Biota, the Hawaii Fishery, etc. (2 Viewers)

[ichthyogeek]

So there's been a lot of discussion regarding Biota's stance on the reopening of Hawaii's Fishery (so far limited to like, 6 species, of which one is the yellow tang, which Biota produces). This is the official statement that Manu from Biota sent to Hawaii legislation


This prompted a number of discussions throughout the interwebs, and even had Tom Bowling (Biota founder) commenting on it:


Biota's official (first) statement is as follows:


This has prompted a number of responses from other big players in the industry, such as Dr. Andrew Rhyne (his lab does a ton of research on sustainability of the saltwater aquarium hobby, etc):

Market Manipulation Branded as Conservation | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

Editorial on The Biota Group’s Yellow Tang Comment and Position There is a serious ethical problem when companies and investors try to use conservation policy to eliminate sustainable competitors and…

reefbuilders.com

Quality Marine (where a lot of the LFS here get their fish from) also put out this statement


Biota's Jake Phillips had this to say in regards to Dr. Rhyne's article. I am linking the response as well as screenshots in case it is taken down:

Response to Professor Rhyne from a former student and Manager at Biota by Jake Phillips

During my time at Roger Williams University, I was taught the intricacies of marine biology, aquaculture, and most importantly ethics within the aquarium trade. While learning about all these amazing animals and the efforts to culture them across the globe, Andy made a point to mention the...

shop.thebiotagroup.com

 

[spsick]

Boy they really opened a can of worms when they could have just said nothing.

Hawaii is very protective of its resources and natural biome. As such, the fish collection there is the most studied and regulated in the world. If the native Hawaiians green light collection, it is undoubtedly sustainable.