The Eight Hawaiian Fish Species Proposed to Return to the Hobby

Yesterday we shared a request from the Fisherman of Hawaii asking for people in the aquarium industry, (and the hobby,) to submit testimony to reopen the fishery. This generated many shares, emails, and lots of industry chatter, but it also raised questions from hobbyists on which fish were set to return to livestock suppliers, local fish stores, and ultimately, our aquariums.

IF the final decision is made this week. And IF the decision is granted in favor of reopening the fishery and issuing permits, EIGHT FISH SPECIES will become available for the aquarium trade. Those eight saltwater fish species are as follows:

Yellow Tang, Zebrasoma flavescens
Kole Tang, Ctenocheatus strigosus
Orangespine Unicornfish, Naso lituratus
Chevron Tang, Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis
Potter’s Angelfish, Centropyge potteri
Brown Surgeonfish, Acanthurus nigrofuscus
Bird Wrasse, Gomphosus varius
Thompson’s Surgeonfish, Acanthurus thompsoni

The Brown Surgeonfish, Acanthurus nigrofuscus. Photo by Rickard Zerpe, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

IF the aquarium fishery is reopened there are many strict criteria that the fishermen must adhere to. Firstly it’s the West Hawaii fishery, nowhere else. Secondly, only seven permits will be granted to seven fishermen, and thirdly they must all adhere to the total allowable catch numbers set out on the permits.

The eight proposed species listed above will make up a White List of species that may be harvested for aquarium purposes, and that’s down significantly from around forty allowed species pre-fishery closure.

If they aren’t one of the eight species listed above they won’t be allowed to be caught for the aquarium trade, so that means no Flame wrasses, Cirrhilabrus jordani, no Bandit Angelfish, Apolemichthys arcuatus, no Hawaiian Crosshatch triggerfish, Xanthichthys mento, and many more. But it will mean the return of wild harvested Yellow Tangs, Kole Tangs, Chevron Tangs, and Potter’s Angelfish, albeit in very controlled numbers.

If you don’t know what a Brown Surgeonfish or a Thompson’s Surgeonfish look like, we’ve included them both here.

Thompson’s Surgeonfish, Image credit Rickard Zerpe, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

If you would like to read the full request for approval (and all the details,) it’s available here: https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/F-1-1.pdf

The email address to send in testimony is [email protected]

Testimony needs to be in by Thursday the 22nd of August.

The meeting will be held on Friday the 23rd of August 2024.

All Eight Hawaiian Fish which will Return if the Ban is Lifted

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Jeremy Gay

Jeremy Gay is an author, editor, and lifelong fishkeeper, with over twenty years in the marine aquatic sector. His experience includes retail, wholesale, publishing, distribution, marketing, manufacturing, and livestock import. He loves the biology of marine ecosystems as well as marine equipment and tech.