I recall seeing a Potter’s angelfish when I was in high school. This fish changed my life. It is endemic and only found in Hawai‘i and Johnston Atoll, to the southwest of the state. This amazing fish is very abundant at SCUBA depths in Hawai‘i, and it has been such a joy to see while diving.

Entering college, I imagined that I’d become a veterinarian, given my love of animals. I eventually decided that I had to change those plans and pursue my passion for coral reefs. Those interests lead me to Hawai‘i. 

Ideas showcases stories, opinion and analysis about Hawaiʻi, from the state’s sharpest thinkers, to stretch our collective thinking about a problem or an issue. Email news@civilbeat.org to submit an idea or an essay.

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I grew up in Michigan, far from the ocean. It is through the marine aquarium trade that I gained an appreciation for marine species and learned how to maintain them in captivity. The experience of maintaining live fish, corals, and other organisms in captivity is foundational to my success as a researcher.

So many of the other researchers I know at the University of Hawai‘i and elsewhere have very similar stories. Almost all of us got into marine science and conservation because we were originally interested in aquariums.

The marine aquarium fishery in Hawai‘i has historically been among the most sustainable fisheries on the planet. We can simply look to the data from the state Division of Aquatic Resources to demonstrate that. The idea that this fishery is damaging to our reefs or to fish populations is totally contradicted by the data.

If we, as a state, decide to ban aquarium fishing, it will almost certainly have little or no actual effect on our reefs, and will hurt a few fishermen. More importantly, it will hurt thousands of budding reef scientists who don’t receive the life-changing inspiration that I did.

Most egregiously, it will give us a false sense of security that we “did something”, even though it was essentially meaningless. Instead, it will distract us from the very real problems of largely unregulated recreational fishing and serious coastal pollution.

Blaming aquarium fishing for the problems we face on reefs in Hawai‘i is a scapegoat. It is a whipping-boy where we take out our frustrations on the weakest rather than address the actual challenges that we face.

More importantly, closing the marine aquarium fishery in Hawai‘i will help to ensure that kids like me don’t get inspired to go into marine science, and don’t work on the problems that we’re facing here. Likewise, local students won’t know how to approach these species, and won’t work on these questions.

Shutting down the well-regulated aquarium fishery in Hawai‘i is the worst of all possible approaches. A well-regulated fishery has educational (and some economic) benefits. A closed fishery provides no benefits, and only losses.