Establishment Of The Marine Aquarium Fish Council
AN EXCLUSIVE EXTRA FEATURE04/15/98
For those of you who are wondering where the Marine Aquarium Fish Industry is heading, this will be of interest to you.
As all of you are no doubt aware, there are a number of organizations that will do just about anything to keep you from enjoying that aquarium and its occupants in your living room that you have spent a small fortune and so many sleepless nights to make "just right". You took great pains to cycle it without losing a single fish. You added each occupant, doing all the research to make sure that there would be no "turf wars". Then, after great deliberation you finally decide that the mated pair of Coral Banded Shrimp that you saw in the invert tank at your favorite pet shop would be the coup de grace. You drive to the pet shop, park the car and proceed with cash in hand to the door, only to be confronted by a picket line of well meaning, but for the most part, ignorant demonstrators that accuse you of being the "Second Great Satan" because you want to tank a couple of shrimp.
Granted, the Marine Aquarium Fish Industry is not without greed, abuse and ecological destruction. All you have to do to confirm that is to watch the documentary films on the destruction of the reefs in the Indo-Pacific area. A certain amount of the reef destruction is due to "natural" causes (i.e. Crown of Thorns infestations. hurricanes, etc.), but a vast majority is due to Cyanide Collecting or other destructive collection practices. It started in the Philippine Islands, but unfortunately it has spread recently to other island states in the Indo-Pacific.
The reasons for this type of collection are many fold. The poverty of the "collectors", the greed of the shippers they sell to, foreign governments that turn a blind eye to what is happening, or lack of enforcement capabilities and resources, the cheap price that they are finally landed at their destination, the availability of chemicals, the pet shop owners that could "give a rip" if the fish lives or dies, the aquarists who are convinced that dead fish are just an inevitable part of the hobby.
In spite of the fact that some environmentalists have assailed all collectors, suppliers, the Cyanide manufacturers, the pet shops and the aquarists as being "unfeeling rappers of the reef", the realistic solutions to the problems are finally coming from the strangest places: The World Wildlife Fund, The World Bank, the collectors, the pet shops, some US Public Aquariums and the aquarists. Hard to believe??? Take a seat, before you fall over in a dead faint. It's true!!!
Responsible people in the Marine Aquarium Industry that have been taking the heat and blame for ALL of the ills of the industry have finally decided "we're fed up and we ain't taking it anymore!"
A vast majority of the collectors, shippers, suppliers, pet shop owners and aquarists all around the world are very descent people. For most their very lives, to say the least, depend on the ocean and its occupants in order to make a living. As commercial collectors since 1989, Deb and I have come to love and respect the ocean, the reefs and its occupants. It is one thing to sit on the beach, point the finger of blame and lobby for laws. It is another to take the reins in hand and do something positive about solving a problem.
Well folks, it's happening from the ground (sand) level, up. The Marine Aquarium Fish Council (MAFC) has been recently formed. The MAFC is an International cross section of organizations being funded by such groups as Packard and Henry Foundations, The World Bank, World Wildlife Fund, The U.S. Nature Conservancy and World Resource Institute. Other participants are the American Marinelife Dealers Association (read ADMA Dealer Survey), American Zoo And Aquarium Association, Conservation International, Flora and Fauna International (UK), Haribon Foundation (Philippines), International Marinelife Alliance (Philippines), Ocean Voice International (Canada), Ornamental Fish Industry Ltd. (UK), Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, just to name a few.
The MAFC will act as an independent governing council to establish standards, oversee environmental certification and promote conservation education Internationally. During the last half of 1998 MAFC plans to undertake "pilot" certifications of approximately 12 collection-to-retailer operations including two captive propagation facilities in order to set up and field test proposed guidelines and protocols. Proposed pilot certifications and accompanying consultations are currently underway in Hawaii and the Philippines.
Last month (March '98) I attended a meeting at the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a number (appox. 15) of collectors from Oahu, The Big Island and Moloka'i (me:), to participate in the MAFC "pilot" test certification program proposed and to establish members in the MAFC of Hawaii. The meeting was conducted by John Parks, working on behalf of the MAFC. The meeting was upbeat and very informative. John relayed to us the number of people in the Aquarium trade who decidedly want to provide a quality product to the consumer. Aquarium shop owners want a higher quality product to sell to their customers. Foreign governments want to save their natural resources, while ensuring an income for many of their citizens. I was personally impressed with the number of people who want to clean up their own industry. The collectors at the meeting were anxious to move forward with the process.
The collectors in Hawaii are forming a list of minimum standards that must be adhered to in order to be a "Certified Collector" and be able to sell "Certified Fish". Here are just a few of the areas that are being examined for consideration for becoming "Certified":
* Collection Technique (use of nets, not poisons, no damage to the reef, decompression techniques, transport techniques used from the collection site to the holding facility).
* Holding facilities that are well maintained (water pH, ammonia levels, no overcrowding, etc.).
* Shipping Techniques (no overcrowding, ship only cleaned out "perfect" fish, by the fastest routes).
Collectors in Hawaii are currently being contacted, requesting their input. It is anticipated that the standards for certification may be in place within the next few months.
With many conversvation organizations helping to fund and coordinate the MAFC Program I am sure you are asking yourself "Why are these groups, like WWF, interested in this initiative? Aren't these organizations totally against animal ownership of any kind?" Most of these organizations feel that Biodiversity Support Programs are the key to a future aquarium fish trade and saving our reefs. Through biodiversity it will permit important livelihoods for those involved in the aquarium fish trade to continue while preserving our vital reefs for the future at the same time.
On the Cyanide front...it has been rumored, but as to date unsubstantiated, that scientists in the U.K. have developed an instrument to measure small quantities of Cyanide in water. Fish captured with Cyanide exude Cyanide in the packing water, when shipped. Wouldn't this be great? Finally, a testing procedure to protect against Cyanide captured fish!!! Also, Sodium Cyanide is no longer being manufactured. That's the good news...the bad news is that a railroad tanker car, full of Sodium Cyanide was hijacked in Mainland China and the contents are now on the black market.
It is difficult to relay the volumes of information that were presented at the MAFC meeting on Oahu. If anyone has any questions about this project, please feel free to write us. We will forward any information that we have and keep you updated.
Happy Fish & Reef Keeping,
Stan Hauter
Your Saltwater Aquariums Guide for The Mining Co.
http://saltaquarium.about.com
mailto:saltaquarium.guide@about.com
