Beyond Cuckoo

When time and money is in abundance, my husband Blake’s and my favorite vacation spots are in Hawaii. Too timid to dive, we snorkel—gently hovering over coral reefs and peeking into nooks and crannies. The treasures we find are worth more than the gold rumored to be buried with the many shipwrecks still to be discovered.

Regardless of which island we visit, we often rent our snorkeling gear from Snorkel Bob’s chain of outfitters. As you enter any one of the many locations, you can’t help but notice the information about the company’s foundation which focuses on reef recovery. The 501c3 non-profit recognizes the worldwide global impact of reef collapse. It has been instrumental in exposing the Hawaii aquarium trade and its uncontrolled netting, which decimates the fish populations and creates ecological imbalance. One of the biggest threat to the reefs is algae and guess what controls the algae?—the fish population. The aquarium trade fills 80% of all tanks in the U.S. with Hawaii reef fish, 99% of which die in a year.  In the wild they live for decades.

Today, as a landlubber, dreaming of the ocean, but with only terra firma under my feet, I did some research and unearthed a few facts:

It is estimated that up to 30 million fish, 4 million pounds of coral skeleton and 9-10 million other invertebrate are removed each year from ecosystems to supply the aquarium trade.

Precise quantification of the size and value of the ornamental trade is stymied by the critical lack of monitoring and regulation, which leads to illegal poaching practices, which supplies a sizeable black market for reef-dwelling organisms.

Since the state of Hawaii established a series of reserves on the Kona coastline to protect ornamental fish from collection, aquarium fish are now recovering in these areas.

Cyanide is used to poison fish rapidly. It is squirted by divers from bottles to stun the fish, so it is easy to scoop them into nets. Cyanide fishing is currently one of the biggest threats to coral reefs in areas that supply the aquarium trade.

To increase profitable populations invasive species have been added to coral reefs. A classic example is the introduction of the Pacific Lionfish to waters off south Florida. These invaders are voracious predators and their populations have moved as far north as Long Island and throughout the Caribbean Sea.

I could go on, but I think you get the picture. It is beyond cuckoo that this industry continues to destroy our ecosystems. If we are to preserve and respect this earth and all its resources, we cannot discount, even those things that seem innocent—like the aquarium tank that is just so entertaining as you anxiously await that next root canal.

Check out Snorkel Bob’s Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Snorkel-Bobs/113551378706566