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VR28man if you could slightly rewrite that and send it to the governor I think that would give him a good representation of our side. I'm sure he is getting all of the information from the government though all the support against it possible may help
But the ornamental fish trade hardly has any impact compared to overfishing for food, habitat loss, pollution, etc. It's a slippery slope, too.
In a study done last year more than half the fishes sold in LFS here in US (random sampling from different sellers) tested positive for cyanide. Most of these come from Phillipines and Indonesia, where even though its illegal, is still widely practiced. If US enforced Lacy act and testing for cyanide at import, this could be stopped immediately. Use of cyanide has destroyed a lot of the reef ecosystem in those countries.
In a study done last year more than half the fishes sold in LFS here in US (random sampling from different sellers) tested positive for cyanide. Most of these come from Phillipines and Indonesia, where even though its illegal, is still widely practiced. If US enforced Lacy act and testing for cyanide at import, this could be stopped immediately. Use of cyanide has destroyed a lot of the reef ecosystem in those countries.
In a study done last year more than half the fishes sold in LFS here in US (random sampling from different sellers) tested positive for cyanide. Most of these come from Phillipines and Indonesia, where even though its illegal, is still widely practiced. If US enforced Lacy act and testing for cyanide at import, this could be stopped immediately. Use of cyanide has destroyed a lot of the reef ecosystem in those countries.
All the current permits will be grandfathered in and new permits can be issued at a sustainable rate so what are you freaking out about? I've seen enough people with their 60g tanks stacked with ich covered achilles, yellow, and naso tang that I don't necessarily think this new bill is a bad thing from an ethical standpoint.
Thats because this bill is meant to address ornamental fish trade. Last I checked Hawaiians don't spear Yellow Tangs for dinner.
Can you provide a source for that first sentence that can quantity the ethics...?The ethics in the hobby today is disgusting compared to what it was when 1st got into the hobby. Shutting this down or limiting it in a way where only the very ethical and dedicated people could be involved, would be a great thing.
Can you provide a source for that first sentence that can quantity the ethics...?
I agree that some people really don't take care of their pets. But imo promoting Hawaii's sustainable fishing practices goes a longer way towards promoting responsible reef keeping than putting them behind a pay wall. To be honest, the cost of saltwater tanks alone is usually enough to deter the people that don't care,although some do slip through. I think a better way to support ethical fish keeping is to educate people on fish's needs and maintain reasonable expectations about what is required to take care of them. As a hobbyist, you can help this by being chosy about where you buy fish. Lfs that regularly get in those impossible fish or tank busters, or lfs that will sell anything to anyone who wants to buy it (these are not mutually exclusive) might not be the best choice. Even if you're not buying the irresponsible fish, yoi are still supporting the store. Just as an example.
Lfs used to run qts in their stores, you could not even bribe them to sell you a fish until it has passed. An lfs would ask you about your setup and tankmates and refuse to sell you a fish that would not work in your environment. If seen an lfs refuse to sell to customers all together when they observed negligent behavior. A lfs would agonize over every sick or dead fish. Lfs would not even carry fish that had such a huge mortality rate that their chances were slim.
Now let's fast forward to today. I see the same lfs get an order or 125 fish, over half of them dead in a bucket within a day aor two; no problem do it again in a couple of weeks. Lfs do not even care your setup or who's in the tank; I've overheard some of the most absurd advice and sales pitches to get the customer out the door with a fish. I've stopped customers from making huge mistakes, like putting a volitan lion in a 50g with small gobies and cryptic wrasses. Nano reef being sold huge blue sponges and sea apples that eventually wipe out their entire reefs. This is so rampant I could hardly even cover even 1% of what I've seen. I started a dwarf lion rescue tank after an owner of lfs that didn't know me give me a sales pitch on a pale dying fuzzy dwarf and telling me he was even eating flake food with gusto. After tracking nearly 20 dwarf lions over the last 3 years, only one lived more than a year; more than half died in the store. I watched lfs pass these guys on to customers that had no idea how to handle their feeding requirements. Disease is absolutely so rampant, there are 2 lfs in town that absolutely nothing they sell lives. I could go on and on...........Beginning hobbyist still rely on their lfs for support and advice; some don't realize that the internet is full of experts. But it still doesn't change the source and the route these fish travel.
Again, this regulation does nothing to hold wholesalers, lfs, hobbyists responsible. The % loss is irrelevant, or, if anything the %loss will be increased if these regulations go through. Because instead of being caught responsibly in Hawaii, they will be collected in even greater numbers from other places that have less sustainable practices like cyanide.If the collectors, wholesalers, and lfs would just be held to some sort of minimum standard it would go a long way. What would you propose an acceptable % of loss. I would to impose a maximum of 10% loss at an lfs, then we would have 2 lfs here in my town and the rest would be shut down. That would be a good thing in my eye.