Today is final public testimony to urge the Hawaii Board to block aquarium reef fish collection in West Hawai'i.
On Friday, April 12, DAR will:
Present a plan to the Board for re-opening West Hawaiʻi to commercial aquarium collection (Agenda Item F.2)
Ask the Board for permission to entirely rewrite the rule they adopted unanimously so that it allows aquarium collection instead of prohibiting it – all under the guise of “seeking clarification.” (Agenda Item F.3)
If DARs efforts on behalf of the aquarium trade are not defeated next Friday, DAR plans to ask the Board (in May or June) to issue AQ permits for West Hawaiʻi.
Please submit testimony in strong OPPOSITION to DARs plan to reopen our reefs to the destructive aquarium trade (instructions below). You can either rename and resubmit your testimony from December supporting the petition for rulemaking to ban the trade, or draft something new expressing why you believe this destructive trade should never be allowed back on our reefs.
PRIORITY ACTION 1 – WRITTEN TESTIMONY submitted by Thursday morning, April 11:
Email:BLNR.TESTIMONY@HAWAII.GOV
Email Subject: April 12; Agenda Items F.2 and F.3 Testimony
Email Body: Easy & powerful testimony: give your name, town and island, and a few heartfelt sentences, including why you believe the Board should:
Uphold the December 8 unanimous Board vote directing DAR to begin rulemaking
Direct DAR to hold the required public hearings on the rules now
Disregard DARs fatally flawed West Hawaiʻi plan to reopen the trade in its entirety!
ACTION 2 – SPREAD THE WORD: Please forward this email to your friends and family and share on social media.