Data: Wrong; Sustainability: Don't care; Robert Wintner: Aquarium trade should stop!

[naesco]

Originally Posted by TimT

Naesco I don't think you understood what I was saying.

Why do you think my saying



is telling people to buy cyanided cleaner wrasses???? It is clearly the opposite as the cyanided ones don't have a chance while the Hawaiian and South Pacific ones do. Most people won't buy a fish they know doesn't have a chance.



There are a lot of other reasons why fish die in aquariums than not being suitable for captivity.



Agreed that they perform a valuable function in the sea. I am aware of the study on what happens when cleaner wrasses were removed from an area. However, fish do naturally migrate to areas where there is less density of conspecifics. The populations do recover over time if the reef has not been poisoned.



That's fine as this is western society and people are free to express differing opinions. My opinion is based on handling thousands of cleaner wrasses over a 14 year period from a variety of different exporters and geographical regions. What is your opinion based on?

I have personally seen the mortality rates of cleaner wrasses from Philippines and Indonesia. I have also seen the markedly lower mortality rates and better long term survivability of South Pacific and Hawaiian cleaner wrasses. Obviously there are other factors at play than a supposed unsuitability to captivity.

Cheers,
Tim

My opinion is based on 24 years as a hobbyist. I am not in the industry so my opinion is not biased.

I have visited marine collectors and wholesalers in Indonesia and they confirmed what you have already stated. Indonesia cleaner wrasse rarely survive. They know this.

You say but Hawaiian cleaner wrasse are not a problem. I disagree with you totally.

Attached is a portion of a thread on a USL Unsuitable Species List discussion.



Re: Unsuitable list, bah - what about a 'collect to order' list?
Postby sdcfish » February 6th, 2010, 6:30 pm
Thales,
Also....these issues are simply regulating themselves by the economics of trading in hard to keep species.

Not many fish are going to be sold if they are difficult to keep. It starts with the collector and then travels right down the line. Let's take Hawaiian cleaner wrasse for example. We might have sold 1 all year long if that. I speak to the collectors and make sure they know not to collect them!

We do the same in other regions as well.
I know there are people/groups out there that would love to see some regulation on certain species, but it's really not necessary in my opinion.
I still believe that the SMART program will take care of the concerns of those pushing for regulation. Working on quotas that are comprised from MAQTRAC, everyone will know that the numbers collected per specie are sustainable.
In the meantime, the majority of the industry can continue to keep difficult species to a minium.
Regards,
Eric

Tim you know Eric one of the largest marine fish importers in the USA. His company is Sea Dwelling Creatures. As the above thread shows Eric uses Hawaiian cleaner wrasse as an example of a fish that should not be collected due to its poor survival rate. Eric is a respected industry person

Attached is an article in wetwebmedia.com by Robert Fenner and accomplished expert in fish and recognized as such.

Reefers need to make their own opinion based on facts/