The number of Hawaii reef fish caught by fishermen with commercial marine licenses has plummeted 80 percent since an October court order slowed the industry; meanwhile, the future of reef fish collecting for aquariums is likely to be determined by a review process that begins Wednesday.

The stakes are high for Coral Fish Hawaii in Aiea, a small business devoted to live fresh- and saltwater fish and aquariums. Sales are down at least 50 percent, and many of the store’s tanks have been empty or sparsely stocked since the court ruling banned the use of fine mesh nets, the preferred tool of reef fish collectors.

“It’s crushing,” said Coral Fish Hawaii owner Randy Fernley, who, at age 66, continues to scuba-dive once a week for reef fish. “It’s a lot more difficult to catch the fish. We’re literally a mom-and-pop store: my wife, Elise, and five part-time employees. I’ve been in business for 40 years, and I’ve got a mortgage to pay, car payments and a kid in school.

“There’s no problem with the resource, and there’s very few people doing it,” Fernley said. “There hasn’t been a lot of fish collected on this island, in contrast to what the activists say.”

At its 2017 peak number, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Aquatic Resources said in June that 38 fishermen with commercial marine licenses reported catching reef fish.

Reef fish collecting is focused on Oahu and Hawaii island, said Suzanne Case, DLNR chairwoman.

“That’s where the bulk of the aquarium fish trade is,” she said. “There’s not much aquarium fishing going on except for Oahu and Hawaii island.”

Rene Umberger, founder and executive director of For the Fishes, disputes the catch numbers reported to DLNR.

Umberger believes outlaw reef fish collectors continue to use fine mesh nets to supply the aquarium trade on the mainland.

“A limitless number of animals are being allowed to be taken,” Umberger said. “There’s no reason these animals should be depleted for people in North America to keep them alive in a glass box.”

Asked how many reef fish she believes are being shipped out of Hawaii, Umberger said, “There’s literally no way to know what’s leaving the state because no one’s tracking it. It could be (worth) millions.”

She follows the website of a major mainland aquarium business and said the price of Hawaii yellow tangs has dropped to $39.99 from $54.99.

“Supply and demand tell us that when supply is low, price goes up,” Umberger said. “There’s no reason to believe our baby yellow tangs should be on sale. Instead, we believe there’s a tremendous amount of poaching going on.”

The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, which advocates for pet owners and pet care professionals, believes “there’s no impact,” Case said. “Our statement is the aquarium industry may have a significant impact on the environment and that is more properly analyzed in a full environmental impact review.”

A 30-day public comment period opens Wednesday on an environmental impact statement about the future of reef fish collecting.

The comment period is likely to touch on existing research and issues, including how much reef fish should be collected, what tools can be used and how many permits should be issued.

The ban on fine mesh nets began when Umberger and other plaintiffs, including The Humane Society of the United States, faced off against DLNR at the Hawaii Supreme Court, which said in September that DLNR’s issuance of new aquarium permits for collectors was subject to review.

The following month, Circuit Judge Jeffrey Crabtree ruled that all aquarium permits issued to commercial collectors were “illegal and invalid.” A more recent April Circuit Court ruling expanded the October ruling to include recreational aquarium collectors.

Crabtree’s October ruling also made it illegal for fishermen to use fine mesh nets to catch aquatic life for aquarium purposes, although those with commercial marine licenses can still use bigger, 2-inch nets and so-called “slurp guns.”

Before Crabtree’s ruling, collectors reported catching 43,492 reef fish in September, followed by 34,024 in October.

In November, right after Crabtree’s Oct. 27 ruling, the number of reef fish collected fell to 11,843. By June the monthly catch was down to 6,726 reef fish.

Bob Likins, vice president of government affairs for the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, said the national organization hopes the EIS process will result in reef fish collection practices that are sustainable and based on science.

“Our desired outcome is simple: Get our members back out fishing and confirm that they are doing it in an environmentally responsible way,” Likins said.

Asked whether the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council prefers a certain number of licenses or catch sizes, Likins said, “We want to let the process play out to determine the sustainability of the fishery. We want it done at a sustainable level.”

Ultimately, Umberger would like to see a much bigger review of all of Hawaii’s coral reefs and the effects of reef fish collecting on individual island communities.

“Scientists say because of global warming and climate change, coral reefs including Hawaii’s could be gone by the end of this century,” she said. “We need to build up key species and restore them, not deplete them. If it’s business as usual, going into the future, as far as I’m concerned they (reef fish collectors) will have contributed to the complete demise of our reefs.”