As an individual who has been contributing captive bred and raised fish to local hobbiests and LFS, I of course fully support the sale of captive bred/raised fish vs wild caughts.
I think the benefits of captive bred/raised livestock are just too valuable to put a $$ figure to, but it does boil down to an education issue. I also agree that if you put a choice in front of the "average consumer" they will tend to take the cheaper choice unless they are more educated about their choice.
I also agree that we (board members) are not a representative group within the hobby, and the fact that we tend to be more educated and knowledgeable about our hobby predisposes us to choose better alternatives like captive bred/raised fish.
With all that said, I will continue to proudly breed and raise fish, and trade captive raised corals and inverts. While I'm certainly a sucker for a "good deal", my preference is to the long-term health and happiness of my animals.
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Cheers,
Andrew B.
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