Nemo vanishing from Pacific reefs

[ReefLady]

Nemo vanishing from Pacific reefs

Monday, November 17, 2003 Posted: 11:47 PM EST (0447 GMT)

"SYDNEY, Australia -- Finding Nemo or any of his fishy friends is becoming increasingly hard work on the coral reefs of the South Pacific.

The success of the computer animated Disney feature has sparked a global surge in demand for tropical fish that is decimating reef populations, according to Australian media reports.

Among the worst hit areas are the waters around the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu, Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio reported Tuesday.

Dive operators in particular say they have noted a dramatic fall in the number of colorful reef fish in recent months, threatening to deprive the islands of an important ecological and tourism resource.

Industry spokesman Peter Whitelaw told ABC radio that "vast" numbers of fish were being taken in unsustainable numbers to supply the global aquarium trade. "



Read full article here

[wooddood]

why when clown fish are one of the few fish that can be captive bred,and are easier to keep and breed in captivity.its just sad.

[Dennis7]

That is sad and the worst part is most won't have a chance of survival, especially after that Tetra spokeperson on that morning talk show.

[MojosReef]

It is very sad to hear. I have always tried to buy captive bred fish when possible. Its also a shame to know that most people are buy the "cute fish" and have no idea how to take care of them. Most of them will meet certain death. Hopefully it will all die down soon.

[EdgeKrusher]

We know to buy captive breed. We know what questions to ask the LFS workers. We are into this hobby, and understand (I hope) the impacts this hobby has on the environment. We can't assume that every soccer mom, and her kids understand these things. I've seen too many parents give into their kids screaming demands to have "Nemo" now. We can try to help educate if we see this going on in a store, cuz we all konw the LFS doesn't give a rats A's. But most of these people who are demanding these fish are the kids, and the parents are giving in. I don't believe that an 8 year old can handle the commitment that this hobby takes, and the parents don't want to take care of the fish if the kids loose interest. Just wait until the next pixar animated film comes out. Then the kids will want that and forget about Nemo. IT's a fad, it's a sad fad , but it should pass. And the blame can't be totaly placed on the movie. The equipment for this hobby has dropped remarkably in price, and now it's not for the rich anymore, cuz us po foo's can get into it now also.
If we want to see this stop, we should educate when we see the opporitunity. Even if we don't change their mind, maybe we'll give them enough info (like this forum's address) so that they can educate themselves.

Peace

EK

[sharks]

This is why we sell ORA clowns at my LFS.
Our regular distributors were asking us if we wanted 50-60 clowns the week the movie came out. We turned them down and called ORA.
Their clowns are prettier, healthier, and fairly priced.
Try to ask you LFS's to get ORA tank raised fish and coral frags.

For those who don’t know here is a link.
Sorry they only sell to retailer/wholesalers.
http://www.orafarm.com/species.html
S

[Woodstock]

So very sad. I definately think someone or some group needs to regulate live captures... beit fish, coral, rubble, whatever. It may takes years for those areas to recover

[Imperial]

wow I never though a movie would have so a large impact on the reef population.

[Woodstock]

Movies have a huge impact on impulse buyers!! Remember the movie 101 dalmations that recently came out? Well, LOTS of people ran out and bought a cute little dalmation puppy.... then of course less than a year later the dog ads and animal shelters were full of unwanted dalmation dogs

[EdgeKrusher]

Hey a radio brodcast back in the 40's had the country packing up their belongings and heading out of the cities cuz they thought aliens were attacking. It was only the reading of War of The worlds, but as you can see, the media is a huge influence on Americans.

[Craig Manoukian]

Great article RL,

And they say that that the junk on TV and the movies have no effect on children, right. This is not a soap box statement but a real indictment of human behavior. I've seen it on these boards as well, where if enough people say this or that, then it must be true.

The real villians are the merchant distributors of the aquarium trade. In general, not like the LFS that sharks works with or my LFS here, wholesalers and retailers send thousands of these fish to their deaths in the name of profit. I won't name any large retail pet stores where you can see 20 - 30 hippo tangs in a 40 gallon breeder tank.

We have the opportunity here to dissemenate this information, educate people, and help stem the tide against this holocaust of nature.

Unfortunately this is not the first nor the last time we will see this kind of nonsense. I commend all of you for your well thought out position on this issue and it's great to be associated with all you winners!

[Icebox]

Man this is sad. I knew there would be lots of them sold but it had not crossed my mind that it would really effect the reefs that much. Tragic.

[EdgeKrusher]

Craig you're the man! let's all do our own part, as little as it may seem, it's acutally all a part of the bigger picture of saving this planet for ourselves from ourselves.

Peace

EK

[nivek]

I think corals will also be affected as the demand for these amazingly beautiful creatures increases. Over here in my country I've seen huge amounts of corals being harvested from the local reefs to supply to the ever growing market demand. However the major setback of reefing in my country is the lack of interest in getting information on reefing before jumping into the hobby. People here just buy on impulse or the notion that "if my neighbour has a reef tank, I've got to have one too". I've seen the local LFS making tons of money from ignorant customers who suffered from massive die-offs in their tanks. These customers will just replenish everything and to face the same problem again a few weeks later.

I've started a mini reef club to try and educate these people but I guess patience and an open mind to learn seems to be missing from a lot of them. For those who listen, they have had successful tanks with minimum fatality rates and hopefully they will then pass on their knowledge to newcomers.

Boards like ReefSanctuary are good places for newcomers to acquire mass amount of knowledge before they jump into our hobby. How I wish they would make it a rule for those people in my country who want to start reefing, to attend a course on reefing (maybe for a month) before handing them the permit to allow them to begin.

For now, all I can do is to hang out at my local LFS and befriend their customers and hopefully make them understand the value of LIFE

[mredman]

Originally posted by EdgeKrusher
Hey a radio brodcast back in the 40's had the country packing up their belongings and heading out of the cities cuz they thought aliens were attacking.

Gasp! No wonder my grandparents moved from Boston to Possum Trot, Kentucky!!!