By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
Colorful Hawaiian reef fish are an attractive
exhibit at the Waikiki Aquarium.

---

Vanishing
Beauty

The problem of dwindling reef fish
has stirred up troubled waters between
divers and fish collectors, who are
together attempting to find solutions

By Greg Ambrose
Star-Bulletin

Hawaii's beautiful reef fishes are vanishing.

Divers are grousing over the Internet and warning other divers to go elsewhere if they want to see pristine reefs and healthy schools of fish.

Dave Ford, who lived in Hawaii a decade ago, was shocked by the lack of fish when he returned recently to go diving off Kona in areas where tropical fish used to swarm.

"As much as I love Hawaii, I can guarantee this situation is going to cost local vendors millions of dollars in lost revenues if action is not taken - and soon," Ford said.

Divers point at tropical fish collectors as the cause of the decline and say that such collecting should be strictly controlled. There is no limit on the number of fish that can be collected and exported.

Bruce Carlson's colleagues at the Waikiki Aquarium also collect fish, although infrequently and for the public's enjoyment.

Carlson points out that there are two groups targeting the same resource.

"One wants fish left in the ocean for all to see, and that is reasonable. The other says the fish are a harvestable resource, which also is reasonable," he said.

According to Ford: "The state needs to get dive operators, fish collectors and the public together in a series of meetings to come to an arrangement they can all live with."

That has been happening, ever since an inaugural community meeting in 1995 brought fish experts and interested parties together in Kona, where the situation is most volatile. The 1996 Legislature mandated the West Hawaii Reef Fish Task Force to form and give all groups a chance to work out a compromise.

Many of the nine meetings hosted by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources degenerated into shouting matches.

"Some of the accusations are outrageous," said Happy Chapman, owner of Saltwater Fish Hawaii, the state's largest tropical fish exporter. "They say we are shipping 300,000 fish a week. We only send out 130,000 fish in a year, and that includes fish we bring in from Guam, the Marshalls and Christmas Island."

The participants also lost sight of the bigger picture of all ocean species, not just aquarium fish, said Alton Miyasaka of the state Division of Aquatic Resources.

"There are some places where the situation has gotten so bad people are shooting at each other," Miyasaka said. "We want to let that cool down before we start discussing the problem again."

This time the state will form a smaller group to focus on tropical fish collecting.

Divers and collectors have been trying to smooth the troubled waters between them.

"We're actively working with the collectors to try and regulate their activities," said Teri Leicher of Jack's Diving Locker in Kona.

Sara Peck runs the University of Hawaii Sea Grant Extension Service office in Kona and has been working for years to keep all groups satisfied.

"Some reef fish collectors have said to me, 'We want to see what we can do to help get this under control so that we aren't out of a business,'" Peck said.

The collectors formed the Hawaii Tropical Fish Association to create a code of conduct and enforce it themselves, said Chapman.

The better collectors have impressed marine biologists with their responsible, unobtrusive harvests that create a sustainable operation. They target individual fish, take care not to stress them while catching and transporting the fish and don't damage coral or turn over rocks without turning them back over.

Other collectors out to make a quick profit take shortcuts that disturb the environment and result in high fish mortality. They also harvest fish out of season and from prohibited areas, and catch rare, restricted fish that fetch a high price.

"The fly-by-nighters swoop down and ruin it for us all," said Chapman. "They never even get a license. The biggest problem is on the Big Island, where you have the bandits and there is not enough enforcement."

Although most people have a perception that there are fewer reef fish than ever, it's difficult to determine whether a problem really exists.

The only long-term survey in the Kona area was conducted by Richard Brock of UH-Manoa along a half mile of reef at Keahole Point. Between 1987 and 1995, he scrutinized an area that was scarcely visited by humans. After public access was provided, Brock noticed a precipitous drop in the population of edible species of fish, while other species not targeted by fishermen increased in numbers to occupy the niche previously filled by the consumable fish.

While the population of aquarium fish went up and down, Brock noticed no real decline.

But Brock is sampling a very small stretch of ocean coastline, and while new funding will allow him to resume his fish counts off Keahole Point in November, more studies over a greater area are needed.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources and University of Hawaii-Hilo have joined forces to study the reefs in the Kona area and count fish, and are now gathering a data base for future comparisons.

Pollution, not overharvesting, is the greatest threat to tropical fish, said Chapman.

"If the houses (coral) for the fish are gone, the fish will be gone," Chapman said.

But focusing on the tropical fish is shortsighted, said Miyasaka.

"All fisheries are being impacted by the decline of species. The aquarium fishery is only a small part of the problem. We have to look at how to manage the whole thing."

Walsh has been preaching for decades that the state's tremendous marine life resource hasn't been managed properly. He and many other experts feel that physically separating the conflicting user groups will end the confrontations, while providing the fish a safe haven in which to replenish their numbers.

Nobody is suggesting that the collectors and exporters be regulated out of business. The multimillion-dollar industry provides too many jobs and tax revenues for the state.

A new law allows the state to license commercial dealers and exporters, and require them to file reports on their activities. The state can use that data to verify reports that collectors already are required to submit.

Some people worry that it is too little, if not too late.