mysis said:
Really in Australia we have no issues of animals being mis treated, places such as asia, they are truly cruel, dynamite, cyanide are used often to catch fish. the way i look at it, is we are conservationists, the sea is getting polluted more and more every day, we are providing fishies with a safe place to live. provided we do are research!
I don't think this is always the case. Granted, it DOES exist, but I don't think it is right to generalize asia as a whole. The wholesaler that I work with imports from a number of different places in Asia, Indonesia & Micronesia. Some of the places specialize in CB fish, while others specialize in wild. None of the places we import from use cyanide. We are very firm when we make agreements with these companies and have walked away from a few in the past that have turned out to use cyanide. We even make visits to these regions to check on the suppliers and see how they go about business. The word 'research' was used by a member posting in this thread.. I think we all need to take that word seriously. It should be a part of your routine to research where your fish came from. Most LFS' will tell you if you ask. There's also this organization called the Marine Aquarium Council.. here is a quote from their website
"The Marine Aquarium Council (MAC) is an international, not-for-profit organization that brings marine aquarium animal collectors, exporters, importers and retailers together with aquarium keepers, public aquariums, conservation organizations and government agencies.
MAC's mission is to conserve coral reefs and other marine ecosystems by creating standards and certification for those engaged in the collection and care of ornamental marine life from reef to aquarium."
http://www.aquariumcouncil.org/
If you contact them they will put you in touch with suppliers they have certified to be practicing the best policies with fish capture.
There's also places like Marine-fauna in Cebu, Philippines. They are a supplier - one of the best in that region actually.
http://www.marinefauna-cebu.com/
Now, don't get me wrong, I do realize that there are some unsafe and stupid practices being used out there... but I also realize that there are a number of organizations out there that specialize in safe treatment of marine life. I would just hate to see entire regions being lumped into one category. Do your research people! Bringing home a fish should be researched and investigated with the exact same energy and time that you would invest into planning for a dog. There are many many factors involved.
Please don't assume that all wild fish are caught with cyanide.
_Decz