The future for Hawai'i's marine aquarium fishery: A cost benefit analysis compared to an environmental impact assessment

摘要

Conflict has surrounded Hawai`i's commercial marine aquarium fishery since its inception in the late 1940s. In 2019, the Hawai`i Supreme Court requested that an environmental impact statement (EIS) analysing the ecological and cultural impacts of Hawai`i's marine aquarium fishery be completed for Hawai`i Island (Big Island) and O`ahu. The costs and benefits associated with the fishery and their distribution across stakeholder groups was however not addressed in the EIS. This paper presents a cost-benefit based analysis of four policy scenarios using existing secondary data for Hawai`i's marine aquarium fishery. From the analysis, a state-wide collection ban was the option that yielded positive annual net benefits and negatively impacted the fewest stakeholders. In contrast, the EIS recommends ten permits for fishing off the coast of Big Island be issued.