean and its natural. I’ve never caught the hang up in rare fish or coral. I prefer natural any day

 

[Zionas]

Agree about the non-natural fish part. I only buy designer morphs IF the original was found in nature. For example I don’t want to see all those wacky Tangs in the future.

 

[pharazon]

IMO this borderline invokes the 2A for me and I’m not even American. Pandemics are a hoax and it starts in these people’s brains (yes being semi-sarcastic here).

Can you elaborate on which part of this was sarcasm?

I’d smash a 500-gallon tank on their heads any day.

Yea man I get that bans suck and they’re usually for political or monetary reasons rather than conservation, but..

Imagine, if you will, someone who doesn’t have an opinion on the subject. Perhaps they’re on the fence. Maybe they heard about it somewhere, and decide to look into it themselves. They Google search “Hawaii fish ban” and find this thread. They read what you posted. “Dang, these fish nuts are crazy. I’m glad they’re banning fish!”

We need more allies, not enemies. Have you ever heard the expression, “you catch more flies with honey than vinegar?” The tone of your message is definitely more vinegar than honey, and liable to make more enemies than allies.

 

[hds4216]

Like it updated my thoughts ^^. I feel our hobby is falling apart and in 5-10 years we will have so many specimens by breeders we will have to release or kill them because their breeding like crazy. This is make the hobby more boring and common

That's not how supply and demand works. Breeders are powerfully incentivized to only produce as many fish as demand requires. Almost a 0% chance that there's a long term problem of over-production of captive bred fish.

Regarding the hobby being more "boring and common", that's not bad. First, I don't see how it becomes any more boring, and it's good if it becomes more common. That means more dealers, sellers, and interest in the hobby.

 

[hds4216]

For Zebrasoma, LFS will start importing more Purple and Scopas Tangs, eventually (I hope) CB Yellow Tangs will become like our Clownfish. And eventually, I hope more and more varieties of Tangs and other fish will come in CB.

In the short term? This is what happens when ignorance of science + powerful politicians and legislators come together to create fireworks.

IMO this borderline invokes the 2A for me and I’m not even American. Pandemics are a hoax and it starts in these people’s brains (yes being semi-sarcastic here).

We’re easy to target because they see us as a bunch of rag tag nerds with a fetish for marine life. The food fishing industry? That’s where they can’t afford to upset the places where bigger money is.

I’d smash a 500-gallon tank on their heads any day.

I can vouch for the fact that far more fish will end up dying in a Hong Kong seafood restaurant not necessarily for the taste as much as prestige and money flaunting (I’m from that part of the world, well not HK but close) than in the tank of caring and informed hobbyists like us. Some of those food fish species there are also hobbyists who keep them.

This calls for more unity from us as a community. If we’re constantly under the pressure of being stomped by the boot heels of governments around the world, we have to push back.

This barely even counts as being "stomped by the boot heels of governments." Invoking the second amendment, which implies an armed rebellion against the government that would result in widespread destruction and death, over a ban on collecting aquarium fish is insane. It's frankly insulting to those who suffer from genuine oppression to compare the two.

 

[pharazon]

This barely even counts as being "stomped by the boot heels of governments." Invoking the second amendment, which implies an armed rebellion against the government that would result in widespread destruction and death, over a ban on collecting aquarium fish is insane. It's frankly insulting to those who suffer from genuine oppression to compare the two.

Well said.

 

[Clownfish_Boy]

I have nothing nice to say about the kind of vermin in government which do us nothing but evil.

 

[Dan1788]

Tangs do live in other reefs. Will importers not get them from Indo or other sources.

 

[hds4216]

I have nothing nice to say about the kind of vermin in government which do us nothing but evil.

Governmental environmental regulations are extremely important. Not to mention the other services that government provides (schools, medicare/medicaid, social security, roads, 911, police/fire services, welfare assistance, regulations on business, etc.)

 

[hds4216]

Tangs do live in other reefs. Will importers not get them from Indo or other sources.

Harvesting of Purple tangs, mostly found in the Red Sea, will likely increase. Same with other non-Hawaiian tangs. The Hawaii ban mostly affects Achilles, Yellow, Kole Eye, and related tang species.

 

[Dan1788]

Harvesting of Purple tangs, mostly found in the Red Sea, will likely increase. Same with other non-Hawaiian tangs. The Hawaii ban mostly affects Achilles, Yellow, Kole Eye, and related tang species.

Do you think it will be lifted in the future?

 

[Zionas]

Purple Tang’s my first choice anyway but I’d be happy with a Scopas. From the pics I’ve seen of fully grown Scopas they start developing nice blue lines though subtle. I don’t think the Red Sea will be under threat from bans any time soon though this doesn’t mean CB isn’t the direction to go (I wholeheartedly believe it is).

That region has much bigger things to worry about.

And forgive me for what I posted earlier, I was very emotional. Covid’s not been good on my mental health as I’m still unable to go home and start my system for real. I’ll take back what I said.

 

[hds4216]

Do you think it will be lifted in the future?

I think it's possible, but probably not in the near future. The environmental review that the courts want done in order to lift the ban apparently would cost $10 million and take 10-15 years.

 

[Zionas]

I was being very emotional, so forgive me if I said some pretty extreme things that don’t make sense. It’s hard not being able to go home, to see my friends and family, to start my system.

The sarcasm part was “pandemics are a hoax”.

 

[pharazon]

I was being very emotional, so forgive me if I said some pretty extreme things that don’t make sense. It’s hard not being able to go home, to see my friends and family, to start my system.

The sarcasm part was “pandemics are a hoax”.

I respect that you had the decency to admit fault and apologize. That is rare on the internet.

I hope that you will soon find some relief from the burden these recent events have placed on you.