Doing some research on cyanide fishing, need help!!

[Anonymous]

I'm teaching a MACO class on marine fish husbandry, and I'm doing some research on Cyanide fishing. I'm doing a segment on obstacles that we face as marine fish keepers. One of these obstacles is of course cyanide fishing. I haven't been looped in to this area (locality data) for quite some time.
Someone please catch me up!
Are there any areas that are reliably NOT cyanide fished? Is the Philippines still one of the worst locales to purchase fish from?

 

[Anonymous]

Jim,

You can put just about any Atlantic fish on the "no CN list, as well as, SI, Tonga, MI (although I have heard unconfirmed reports there, HI, Vanuatua, Fiji, Australia, Mexico, Nicarugua, Costa Rica, etc. A major portion of the S Pacific does not use juice, but the most producing countries do

The hotspots are generally Indo/Bali area, PI, Vietnam and a few others.

 

[Anonymous]

Ok, thanks for the info.

 

[PeterIMA]

Cyanide fishing is still a big problem in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Recent articles in aquarium magazines (such as Aquarium Fish) that state that cyanide use has declined are incorrect.

Peter Rubec

 

[PeterIMA]

Cyanide fishing is still a big problem in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Recent articles in aquarium magazines (such as Aquarium Fish) that state that cyanide use has declined are incorrect.

Peter Rubec

 

[PeterIMA]

Cyanide fishing is still a big problem in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Recent articles in aquarium magazines (such as Aquarium Fish) that state that cyanide use has declined are incorrect.

Peter Rubec

 

[sdcfish]

Jim,

We are importing hundreds of boxes per week from Bali and the Philipine regions and have seen low mortalities from both regions....under 5% doa typically. Our success would lead me to believe that many exporters are dealing in low qty's of cyanide caught fish these days.

We have also done much research on the husbandry topic collaborating with Oregon State University and have made great strides in improving the success rates with marine fish coming from all regions. Our study has been ongoing for three years now.

If you would like to know more, please contact our husbandry manager [email protected]

I am sure he would be happy to collaborate with you.

Best regards

Eric

 

[Piero]

that's encouraging Eric, but I was under the impression that most cyanide mortalities occur after the fish is in customer hands, and that affects are delayed usually until after the organism has been purchased.
_________________
recessions

 

[sdcfish]

Piero,

Well...it used to be so. Years ago we saw much higher mortalities upon arrivals. Also we don't hear about high percentages of fish dying after days or weeks in their systems. We also hold fish here up to weeks long, and see a healthier fish the longer it's in our care.

I do know that cyanide poisoning can cause long term damage, so that's true. I am saying that we have seen huuuuge improvements in survivability rates coming from the same regions that cyanide used to be rampant. It's a very debatable topic.

As for your comments under your signature, I would say that our industry provides a value to the coral reefs around the world. Local communities protect what they value....and our industry has shown a value to many communities where there once was no value. If you have never seen a tropical fish collecting boat tip over a boatload of fisherman over collecting groupers and draggin anchors on the corals, then you would not know how serious tropical fish collectors can be about protecting the reef that they earn their livings from.

Best regards

 

[JennM]

Of course, a "properly juiced" fish (cough) can live 20 years...

Maybe it's not that they aren't using juice, they are just getting "better" at it. And NO not all divers in PI and Indo are juicers, but that seems to still be where the problem lives.

Not directed toward Eric, or SDC - just in general. That topic has come around on here before, and the observation has been made before, and by those who have worked in the water - which I have not.

Unfortunately, the flora and fauna in the coral head that got juiced, doesn't usually fare as well

Jenn

 

[sdcfish]

I have moderate to much experience in fish collection, and it's really not that hard to catch a fish when you learn the technique. Cyanide isn't really necessary for most species.....so after spending a hundred hours or so chasing fish around, I never really understood why cyanide was so necessary....but then again, I have never collected in Bali or the PI.

Interesting topic to say the least!

 

[JennM]

Well we've all heard Steve Robinson say that a good net collector can out-catch a juicer any day - so there's no sense in it at all - but that doesn't mean anything - it's still done routinely in those countries.

Same with Quin - people here in the US use it - somebody published the list of licensed users of it here a while back.

Jenn

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Peeps...
Eric, I will definitely make use of that email addy. 8)

 

[Kalkbreath]

Peter you sound like a broken record,
Broken record,
broken record....

Or may be you just posted three times in a row? Wink

 

[PeterIMA]

Eric I hate to sound like a broken record but it seems again that people are trying to deny or sanitize the whole issue of the use of cyanide which is a serious threat. Collectors have been using low dosage of cyanide and a lot of them are using the nets as props. Cyanide kills corals.
I am now in Indonesia helping out a community that is doing their own micro-enterprise by exporting ornamental fish, farming soft and hard corals and live artificial rocks. They had to close down for a while due to heavy mortality and when I restarted their facility I believe that maybe whatever training and handling made here was for real giving it the benefit of the doubt by accepting fish from all these supposed to be trained collectors. We suffered so much mortality that buyers were complaining and not paying. I had to give up and returned whatever fishes where left in the facility into the ocean. I just had to stop accepting fish from all these collectors and decided to do our own training introducing our own set of protocols and practices. I have a complete data to prove the heavy mortality from these collectors as against ours and I also have the comments of buyers to prove the difference. We have a flow-through system, no parasites and visible bacterial problem. We also feed our fishes so again no one can claim that our facility is under par.
I just received a call from EU of how bad a shipment yesterday from a “CERTIFIED” exporter that is our neighbour in that village. It is now the common practice here to hold the fish and let whatever will die, die and ship whatever is left after a week.
I am posting this through Dr. Peter Rubec’s email who is here now in Indonesia helping us improve our protocols in handling and shipping.
Ferdinand Cruz

 

[Anonymous]

:lol: And here I was thinking Peter was in Indo Thanks for the report Ferdy.

 

[Anonymous]

Cyanide isn't really necessary for most species.....

Umm Eric, MOST SPECIES? So which ones is cyanide necessary for the capture of?

 

[JennM]

I thought Ferdie said Peter is there in Indo?

I am posting this through Dr. Peter Rubec’s email who is here now in Indonesia helping us improve our protocols in handling and shipping.
Ferdinand Cruz

As for Eric's comment about cyanide being not really necessary - well I'm just not gonna go there :roll:

Jenn

 

[PeterIMA]

I am in Indonesia.

peter

 

[Anonymous]

Well great It's good to hear a wholesaler is trying to work one of his sources to improve the fish quality of life