New Guinea to open soon

[naesco]

Re super percs
Are they super because they are larger than most or have you named them because they are so beautiful.
Wayne

 

[clarionreef]

Wayne
The ones pictured were called super because they have a lot of black in them providing great contrast of color and because they are coveted quite a bit more then the rest.

Steve

 

[clarionreef]

The abundance of fishes in PNG has a lot to do with the abundance of live coral cover and nearby coral cover..
Sustainable fish collecting by definition in our trade largely means capture without destroying coral.
Populations of fishes rise and fall with the percentage of live coral cover on the reef.
Living coral structure intact remains coral productive.
This is the crux of the problem in the Philippines, Indonesia....and too much of the South Pacific and it is the cornerstone of the plan to deviate from "tradition" in PNG.

Look how many bi-color angels in a single field of camera vision!
Photo by Renante Ruz, survey team, Eco Ez...PNG on Monday!
Steve

 

[Anonymous]

Are those on Wayne's USL though Steve?

BTW that's some coral coverage there Reminds me of the reef tanks of the 80's.

 

[clarionreef]

The abundance of fishes in PNG has a lot to do with the abundance of live coral cover and nearby coral cover..

They graze in open areas when safe to do so.
The over concentration of fisheries pressure on predators may have had the effect of increasing the tropical fish population and making them more fearless.


The lack of 1 foot basses and snappers removes the climate of fear of predation that they have endured since the beginning of time....and causes behavioral evolution as well as biological.
Steve

 

[naesco]

Are those on Wayne's USL though Steve?

BTW that's some coral coverage there Reminds me of the reef tanks of the 80's.

What sucess has your customers had with this species.
In particular what success hav they had with getting large adults to feed.
Have you been successful in having these large species feed in your store.
If the answer to no to the above that than does it not make sense to restrict catching adult species and leave them to breed in the sea.
Thank you
Wayne Ryan

 

[clarionreef]

Wayne
I venture too say that what you know of c. bicolor is from the Philippines derived sources.
What you need to know about the species would better come from the Australian experience with the species.
Steve
PS. Few dealers ever want the lg ones....you know that right?

 

[naesco]

Wayne
I venture too say that what you know of c. bicolor is from the Philippines derived sources.
What you need to know about the species would better come from the Australian experience with the species.
Steve
PS. Few dealers ever want the lg ones....you know that right?

Thanks Steve. It is good to know that.
I am looking forward to their availability.

Wayne Ryan

 

[Anonymous]

Are those on Wayne's USL though Steve?

BTW that's some coral coverage there Reminds me of the reef tanks of the 80's.

What sucess has your customers had with this species.
In particular what success hav they had with getting large adults to feed.
Have you been successful in having these large species feed in your store.
If the answer to no to the above that than does it not make sense to restrict catching adult species and leave them to breed in the sea.
Thank you
Wayne Ryan

My store :lol: I cry "mind of goldfish" one more time!!! Do you caugh sometimes then remember you had to breath?

 

[clarionreef]

"Hey, that wasn't here before!"
See blue tangs hover about the transect line in yesterdays survey.
Steve
photo by Renante Ruz
Eco Ez

 

[clarionreef]

..and some baby blues in their acro coral home near the medium ones .
Steve
Photo by EcoEz

 

[clarionreef]

Like the Solomons
Papua New Guinea has red, red maroon clowns...
Steve

 

[clarionreef]

and lotsa colored carpets that house the percula clowns!
These will be self banned as to insure that the percs will always be found in the village management areas.
Gasoline usage will also be kept down in this way as fishers won't have to forever look futher and futher afield for the fish.
Once you take the carpets to feed the markets insatiable demand for them, you erase generation upon generation of clownfish.
Colored carpets, like blue tangs have been decimated everywhere the trade goes....
The village reef turf tradition in PNG works to prevent invaders from other villages preventing the "tragedy of the commons" suffered in so many other countries.
Steve
Photo EcoEz

 

[clarionreef]

This new damsel found by Renante is just fantastic!
He has co-ordinated w/ Gerald Allen and so far it appears to be a new species. It will be studied futher.
Steve
photo by Renante Ruz/EcoEz

 

[dizzy]

Great stuff Steve. I especially like the new damsel. Keep the photos coming.
Mitch

 

[Anonymous]

I second that. I absolutely love the photo tour of your exploration & progress. Very informative.

Peace,

Chip

 

[naesco]

Steve posted
"and lotsa colored carpets that house the percula clowns!
These will be self banned as to insure that the percs will always be found in the village management areas."

Thata boy, Steve. You sure have the future of the hobby at heart.
Beautiful pictures.

Wayne

 

[clarionreef]

More good news from PNG.

Two super perc colonies in the same week in the same general area.
Still, they are the 1 out of a hundred....but good to see.
I was told of a 80% black one from a few months ago with a skullcap of orange in an outlying area.
Though the camera batteries were exhuasted on that dive, they did get the GPS co-ordinance so we can go photgraph em later.

Steve
Photo: EcoEz

 

[Jaime Baquero]

and lotsa colored carpets that house the percula clowns!
These will be self banned as to insure that the percs will always be found in the village management areas.
Gasoline usage will also be kept down in this way as fishers won't have to forever look futher and futher afield for the fish.
Once you take the carpets to feed the markets insatiable demand for them, you erase generation upon generation of clownfish.
Colored carpets, like blue tangs have been decimated everywhere the trade goes....
The village reef turf tradition in PNG works to prevent invaders from other villages preventing the "tragedy of the commons" suffered in so many other countries.
Steve
Photo EcoEz

Steve,

Simple rules of management of the resource are a must to assure the future of the trade in PNG. Your participation in this project, given the knowledge you have about what has happened in other countries, is capital for an environmentally sustainable trade in PNG.

As you said, colored carpets, blue tangs, as well as other valuable species have been decimated in other countries. The problem in those countries (Ph and Ind) is that collectors are fishing further and further away from their bases decimating those same species where they go, because of lack of regulations or simple rules of management. What can be done to stop that from happening?

Jaime

 

[IconicAquariums]

Steve,

get a couple raceways or netpens going and start propping those RBTAs :idea:

Great progress, and good to hear about divers & collectors that know not only what they're doing, but what they're collecting.