Ban on sale of salvinia sought
| • | State to open second front at Lake Wilson |
By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Staff Writer
The sale of the noxious salvinia weed whose rapid growth covers more than 90 percent of Lake Wilson will become illegal under legislation introduced yesterday in a senate committee.
While the state and city have been trying to rid the weed, some pet stores still sell the popular aquarium plant, said Sen. J. Kalani English, D-6th (E. Maui, Moloka'i, Lana'i), chairman of the Environment and Energy Committee.
English, vice chair Sen. Russell Kokubun, D-2nd (S. Hilo, Puna, Ka'u), and Sen. Bob Hogue, R-24th (Kailua, Kane'ohe) introduced a new draft of Senate Bill 1505, which would immediately ban importing or selling Salvinia molesta or Salvinia minima plants in Hawai'i.
The measure is partially a response to the problem at Lake Wilson, English said. "The salvinia in Lake Wilson only served to highlight and exemplify the need to have a coordinated effort" to fight invasive species, he said.
The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i supported the measure.
English said he did not expect opposition to the bill, since it does not create any new function of government or require additional financing. The measure will now go to the full Senate for a vote. If approved, the bill would be moved to the House for approval.
Salvinia coats the surface of Lake Wilson, the state's largest freshwater body, choking fish, clogging outboard motors and hampering fishing. It also has been found in at least two Windward locations.
