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Community Member
Over the years, I have purchased about 10K of coral and rock from WWC. The majority of my purchases have been at the store. Less frequently, I have purchased online and via eBay. Recently, my purchases could have been more impressive. Coral frags have become coral chips. The color in my tank could be more vibrant. They never seem to be as good as the pictures. Over time, I have become less inclined to drop 100+ on an online purchase with WWC. However, this isn't why I would never purchase from them again.
I played the latest and greatest from their YouTube channel a few weeks ago. They showed a video of a place in Indonesia highlighting an endless field of branching euphylia. In the scuba world, this is a BID NO NO. Our mantra is ... take pictures and leave bubbles. Habitat conservation is EVERYTHING to the scuba community. Most divers would happily drown anyone who messes with the critters or the reef. The WWC video did everything but post GPS coordinates for this wild field of coral. I called to complain.
Allow me to cut to the chase ... they laughed at me. I got a couple of condescending emails. I asked them to edit and repost the video. They did NOT. I love beautiful coral. I would only purchase aquaculture coral. Putting pressure on the natural reefs by advertising their location is WRONG. This is an appalling attitude, given their position in the industry. Poaching coral is a real thing. People in the USA will drop 200 dollars on a frag. A person in Indonesia could feed their entire family for a month on that much with money left over. What do you think will happen when they realize that that field of coral could be worth 100 grand. It will be packed up and shipped to the USA on the next boat.
If I had a choice between traveling to Indonesia to see that beautiful reef or seeing a piece of it chopped up and displayed at WWC, I would choose the former, not the latter. I hope you will too. I find their behavior to both morally and ethically nauseating.
I played the latest and greatest from their YouTube channel a few weeks ago. They showed a video of a place in Indonesia highlighting an endless field of branching euphylia. In the scuba world, this is a BID NO NO. Our mantra is ... take pictures and leave bubbles. Habitat conservation is EVERYTHING to the scuba community. Most divers would happily drown anyone who messes with the critters or the reef. The WWC video did everything but post GPS coordinates for this wild field of coral. I called to complain.
Allow me to cut to the chase ... they laughed at me. I got a couple of condescending emails. I asked them to edit and repost the video. They did NOT. I love beautiful coral. I would only purchase aquaculture coral. Putting pressure on the natural reefs by advertising their location is WRONG. This is an appalling attitude, given their position in the industry. Poaching coral is a real thing. People in the USA will drop 200 dollars on a frag. A person in Indonesia could feed their entire family for a month on that much with money left over. What do you think will happen when they realize that that field of coral could be worth 100 grand. It will be packed up and shipped to the USA on the next boat.
If I had a choice between traveling to Indonesia to see that beautiful reef or seeing a piece of it chopped up and displayed at WWC, I would choose the former, not the latter. I hope you will too. I find their behavior to both morally and ethically nauseating.
