[Coral-List] Aquaculture is the way

[Steve Mussman]

Jon,

Your concerns are practical considering your operation and involvement in aquaculture, but the vision you present is troubling and reflects a dynamic that inevitably leads to polarization.  Government oversight does not have to equate with the dissolution of the private sector.  This may not be the most appropriate season to invoke Buddha, but it appears that we could all benefit by seeking a Middle Way. 

I would also take issue with your assessment that we can't stop the decline of coral in the ocean no matter what we do. Coral reefs are not all dead in the water and this war has not yet been lost.  Perhaps with a different ethos you could help to answer Les Kaufman’s question of where the aquarium trade fits in with a powerful force of hope and light.

Regards,
  Steve



-----Original Message-----
>From: Jon Skrapits <jon at treasurecoastcorals.com>
>Sent: Dec 13, 2012 10:02 AM
>To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>Subject: [Coral-List] Aquaculture is the way
>
>Scott,
>
>"Local fisherfolk over harvesting for profit has been a big problem
>all over the world for decades and its often worse when there is no
>effective
>government regulation and enforcement."
>
>So why would you think gov. regulation would slow this? Are we stopping
>drugs from entering the country? We can't even keep it out of our jails! I
>suspect we would create a black market. Also, Darwin would have his way
>with these people that didn't protect their resources through wise
>harvesting practices and using their scarce resources efficiently. Sort of
>how it will probably happen to us as we are over extending.
>
>"Even if the US and Europe shut down imports of wild caught tropical fish-
>the growing demand
>from China, Russia, India and the rest of Asia is more than enough to seal
>the
>sad fate of biodiversity in the Coral Triangle."
>
>Agreed. We can't stop the decline of coral in the ocean no matter what we
>do. That was my original point. The aquarium industry is already getting
>wise to this which is why I and many others aquaculture. I don't want the
>corals to be depleted anymore than you do but we aren't stopping the rising
>death toll. As you stated, regulation won't stop it either.So why shut down
>importing. The reefs are dead in the water no matter what we do at this
>point. Harvest em, grow em, and study them while we work on and research
>how we can improve our methods of living to help reverse ocean
>acidification and eutrophication. Education is the way to help people not
>regulation.
>
>In the time you have been living overseas the aquarium industry has changed
>drastically. I am now able to grow 1000s of species of coral and re-havest
>them with a mild carbon footprint. Others are working to captive breed
>pelagic spawners as we speak. Benthics are childs play at this point. I am
>able to see many of the effects of Salinity changes, pH changes,
>eutrophication, and many other issues in a matter of hours. I also see
>documentaries on tv and look at the landscape. It isn't pretty at all. I
>see how the ecosystem is declining based on what I know would happen on my
>farm. Once many of these corals are extinct, wouldn't it be a pleasant
>thought to know that we have a few seeds in land based operations in
>controlled enviornments? Is the government supposed to pick who is allowed
>to keep these seeds or are we better off allowing free citizens to put
>their twist on it with less of a tax burden on the public. This should be
>the discussion since noone is deniying the fact that there needs to be
>a change in our practices but why is it always run to dad(big gov) the
>answer? We are able to exchange ideas here and as a businessman I want to
>sustain this industry and derive profits from it through wise practices
>while gov. will halt any progress of aquaculture through
>taxation. Aquaculture would  produce better tax revenues since I and my
>staff along with 10000s of others would still have jobs.
>
>
>Cheers,
>
>Jon Skrapits
>Treasure Coast Corals, Inc.
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