Hawaiin Commercial Fishers Notified that all Aquarium Collections are Invalid
HONOLULU – Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Crabtree ruled today that all commercial aquarium fishing is completely banned in the State of Hawaiʻi, unless and until the aquarium fishing industry has completed the Chapter 343 environmental review process. The ruling was made in response to a request by aquarium fishing opponents.
Anyone who takes marine life for commercial purposes must have a commercial marine license (CML) issued by the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR). This requirement applies to all kinds of take of aquatic resources, including commercial aquarium collection. More than 3,000 CMLs are outstanding. 41 CML holders reported aquarium catch in 2020. The Court’s ruling explains that none of the current CMLs may be used for commercial aquarium collection. The ruling does not affect other types of commercial fishing or taking of marine life
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Researchers were able to swab mucus left by a shark on a surfer’s board, sequence the DNA and match it to a tiger shark. DLNR photo
Swabbing for cells left in the 17-inch bite marks on a surfboard, researchers tapped into new DNA technology to determine that a 14-foot tiger shark was behind the fatal attack on 56-year-old Napili man in Honolua Bay this month.
Lead researcher and renowned shark expert Carl Meyer said that in the past, scientists have had to rely on observations by the victims or bystanders to help identify the shark in an attack. In Hawaii, the species goes unidentified in about 40 percent of incidents.