Commercial production of reef corals

[Keith and Lisa]

David,

As a hobbyist I can tell you that the demand for aquaculture corals is
growing, especially amongst the online community. Most members of the
online community have realized that this is the only way to continue
in this hobby for the future. Most prefer aquacultured specimens
especially in the area of the so called "small polyp scleractinians"
or "SPS"  as we call them in the hobby.

Speaking for my community on line, we would love to see more
aquacultured corals available to the mass markets. Most of us who keep
marine aquariums truly love the reefs. We are aware of the destruction
that has occurred in the past and still occurs. . We have been calling
for the top level players in the industry to clean up their act for a
few years. We would like it to see it stopped in all areas
destruction, not just hobby related issues

We would love to see a way for us to discriminate coral that are
aquacultured as opposed to being wild harvested. There is a small
operation in the Solomon Islands that is using a base to grow out
small coral fragments on for the hobby. I have not seen any from them
in this area for quite awhile, this might be due to the civil unrest
in the  area.

As far as the issue of preferred species:
Beginners in the hobby prefer "soft corals" such sarcophyton,
sinularia, xenia, nepthea, zoanthids etc.
More advanced hobbyist prefer the "SPS" corals.

On size:
Hobbyist prefer small specimens 7-8 centimeters.  We prefer this size
because it is easier to ship and for the coral to acclimate to our
tank conditions.

There also needs to be a source for aquacultured live rock. (Hard to
believe that you can run out of rock but some experts seem to think
so)
I am aware of a few companies in Florida have already tons of rock in
the ocean and they are beginning to harvest and sell a viable product.
Whether they are able to provide enough rock for the future needs of
the hobby remains to be seen.

I cannot speak to the issue of CITES, though I do know that there are
those that would love to see the hobby closed down in the U.S.
Perhaps you can help with this issue if you are willing to aquaculture
corals for the hobby instead of "destroying" the reefs.
I cannot speak to the issue of raising "exotic imports." though I am
aware that Hawaii does enforce strict laws on importation of marine
life in order to preserve the endemic fauna. Here in the US animals
from the Red Sea area are considered exotic perhaps that could be a
way of marketing your product.

I have at one point or another aquaculterd everything in my possession
that could be cut up and grown out. I currently maintain a small tank
just for that purpose. I have about ten species that I grow out for
trade or sell on a fairly regular basis.

If you should require any further input from a hobbyist stand point
please do not hesitate to write

Sorry for the length of the post.

Sincerely;
Reef lover and Hobbyist
Keith Langdon
kandl at net-link.net
www.net-link.net/kandl/

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: Dear All,
: My name is David Zakai and I work for Israel Nature & Parks
Protection
: Authority. I need your kind advises concerning the issue of
commercial
: production of live reef corals for saltwater aquariums industry: