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Committee advances SB2078 to toughen aquarium-fish penalties after weeks of calls for a statewide ban
Summary
The Senate committee advanced SB2078, which increases criminal fines and treats each illegally taken aquarium specimen as a separate offense; testifiers and native Hawaiian groups urged amending the bill to enact a full statewide ban on commercial aquarium collection, citing ecological, cultural and enforcement concerns.
SB2078, a bill that adds criminal monetary penalties for aquarium-fish violations and treats each specimen unlawfully taken as a separate offense, moved forward in the Senate Committee on Water, Land, Culture and the Arts after hours of testimony from state agencies, community groups and conservation organizations.
The chair introduced the measure as one that would give the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) stronger enforcement tools, and DLNR staff said they stood on their written testimony while offering procedural and operational comments. DLNR explained that criminal cases would normally go to the courts first and that subsequent civil penalties are typically considered by the Board of Land and Natural Resources.
Why it matters: multiple native Hawaiian organizations, neighborhood boards and conservation groups urged the committee to go…
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