Bad news for Banggai Cardinalfish

[Quagmire]

Don't know if many people know this,but it seems Banggai are in danger of becoming extinct in the wild.According to the last census,they are now only found in 32 or the previous 66 recorded sites.
Dr Alex Vagelli recommended protection under CITES and hoped for a ban on collection.The Phillipine government challenged this in court and came out the winners.
To me it seems the Governments believe $$ take precedence over the possible extinction of these little fish.ORA sells CB Banggai,they cost about twice what wild caught do.Maybe if we talk to our local LFS we can have them stock CB rather than WC,and help keep these guys alive in the wild.

Copy of the proposal for CITES II

http://www.cites.org/eng/cop/14/prop/E14-P19.pdf

[michika]

That is so sad. I think wild caught should be banned if this is what is happening. I would be much happier with myself if I paid twice for a tank rased cardinal, then half as much for a wild caught one.

[bv_reefer]

-i agree i'd pay more for a tank-raised specimen if the wild-caught were in such a predicament, that seems so odd to me, because i always see them all over lfs's and always thought of them as a really abundant species even in the wild...

[Quagmire]

OOOPs I screwed up.it was Indonesia not Phillipines.

I agree tank raised are so much better,both for the fish population and for us also.We pay more up front but in return we get a fish that we know is eating are generally heartier,and has a better chance of surviving the first week in our tanks.
Here's a link to a breeders forum with some good information.lots of links to technical stuff in this thread if you enjoy reading that sort of stuff

http://www.marinebreeder.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=268

[michika]

Another awesome link. Thank you again!

[Delphinus]

I honestly thought they were already on CITES, there have been reports of overcollection of this fish for years now. Well, if not already on CITES, then I guess they really ought to be.

[Captainhemo]

Originally Posted by Quagmire

if we talk to our local LFS we can have them stock CB rather than WC,and help keep these guys alive in the wild.

This is a very good suggestion. It all starts with us , the end consumers. It's worth mentioning next time you're in you LFS.

[Der_Iron_Chef]

So....vendors. Albert? How 'bout it?

[EmilyB]

And they are so incredibly easy to breed. Such a shame.

[Pan]

I never thought they were in danger either, I hate to say it but I've sort of always considered them kinda ugly marine fish . But I do prefer to buy Captive bred any fish of any sort when I can. Same as aqua cultured liverock and corals. Or at least from another reefer. One less person using new liverock is one less person..well using new liverock I would love to setup a liverock and select fish breeding company...god would i love it.