Stop the collection of wild fish!
- Thread starter blackwolfXKAV
- Start date
Dealling with wild caught fish, there are some generally accepted
"standards" or preffered methods among aquarists:
As said above, captivity may be/is the only hope for some species becuase of pollution, gloabl warming, "et all" (to quote roan).
"standards" or preffered methods among aquarists:
- Don't buy a wild cuaght fish or invert if you can get it captive.propagated - captive propagated fish and inverts are often hardier and aren't impacting the wild nukmbers directly (you would indirectly affect wild numbers like this: lets say you have a marine tank with captive bred clowns and your freind sees it. Next your freind gets the idea to set up a marine tank and does set up a marine tank and buys wild cuaght clowns)
- NEVER buy any critter wich has poor survival rates in captivity. If they can;t live in captivit, why bring more in so that almost all of them will die?
- Don't buy a fish without researching it's needs and don't buy a fish if you can't or are not prepared to care for it - this one applies to all fish
- Don't knowingly buy cyanide cuaght fish - becuase cyanide pretty much kills everything.
As said above, captivity may be/is the only hope for some species becuase of pollution, gloabl warming, "et all" (to quote roan).
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easy. just squirt massive amounts of cyanide (or any other potent toxin) into the waterway, whether a coral reef or a FW stream, and collect the fish that come floating up. Most will die, but there are a few that survive. Those are scooped up and sent to the shops. This used to be common practice in tropical developing nations, such as the Phillipines (no offense khombreblackwolfXKAV said:
).in fact, this is how fish scientists used to collect and census wild fish. They mostly used rotenone, I believe. This was in the seventies and earlier. Nowadays, we prefer to use pressurized CO2 as it also works as an anesthetic, and is completely reversible if the fish are put into oxygenated water right away.
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Another problem with cyanide is the long terms effects. It is very doubtfull that the the fish will live a long life due the linger effects.
In connecticut they do electro shocking in the lakes and rivers to do species counts. Its kind of a shame that the fish get killed but there studied and it helps with conservation efforts and daily crell limits for specific bodies of water.
I also dont have a problem iwth wild caught fish if there is not an available captive breed source for the species. Just do a little research before you but it so you know it was obtained legally
In connecticut they do electro shocking in the lakes and rivers to do species counts. Its kind of a shame that the fish get killed but there studied and it helps with conservation efforts and daily crell limits for specific bodies of water.
I also dont have a problem iwth wild caught fish if there is not an available captive breed source for the species. Just do a little research before you but it so you know it was obtained legally
yup, I've done electrofishing, too. But it was with a small backpack unit, so the current generated was not enough to kill good-sized fish, but it was enough to hurt an unwary person! We were able to quickly collect the stunned fish, and they recovered with no ill effects.
However, I've also seen footage where they shocked basically the entire stream, and fish started jumping out all over the place. Those, I would guess, would be enough to kill. The ones I've used only electrify a small radius around the sampler.
However, I've also seen footage where they shocked basically the entire stream, and fish started jumping out all over the place. Those, I would guess, would be enough to kill. The ones I've used only electrify a small radius around the sampler.
I have used electro units that were powerful enough to affect a 20' x 30' area...no fish deaths occurred in uses of that unit, either.
The other side of this is that the wild fish have a renewable economic value if they are collected, so people in the area have an interest in protecting them. If you stop all collecting you destroy people's interest in protecting the fish.
Unfortunately, nobody "owns" coral reefs, so collectors are encouraged to do "smash and grab".
Maybe a certification program similar to smartwood would do better:
http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/programs/forestry/smartwood/index.html
The way we do endangered species in the US, it's unfortunately in the interest of a property owner to quietly exterminate any unusual wildlife they find. "Shoot, Shovel, and Shut Up" is too often the motto.
With captive breeding, you have to look at the goals of the breeders-
Some breeders look for mutations to create new color morphs, long-finned varieties, hybrids, etc. Obviously these are nearly worthless for species preservation.
However, some groups like the ALA, Apisto Study Group, and International Anabantoid Association have specific species maint. programs to preserve wild-type fish:
http://www.internat-anabanassoc.org/mission_statement.htm
Unfortunately, nobody "owns" coral reefs, so collectors are encouraged to do "smash and grab".
Maybe a certification program similar to smartwood would do better:
http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/programs/forestry/smartwood/index.html
The way we do endangered species in the US, it's unfortunately in the interest of a property owner to quietly exterminate any unusual wildlife they find. "Shoot, Shovel, and Shut Up" is too often the motto.
With captive breeding, you have to look at the goals of the breeders-
Some breeders look for mutations to create new color morphs, long-finned varieties, hybrids, etc. Obviously these are nearly worthless for species preservation.
However, some groups like the ALA, Apisto Study Group, and International Anabantoid Association have specific species maint. programs to preserve wild-type fish:
http://www.internat-anabanassoc.org/mission_statement.htm
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Toirtis said:
I really dont know first hand if all or any of the fish die im just going by what I read on another forum that is for fisherman in my state and has a couple of our DEP fisheries division officers on it as members who post about the shockings.
dorris
Replicator of Amazon streams
Hi, I live in Australia and we have some close naighbours just north of us in the tropics, Indonesia etc... anyway, these are the facts. Marine fish suitable for aquaria and highly sought after, for instance the clown fish, aka: nemo, is on the dawn of extinction. The people of such countries are poor. Dead poor. These fish can bring them $50 a fish. $200 a fish. Silly amounts of money for doing bugger all. The cheapest and easiest way to catch them is with cyanide. A poison which as said earlier kills most of it's victums. Some may last up to a week but the cyanide messes up their internal ograns so bad that they cannot eat and will die. The majority of marine fish cought from the wild come from these people as they can provide them cheaper.
Not only does it harm and wipe these fishes out, but the cyanide KILLS the coral reefs, the home of the fishes. Infact so much cyanide has been used in some regions that entire reefs have been destroyed and will never come back, all because some rich guy's kid wants a nemo.
Many freshwater fish are being taken from the wild, only when they are believed to be "sustainable". Now what does that mean? We're not meant to take them. We are altering the natural course of the future by doing so. Now that is giong a bit deep.
Yes. I am angry. I love mother nature and all the beauties of the planet. It is all glorious. But there is one problem with it all also. We all have a time limit, even our planet. No matter what we did, even if we left the fish alone, even if we didn't polute the air or destroy the waterways, time will still be up on the day it is due. No amount of help can change it in either direction, accept perhaps a nuclear world war, that could speed things up a bit. But we do not have much time here anyway. I doubt I will be granted another life here after this one. This feels like the last. I wish you all good tidings.
I keep a amazon tank filled with captive bread fish by the way. But they must have come from the wild once. I just like to nurture the little world I created and like to think how happy they are and how miserable they would be if I didn't adopt them and give them this life.
Sorry for rambling, but it's all true.
Not only does it harm and wipe these fishes out, but the cyanide KILLS the coral reefs, the home of the fishes. Infact so much cyanide has been used in some regions that entire reefs have been destroyed and will never come back, all because some rich guy's kid wants a nemo.
Many freshwater fish are being taken from the wild, only when they are believed to be "sustainable". Now what does that mean? We're not meant to take them. We are altering the natural course of the future by doing so. Now that is giong a bit deep.
Yes. I am angry. I love mother nature and all the beauties of the planet. It is all glorious. But there is one problem with it all also. We all have a time limit, even our planet. No matter what we did, even if we left the fish alone, even if we didn't polute the air or destroy the waterways, time will still be up on the day it is due. No amount of help can change it in either direction, accept perhaps a nuclear world war, that could speed things up a bit. But we do not have much time here anyway. I doubt I will be granted another life here after this one. This feels like the last. I wish you all good tidings.
I keep a amazon tank filled with captive bread fish by the way. But they must have come from the wild once. I just like to nurture the little world I created and like to think how happy they are and how miserable they would be if I didn't adopt them and give them this life.
Sorry for rambling, but it's all true.
