Methods of collecting fish from the wild

[gsolman6]

I saw this on the free online encylopedia. The section of note is "Source of aquarium inhabitants" 2nd and 3rd paragraphs:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquarium

So I just wanted to know how common these practices are? How can I avoid
buying fish that were collected this way?

I really don't see how any, any, person who could professes to care for his charges condone such practices. At that point I really don't care if it does support poor 3rd worlders, they should find a new line of work. At any rate such practices are probably non-sustainable in the long run, so they are just hurting successive generations of "collectors."

 

[fishfreek]

These methods are still going on and whats sad is that 90% of the hobbists dont care where or how their fish where collected but more care about the price. A net caught fish might go for 50-100% more than a cyianide caught fish of the same speicies although the net caught fish are 1000% more likly to survive in the long run.

In not knowing if your a FW or SW hobbists I cant speak much on your specific focus of the hobby but most FW fish these days are captive breed/raised vs the SW hobby where captive breeding is still in its infancy but there are headways being made.

To learn more about sustanable harvest concepts and responsible collecting of fish and corals I can recommend a few links but I will have to look them up.

 

[fishfreek]

http://www.aquariumcouncil.org/

http://www.aquariumcouncil.org/subpage.asp?page=130&section=3

http://www.coralrescue.com/

The last site is a website i started to put together back in 2004 and then got sidetracked with life but it has alot of information and links under the resources link.

 

[PsiPro]

You know they used to harvest fish and coral by throwing dyndamite into the water? (I say used to like they stopped doing it....) thats not for the aquarium trade, usually, but just to show you some methods of fishing. Deff go farm raised over wild caught if you have the option.

Sadly however many species do not breed in captivity so they have to be wild caught.

 

[cmor1701d]

Aaron,

A year or two ago AA had a sticky for donations to a campaign to buy nets for locals in Fiji and the Indo-Pacific area and for teaching them to use the nets vs. cyanide.

I know the practice is still going on. Can you find out if they are still working on that campaign? Perhaps it's time for an annual donation?!

 

[Derek015]

i was watching something on the science channel and they were getting an animal from like 3000 feet into the ocean and they used that stunning chemical and as soon as they brought those animals to the surface they would die

it was upsetting (but still an interesting documentary)

 

[BillD]

At that point I really don't care if it does support poor 3rd worlders, they should find a new line of work. At any rate such practices are probably non-sustainable in the long run, so they are just hurting successive generations of "collectors."[/quote]

A prettty naive statement. What line of work do you propose they get into? These people are struggling to get by, and feed their families. If the buyers, those who buy directly from the collector, were to demand it and supply their source with equipment, the practice would end. However, they don't care as long as they get the fish cheap. They are in it for the money. Who do you think supplies the cyanide?
You are correct about it being unsustainable, as the cyanide kills the reef. No reef, no fish.

 

[PsiPro]

i was watching something on the science channel and they were getting an animal from like 3000 feet into the ocean and they used that stunning chemical and as soon as they brought those animals to the surface they would die

it was upsetting (but still an interesting documentary)

I think you are talking about the celicant(spelling)? Facinating fish.

I think you should be nice BillD they managed quite fine before the aquarium trade got started. Western influences created the issues, and their desire to move up in the world according the western standard.

 

[BillD]

I think you should be nice BillD they managed quite fine before the aquarium trade got started. Western influences created the issues, and their desire to move up in the world according the western standard.[/quote]

My whole point. They are driven by westerners to collect these fish. Their opportunities for income are limited, so you can hardly blame the collectors.

 

[aquablue]

True. Supply and demand. Since they sell out everytime they bring a catch, they're gonna go for the "fastest" way of catching the little guys as possible.

 

[QTOFFER]

The people who actually catch these fish are subsistence workers. They do what they know how to do in order to survive - and they just barely get by.
They're like the farmers in Mozambique who clear a patch of rainforest for fuel, farm the land until it erodes away, and then clear another patch of rainforest.....or the wood harvesters in Central/South America who clear cut a whole forest for the few dozen trees of economic value.

This is a problem and the only solution is education and investment.
The local people need to understand that their livelihood is a renewable resource that must be conserved. They need to be taught responsible methods of harvest so that those resources will still be there to support their children.
The buyers in the industrial world need to be educated too. I'll bet most aquarists have no idea where or how their pets were collected, and they should. They need to be willing to accept slightly higher prices in return for a stable, sustainable supply. The distributors need to reinvest some of their profits back into their industry so that the local collectors can move toward sustainable methods.

Wouldn't it be a shame if the govt had to get involved and restrict the SW tropical fish trade? It's illegal to import many animal products into the US such as elephant ivory or products made from marine mammals. Unless things change, many SW fish may eventually be added to that list

 

[BillD]

All good points QT. And it doesn't just apply to the aquarium trade, but to all areas where the haves go to exploit the have nots. The rain forest is a good example, as is the coffee growing areas. It's easy to criticize some poor third worlder while we sit here with full bellies, in front of our computers, or going to Walmart for a bargain.