[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by Myka

hobbyists play an important role in the CONSERVATION of wild reefs.

ah but we don't. while we would all like to think we are helping the conservation of wild reefs in no way are we doing so. to be in that catagory we would have to be restocking the reefs with corals or fish from our tank, which for one is totaly ileagal. we do go towards that way with frag swaps and such but the amount we trade makes no impact on the amount of wild harvest.

while we like to think different the only thing our hobby does is statisfly our own personal need or want for a decoration and actualy harms the reef. if there was no aquarium industry we would not have countrys blowing up reefs for live rock, using cyanide to catch fish which also kills sections of reef, or even pulling corals out of there natural settings in mannors which destroy corals around it.

I suport total bans in spicific areas (like areas where easy colection in possible) as the spin off of this is other areas are more expensive to fish which will raise the price of fish. once this happens then groups will look more into captive breeding programs, which if the right permissions and permits are obtained they can fish in total ban areas for fish for the programs.

from personaly experiance with total bans on fishing of yellow tangs I can tell you that when I first started swimming in hunama (sp) bay the only fish you would see is parrot fish. 25 years later I see people sending back pictures of tangs when they go there.. this is a direct result of gathering closures and shows they work to replenish populations.

I think what I would like to see is a total ban of free fishing with in say 100 miles of hawaii and winth in that limit have a fishery set up where you have to buy a special licience and fish to limits in a spicif mannor to limit the impact of the fishing. then they can adjust limits every year to mannage the population.

now I am still checing on a few articles but I haven't found anything that proposes a total ban on having fish, or captive breeding programs yet except for the ones PETA has been trying to push for the last 20 years and the goverment pretty much ignores them now.....

the other thing we have to remember is that hawaii is part of the USA where we have the political set up and mind set to put in and enforce bans and limited fisheries, as for this spilling over to other countries I don't think we have to worry about that as most of the fish for our hobby come from countries with totaly different goverment styles and a general lack of enforcment.

Steve