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Dear Bill:<br><br>
I think that what Prasanna is intimating in her message is that
collecting by whomever for the aquarium trade causes the damage because
the aquarium trade provides a market for the captured fishes.
Obviously the pet store owner in Chicago or the aquarium owner in Santa
Fe are not the ones destroying the reef while collecting, but by paying
for the fishes with good ol' $$ they provide the economic incentive for
the hard-pressed Fijians or other natives to do the destruction.
Peoples in the countries that use destructive fishing practices are
usually poor and have few ways in which to make a living. The short
term benefit far outweighs the long-term damage to them. If we
don't buy, they can't sell, and then there is no use to the collecting
and it will eventually stop.<br><br>
The solution you bring up of captive breeding is what is needed for the
reef aquarium industry. Few freshwater aquarium fishes come from
wild-caught stocks and maybe it is time for marine aquarists to limit
their hobby to only those species that can be maricultured.<br><br>
Alina Szmant<br><br>
<br><br>
<br>
At 11:09 PM 10/31/2001 -0800, Bill Crockett wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>Prasanna,<br>
Seems like you are blaming the aquarist for the habits
of the local collectors and as far as I know there are very few people
that collect for their own tank. In my experience in Fiji, the
largest coral exporter in the world I believe, most collection was done
by local Fijians. They then transfer the livestock to the various
companies exporting it. During my stay there I also became
aware of the various destructive habits of Fijians upon their own
reefs. I heard of local Fijians eating sea turtles even though it
was illegal since January, an article was published in the Fiji Times
about how two turtles from a research station in Hawaii were caught and 1
was eaten. I also witnessed a sea turtle in a fish collection
system in Suva. I inquired the manager on why it was there and she
replied it would be returned to the ocean soon. I also witnessed
various large breeding size fish including specimens that would be
considered exported by the aquarium trade eaten for food. Am I
saying they cannot eat these fish? No, but eating of breeding fish will
and does have an impact on the overall fish population and variety of the
reef. <br>
<br>
While most reef keepers are not marine
biologists by title many have become lay marine biologist through the
love of their hobby. While I might defend the hobby through words I
would like you to take a look at various sites that have been created
because of the hobby.<br><br>
Online magazine created for hobby:
<a href="http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/aqfm/archive/default.asp">http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/aqfm/archive/default.asp</a><br>
1 of the captive breeders of tropical saltwater fish:
<a href="http://www.orafarm.com/">http://www.orafarm.com/</a><br>
<b>Largest hobbyist site on the Internet:
<a href="http://www.reefs.org">http://www.reefs.org</a><br>
</b><br>
While you state <br>
<pre>"I don't think the reef keepers have a clue what is going on
down here, or
care how much they are contributing to the destruction of the reefs to
build
"pretty little artificial reefs' that they can keep at home."
I implore you inform yourself of the current situation of reef keeping in
the United States. My apologies if I sound hard or defensive, but the
aquarium industry is no longer a sink hole for fish and inverts, many of
the animals that are now imported are now being captive grown and bred. I
invite you to join the reef keeping community as an outside observer and
if you still believe we don't have a clue after 6 months of active
participation then so be it.
Bill Crockett
<a href="http://www.reefs.org">www.reefs.org</a>
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<br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
Prasanna Weerakkody wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite><br>
<pre>I am not so sure if the aquarium enthusiasts are anymore enlightened
lot
than the average diver as ursula defined. (may be there is one or two)
Down
here in Sri Lanka one of my prime activities is re-settling hundreds of
pieces of coral broken by fish collectors (to extract the fish from
their
hiding places)supplying the aquarium industry. Post to the 1998
bleaching
event the reefs down here have suffered tremendously with less than 50%
of
the reefs remaining and struggling to survive. there is significant loss
in
fish abundance and diversity. But the aquarium fish industry has not been
so
"understanding or aware" and continue pumping reef fauna out at
the same
rate. they still comb and squeeze the reefs for fish(and inverts) down
to
the last one left. If there is even a slight reduction to the numbers
exported it is more due to fish collectors quitting the job as it is no
longer viable; than because of the sensitive Reef ke
eper hobbyists
voluntarily putting a brake in their demand of live exotics to give a
chance
for the reefs to recover.
I don't think the reef keepers have a clue what is going on down here,
or
care how much they are contributing to the destruction of the reefs to
build
"pretty little artificial reefs' that they can keep at home.
May be the
recreational divers who visit the reefs could check out the reefs and
make
the aquarists aware.
The aquarists should know that every colourful fish that livens their
living
room makes the reefs less and less colourful as the selective predation
by
the trade is leaving the reefs full of only the 'bland' fishes. think
of
what such high intensity selective extraction does to the reef ecology.
My apologies if I sound a little hard; but it is hard to sympathize
with
aquarists when you are struggling with the long distance effects of
their
hobbies on a daily basis.
Prasanna
At 07:44 AM 31-10-01 -1000, you wrote:
</pre><font face="Courier New, Courier"></font><blockquote type=cite class=cite cite><br>
<pre>At 10:32 AM 10/31/2001 +0000, you wrote:
</pre><font face="Courier New, Courier"></font><blockquote type=cite class=cite cite><br>
<pre>Without recreational divers the academic community has NO hope of
spreading the word about the plight of the world's reefs.
</pre><font face="Courier New, Courier"></font></blockquote><br>
<pre>I believe the marine reef keeping hobby has a very large % of
"reef aware"
individuals, perhaps more so than the diving community .. since these
individuals have a great deal of experience with what is necessary for
healthy corals to survive and grow and an appreciation of their delicacy.
This is also a very useful group when it comes to spreading awareness of
corals reefs and their inhabitants to the general public. I know several
hobbyists who regularly have groups of elementary students visit their
homes to view their reef aquaria and learn about coral reefs in
general.
Aloha!
J. Charles Delbeek
Aquarium Biologist
Waikiki Aquarium
2777 Kalakaua Ave.
Honolulu, HI, USA 96815
808-923-9741
808-923-1771 FAX
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