After a long, drawn-out process, the fishers in West Hawaii have completed the EIS that was required by the Hawaii Supreme Court ruling. The EIS has been approved by the Land Board and the Courts. Now, the Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) has proposed a rules package including quotas, size limits, and other regulations to manage the sustainable fishery for ...

Plan G Mexico is a project to restore extinct in the wild Mexican splitfins (goodeids) back to their natural habitat. Two species, Skiffia francesae and Zoogoneticus tequila, were once extinct in the wild but are again swimming in their habitat because of this project. Plan G is led by researchers and conservationists from the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de ...

Last year, the Arizona Game & Fish Department proposed a rule that would have prohibited import, sale, and possession of a significant number of common aquarium fish, including all species of arowana, glass catfish, pictus catfish, and all other catifish species in the family Pimelodidae.  The USAQUA alert on the proposed rule is available here. Written testimony was submitted by ...

The Asian arowana (Scleropages formosus) has been banned from import into the United States since 1976, when the species was listed by US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) as Endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Since then, advances in aquaculture have led to large-scale captive breeding of the species. Today, it is a popular aquarium fish legally available in ...

At the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) first quarter Commissioners Meeting in Tallahassee on February 5th, FWC staff recommended listing the Blackbanded Sunfish (Enneacanthus chaetodon) as a state-listed species. The commissioners followed staff recommendation and voted to add the species to the list of candidate species, standard procedure when considering a species for state listing status. Species on ...

Four bills are currently pending in the Hawaii state legislature that would ban fishing for aquarium fish in the state. Though no aquarium fishing is currently occurring in Hawaii, the fishery is NOT banned in the state. Fishers from the West Hawaii aquarium fishery have completed the EIS process mandated by the Hawaii Supreme Court and are awaiting issuance of ...

National Marine Fisheries Service has proposed listing all Giant Clams (Tridacna spp. and Hippopus spp.) under the Endangered Species Act. These listings would prohibit import, export, and interstate commerce in 6 species. While import and interstate commerce may be allowed in 4 species, state statutes or regulations may prohibit sale and possession of all species in certain states, despite conflict ...

Representative Ed Case (HI) has reintroduced the Saving NEMO Act. This bill, backed by the animal rights groups which shut down the fishery in Hawaii, would set unobtainable standards for fisheries and aquaculture facilities. It would immediately place a de facto ban on coral fragging by hobbyists. The bill can be found here.  An article breaking down the bill in ...

Representative Betty McCollum (MN) has reintroduced a bill titled “To amend the Animal Welfare Act to include cold-blooded species as animals, and for other purposes.” This bill, adds reptiles, amphibians, fish, and cephalopods as “animals” under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), meaning the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) must develop new regulations. Basically, the USDA would now be required to ...

HR102 was introduced by Representative Andy Biggs (Arizona). This bill amends the Endangered Species Act to prevent a species that is not native to the United States from being listed as an endangered or threatened species. You may read the bill details at https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/102. Like many aspects of our world today, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) must evolve and see ...

Arizona has proposed expanding its restricted species regulation to prohibit over 100 species of fish, many of which are common aquarium fish that do not pose any risk of establishing in the state. The proposal includes species such as glass catfish and all other species in the family Siluridae, pictus catfish and all other species in the family Pimelodidae, and ...

West Hollywood City Council approved amending the city’s dog and cat retail sales ban to apply to almost all animals including fish, hermit crabs, amphibians and reptiles. The ban will go into effect May 1, 2026 ...

The city council voted to pass the ordinance to prohibit retail pet stores from selling any vertebrate animal, but an amendment removed fish. While fish may still be sold, sale of other aquatic vertebrates such as dwarf frogs and axolotls will be banned in Easton ...

The city council voted to pass the ordinance to prohibit retail pet stores from selling any vertebrate animal, but an amendment removed fish. While fish may still be sold, sale of other aquatic vertebrates such as dwarf frogs and axolotls will be banned in Easton ...

The city of Easton, PA has proposed an ordinance that would prohibit a retail pet shop from selling any vertebrate animal. This ban would include fish and aquatic amphibians ...