HONOLULU — A Hawaii Supreme Court ruling is halting the commercial collection of reef fish for aquariums until the state reviews the trade’s environmental impacts.
HONOLULU — A Hawaii Supreme Court ruling is halting the commercial collection of reef fish for aquariums until the state reviews the trade’s environmental impacts.
Wednesday’s ruling says the practice of issuing permits for commercial aquarium fish collection must comply with Hawaii environmental law. The ruling leaves it to a lower court to determine if recreational aquarium fish collection may be exempt.
A group of petitioners including divers, subsistence fishermen and environmentalists sued the state in 2012. They argued there should have been environmental reviews before the state Department of Land and Natural Resources issued commercial aquarium collection permits.
Earthjustice attorney Paul Achitoff says the ruling is the biggest victory in the long-running fight to regulate the fishery. Activists say taking tropical fish from reefs harms the ecosystem.