Party is over for the industry

[naesco]

Is the industry so oblivious to the fact that if something concrete in not done to stop the importation of fish and corals destined to die in transit or in our tanks because of their 'difficult to care for' nature this hobby is doomed?
Simply put all it will take is a hobbiest who has the ear of a politician who can make a difference, to take the politician on a tour of some LFS and laws will be enacted that will close the industry and the hobby.
The alternative is to voluntarily come to an understanding and have the government provide a Body Association) with teeth to enforce the understanding.

 

[JeremyR]

I've actually thought alot about this over the 3 years I've had my shop open. I could really care less if they banned import of indo/phillipine fish as I don't buy them anyways... but a complete ban isn't fair to the countries/regions that properly manage their reefs. As in most issues, there are 2 extreme sides, with the solution somewhere in the middle. Take trees for instance. Extreme side A says never cut down a tree ever. Extreme side B says cut down the whole forest. What works out best is limited logging.. which actually makes for a healthy forest while we still get paper to write on and wood to build with. Reefs are the same thing.. it's a renewable resource. Using it isn't wrong.. misusing it is. Punishing abusers is fine.. but the people who properly manage their resource should not have to pay for what some boneheads in indonesia do. Yes, indonesia.. where they also powerwash their rainforest with mercury to extract the gold and leave behind a wasteland. To be honest.. I don't think it is going to make a difference one way or the other whether we buy livestock from them or not.. they are hell-bent on ruining their entire ecosystem, land and sea.

 

[naesco]

Using our forest is a good example. In BC where I live they ignored everyone. Who the hell would tell them that clear cut was wrong. Well eventually their own citizens did and the Europeans banned imports of BC grown timber. Now we have an environmentally friendly industry.
We owe the Phillipines or Indonesia nothing. What we ought to be concenred about is what we do as civilized people. And, what we are doing is wrong.
If the industry as a whole started policing itself there would be a chance that it would survive.
For the record, I see absolutely no reason why this post should not be in the main forum. Do you?
Thanks for your comments Jeremy.
So where are we in this forum?
Well Mary has stated that the import of the blue ringed octopus, which bite will kill its owner should be banned.
What is next on the list Mary? (with respect)

 

[MaryHM]

Naesco-

I answered the question of what I consider to be unsuitable species in the "not my fault" thread. (actually, it was even directed to you

)

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>I support the banning of the following categories of animals:

Deadly- such as blue ring octopus
Obligate feeders- Fish and inverts that are known to have an extremely specific diet that is either too expensive or impossible to provide in a captive environment. Many animals such as certain butterfly fish and nudibranchs fall in to this category.
Extremely large species- Fish such as certain groupers, sharks, snapper, etc... that are unable to be properly housed by the vast majority of hobbyists.

The needs/nature of these animals are well researched and documented. There's no arguing that a blue ring's bite is deadly, etc... I do not believe in banning any species that does not not have the reasons backed up by scientific data and research. For example, someone saying "I can't keep a bubble coral alive and I know 6 other people that can't either, therefore it should be banned". I would want to see documented scientific research that yes indeedy it is practically impossible to properly provide for bubble corals in captivity.

Someone is bound to be thinking "What about banning corals that can not be harvested in a sustainable manner?". It is important to keep in mind that sustainable harvest quotas vary from ocean to ocean, country to country, and even collection area to collection area. To insure that sustainable numbers of animals are being harvested, it is necessary to have individual collection areas monitored by organizations such as Reef Check and to have the country of origin establish laws to provide for proper harvest. Back to the bubble coral example, you may be able to prove that bubble corals are endangered in country xyz, so they shouldn't be harvested there. However, they are perfectly sustainable in country abc. If the US banned the import of bubble corals because of country xyz's shortage, country abc wouldn't be able to harvest their sustainable product.
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