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Well I have to say that this thread has brought out lots of great information and good debate.
As for the exportation of items, I was generally speaking of taking animals with them on the plane. I know several outfits that ship species to the mainland with no problem. The problem I have heard of mostly was with passing through Agriculture Inspection at Honolulu Intl Airport. To be honest, in many cases where I have heard someone getting a fish confiscated...it is probably because the Department of Ag doesnt even know what they are looking at so they decide to confiscate it rather than let it pass. That is another problem with this State. They have unknowledgeable people creating and enforcing the rules.
I actually went through my copy of John Hoovers book and I did not see any reference to Sinularia. Can you give me a page number and I can look at it again? I believe he comes back this weekend, so I will try and contact him then.
As for Feather Dusters, they actually are collected reef-walking in like waist-deep water in Pearl Harbor. I know that the main location is out behind the new Best Buy, but I am not sure if they still collect there, since they started construction. I know only 1 collector that collects from Kaneohe Bay and he does sell to Modern, but Modern also buys from the Pearl Harbor guy. The difference is that the Pearl Harbor guy brings in hundreds at a time, compared to the Kaneohe Bay guy who can bring in maybe 20.
As for the local collectors who use Cyanide. I know personally, after going out on a dive with him once, that a very popular local fish collector who was recently on the news for his "strong business skills" and had an article about him in the USA Today, uses Cyanide in his collection process. It is really sad, and I have lowered all respect for this person who outright said on the news that he is trying to make sure that fish aren't overcollected and that he wants to help save Hawaii's reefs.
As for the Decompression methods. I have not studied enough regarding the subject to say that if done properly, using a needle for decompression is wrong, but I know that many times it is done improperly, and there are many casualties because of it. When I first started the hobby, I did not know better...and purchased a wrasse that had a rather large hole on its body. That hole slowly got bigger and i consulted a friend regarding it. He said that it was an infection from improper decompression. The problem is that, how do you know whether a fish was properly decompressed using a needle or not? Maybe your way is done properly and the fish will be fine, but who is to say I am purchasing your fish over the guy who does it improperly? I think it is a chance that I am not willing to take, as if you look at Coral Fish's fish, you can see many fish with infections and I can visibly see the holes from the needles from decompression. At Modern, I have never seen one. If your friend does indeed sell to Modern (the one that decompresses with a needle), then at least he does a good job so that it does not leave visible holes in the fish.
Furthermore on this subject, the fish vacuum is probably one of the worst fish collection techniques in this trade. And I feel sorry for any person who buys these fish. One day after a Kaneohe Bay dive, I saw this guy at Heeia Kea who used the fish vacuum, his fish were in really bad shape, and I asked how he expects to sell the fish because they were in such bad shape. He said that only the fish that get stuck in the net are in bad shape, and the fish that get piled on top of it are usually ok, so he sells those, and kills the fish that look like they cannot be sold. I was literally almost ready to punch that guy.
I can tell that you understand where I am coming from when it comes to the people who brag about their "catch" to others. I guess, from your previous post, I thought you were one of those people, so you can see why I was a little upset. I am glad that you understand the difference between those people and the fish collectors who respect the ocean.
EDIT: for a grammatical error
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