To reduce the amount of harmful invasive species in Hawaiʻi's native ecosystem, local agencies are asking the public not to dump aquarium coral, fish and other species into open water sources.
They’re doing so through a weeklong “Don’t Let It Loose” public awareness campaign that kicked off on Monday.
Officials said they’ve recently discovered non-native species spreading in Hawaiʻi's waters, some of which they believe were introduced by aquarium owners.
Brian Neilson, administrator for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Aquatic Resources, said that DAR in May removed four colonies of non-native coral from Kaua‘i’s ʻAnini Bay and a new anemone species in Kāneʻohe Bay this month.
“Within the last four years, (a DAR team) responded to 19 different alien species introductions onto the reef, which is a major problem,” Neilson said at a press event for the campaign on Monday.
“These species are bad for the ecosystem. They can outcompete native species, they can introduce new diseases, and they can even be harmful to human health," he said.
The public can surrender, without consequence, unwanted aquarium life and other invasive species through the state’s Amnesty Program. Information about illegal species can also be reported to the state’s pest hotline at (808) 643-PEST.
The Waikīkī Aquarium is a partner for the program and can accept invasive species from the public.
“Aquarium keepers either keep fish, corals or whatever that get too big for their aquariums, and they think they're doing the kind thing by — rather than disposing of it or donating it to an amnesty place like the Waikīkī Aquarium — (releasing) it into the wild,” said Andrew Rossiter, the aquarium’s director.
“Please don't do that. Please contact us or DLNR and we'll find a home for them.”
As part of the campaign, the aquarium unveiled a new exhibit showcasing a handful of introduced coral, including a worrisome octocoral that’s been spreading at Pearl Harbor.
The popular aquarium species currently covers up to 100 acres of reef at Pearl Harbor. It was first discovered there in 2020 covering just a few acres, but has since spread.
The aquarium, DLNR, state Department of Agriculture, University of Hawaiʻi and the Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species are spearheading the "Donʻt Let It Loose" campaign.
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