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You guys can try to get it legalized all you want, it's not going to happen though. Believe me, I would LOVE to be able to keep them, but they're illegal (albeit for a stupid reason) and until they are no longer endangered, they will still be illegal. Sorry to burst your bubble 
What are the penalties for owning an illegal fish? Couldn't someone just set up a reserve to breed these or are they just not allowed in U.S cause they may become invasive?
Large fines, destruction or rehoming of the fish etc. Arowana would be difficult to breed in the US climate, and invasiveness is not an issue! They are just extremely endangered in the wild and are therefore banned
Setting up reserves for them in thier natural habitat would help replenish them. They have done the same with wolves and wild horses where I'm at and now they are over poputated and a nuisance.
It's not that simple unfortunately! You'll see many farms have seriously high security (Even up to dog patrols) in most cases for the exact same reason the fish became endangered in the wild in the first place: their value and high demand makes them a ripe target for poachers and as such the only sustainable way to keep them going nowadays has been through commercial farms, at least for the moment
Its annoying that the politicians or whoever thats in control of this isnt or doesnt have a firm grasp on reality. So we banned them because they are endangered in the wild. You have farms breeding them. The farm bred one's come with a certificate and are chipped. So in fact if they allowed the sale of the certified ones here you know for a fact it came from a farm. If they just allowed the certified ones to be sold here you would destroy the market for the wild poached ones probably at least for a while and that may be long enough for them to rebound. Only way someone is getting one here now is illegally. Do you think the farms are going to take that chance?, nope they are probably poached ones either stolen from farms or from the wild. Laws are for people willing to obey them. I think we may be the only country to not allow them. So we are part of the problem of their decline in the wild. Because you know there is a black market and who else needs this product when its easier safer and probably more economical to just get a farm raised one, thats probably better looking then any wild one.It's not that simple unfortunately! You'll see many farms have seriously high security (Even up to dog patrols) in most cases for the exact same reason the fish became endangered in the wild in the first place: their value and high demand makes them a ripe target for poachers and as such the only sustainable way to keep them going nowadays has been through commercial farms, at least for the moment
Axolotls are nearly extinct and they are legal in all states except New Jersey and California (that I know of atleast), but I think because of Asian Arowanas importance in Asian Culture, they are much more likely to be stolen/taken from the wild than other endangered species so the US just banned them. As for the penalties, IIRC, you can be fined up to $5000 per Asian Arowana and you'll probably do some time (or atleast probation/community service) and the fish be donated to a zoo that is equipped to handle them or a researcher (the fish may also be euthanized and destroyed, which is horrible). I think our best bet in terms of a sanctuary would be a huge aquarium (like a 100,000 gallon plywood tank almost) at some zoos that mimic the arowanas natural habitat as best as possible. Unfortunately though, I doubt that will be a reality as your tank must be sealed off, meaning so water change water can be dumped into a garden (it must be bleached first to kill all germs), and you cannot use ANY equipment from the tank for anything else for fear of cross contamination, along with the expense of the permit and the random checks from the government.
The confiscated fish will likely be destroyed and the offender will face heavy fines and possibly jail time and with their strict breeding requirements I doubt that the fish possibly becoming invasives is a concern to the authorities.
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