Last week I wrote about H.R. 669, the proposed “Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act”, which, if passed, could end the marine aquarium hobby as we know it. The subcommittee hearing took place yesterday, and the outcome is that the bill is essentially dead at present.
“We recognize the bill is by no means perfect and that changes will be needed to address various concerns before any legislation moves forward,” said H.R. 669’s author Chairwoman Madeleine Bordallo of Guam yesterday.
Yesterday’s hearing was the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife’s opportunity to meet and discuss H.R. 669, as well as an opportunity to hear testimony. The goal of the hearing was to determine whether H.R. 669 should move forward or return to the drafting table. The outcome was the latter.
Testimony from Marshall Meyers, CEO and General Counsel of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC), was critical to putting the brakes on H.R. 669. Meyers, who was representing the pet industry and pet owners, testified that passage of the bill would be disastrous to the pet industry in the United States.
The bill was set to ban the import, captive breeding and movement across state lines of most nonnative species of wildlife including tropical marine aquarium fishes, corals and other invertebrates. The purpose of the bill is to prevent the introduction of harmful, non-native invasive species, something of which the marine aquarium industry has been guilty in the past.
In recent years, for example, much concern has been expressed about the introduction of the lionfish to the Atlantic Ocean, where it has quickly established itself to the detriment of indigenous species. The introduction of the lionfish to the Atlantic was almost certainly a direct result of the marine aquarium industry.
As Meyers’ testimony explained, the pet industry does “support the development of a strategic, risk-based process to prevent the introduction of invasive species into the United States”, but the current language of the bill simply went too far.
In addition to Meyers’ testimony, pet owners—including marine aquarium hobbyists—were credited with a massive grassroots letter writing, e-mail and telephone campaign which, ultimately, helped to stop H.R. 669. Saltwaterfish.com, for example, posted the issue on its message boards and encouraged hobbyists to contact their representatives in Washington.
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