HR176.DOC

WHEREAS, Hawaii is home to a majority of the nation's coral reefs, including the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's reefs are vibrant, living organisms, which support over 7,000 known species of marine plants and animals; and

WHEREAS, the ocean and the living creatures that occupy its reefs and waters hold great significance in native Hawaiian culture; and

WHEREAS, the health of Hawaii's reef ecosystems are integral to the well-being of Hawaii's largest economic engine, the visitor industry; and

WHEREAS, the economic, social, ecological, and cultural value of Hawaii's coral reefs is unquestionable; and

WHEREAS, large volumes of reef fish critical to the health of Hawaii's reefs are being collected for use in aquariums; and

WHEREAS, reef fish taken by the aquarium trade are shipped all over the world by the millions; and

WHEREAS, the collection of reef fish for aquariums is not effectively regulated or enforced, resulting in many empty reefs in Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, action must be taken to mitigate or avoid these threats to Hawaii's marine ecosystems; and
WHEREAS, the mission of the Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) of the Department of Land and Natural Resources was written in 1956 with a mandate to manage fisheries--defined as the extraction of ocean life for sport, commerce, or subsistence--but did not recognize limits, constraints, or balances on aquarium fish extraction, because fish and habitat were considered bountiful; and

WHEREAS, the mission of DAR must be revised to protect Hawaii's reef system to ensure an abundance of fish and a species-habitat balance; and

WHEREAS, DAR has already begun the lengthy process of implementing herbivore protection areas to re-balance reef species with the habitat and thereby avoid algae suffocation; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, that DAR is urged to protect the total reef system--both the coral reef habitat and the species that serve to maintain that habitat--to allow it to recover to hosting an abundance of fish and not to manage it merely as a fishery that is sustained with minimal propagation levels; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that fish in Hawaii's reefs shall neither be known as ornamental nor aquarium fish that are available for extraction and sale, but as an integral part of reef balance, health, and survival in Hawaii; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Land and Natural Resources.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Reefs; Reef Fish; Management

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	176
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009
STATE OF HAWAII