How the Aquarium Trade Harms Hawai‘i Reefs
Aloha HFN, For the Fishes is a Maui-based nonprofit organization working to end reef fish depletion and coral reef degradation caused by those taking fish for the U.S. mainland aquarium (AQ) pet trade. We are part of the Kapu AQ Hui, which seeks a permanent prohibition on this destructive practice. For decades, residents who regularly spend time in the water have been keenly aware of the negative impacts of the aquarium trade on the abundance and diversity of Hawai‘i’s coral reefs. Now, there is a growing awareness of how commercial aquarium collection negatively impacts fishers, families and communities by taking large numbers of such species as paāku‘iku‘i, umaumalei and kole, along with other herbivores that are critically important to the health of our coral reefs. While in recent years commercial aquarium collecting has…
