Today, the Aquatics Committee of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) sent a letter to Marine Aquarium Societies of North America (MASNA) detailing its mission and successes to date. I couldn’t be more happy – finally an organization with a clear message and call to action that we can all support, and by support, I mean give money too. Well, spread the word as well, but what is really needed to continue to represent the hobby/industry in regards to legislation, rule-making and litigation is the kind of science that PIJAC is supporting, and as we all know, science and the sharing of that science, takes money.  Even better, MASNA is offering to match 100% of the donations given through their PIJAC donation link – so go here and donate some coin. Thanks and kudos to the PIJAC Aquatics Committee for all their hard work up until this point, and thanks to MASNA for the donation matching campaign. (“UPDATE: Thanks to all of our donations and matching donations, we have raised a total of $21,050 for the Aquatic Defense Fund! A special thank you to CORAL, Tunze, and Bulk Reef Supply for also supplying to our matching goals.”)

Industry author Ret Talbot summed up the letter and the issues behind the letter very well in a piece called “PIJAC Goes Public”. Talbot writes,”The letter is straightforward, relatively concise and generally an accurate portrayal of the situation. Most important, it avoids oversimplification and data-poor incendiary statements; it redirects the dialog to data and science and away from the polarizing effects of unsubstantiated and false claims. It is to PIJAC’s credit they released this statement, which will help aquarists and trade leaders make informed, critical decisions concerning how they will respond to these and future ESA listings.” I urge you to read the entire piece, as well as the actual letter PIJAC sent to MASNA as the details are important.

For years, people in the hobby and industry have wanted an organization that represents them in this arena, and now we have it, it is our responsibility to lend the PIJAC Aquatics Committee our support, so please share this information around, everywhere you can think of, because these the issues they are taking on are critical to the future of the hobby and to wild reefs. Please, get to it!

Editor’s note: This year, PIJAC celebrated its 50th anniversary and also changed its name to the Pet Advocacy Network. Happy Reefing! – Davana