You are hereThe Dark Hobby? A New Call to Ban "Aquarium Hunters"
The Dark Hobby? A New Call to Ban "Aquarium Hunters"
Screenshot from August 21, 2010, Sea Shepherd website.
An anti-whaling activist asks: "Can We Stop the Devastating Impact of Home Aquaria on Reefs Worldwide?"
A financial advisory board member to the Sea Shepherd Society, best known for their high seas interventions to thwart Japanese whaling vessels, on August 21st called for a ban on "aquarium hunters" and the end of the keeping of marine animals in captive systems.
In a commentary entitled, "The Dark Hobby," Robert Wintner used the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society website to announce the beginning of a media tour to promote his new book and a crusade against the aquarium trade. Mr. Wintner said he was setting out "to reach millions" with his message.
"The average aquarium hobbyist is a 30-50+ male who spent hundreds or thousands, depending on the size of his tank, stand, lights, filters, pumps, tubing and ornaments," he says. "The tentative hobbyist with a ten-gallon tank and one anemone clownfish as seen in Finding Nemo stays in briefly, because anemone clownfish die soon in a small tank.
"When aquarium fish die (99% within a year), tanks need more fish. The fishious circle is relentless: flush & plunk a new fish. Most fish run $50 to $150 retail, with 15¢ to $15 to the collector. The Hawaii average is $4 per fish. Hobbyists may up the ante on a bandit angelfish for $400, or a masked angel for $5,000."
Mr. Wintner, right, who bills himself as "Snorkel Bob," says he is the "largest reef outfitter in the Hawaiian Islands" and is a well-known opponent of livestock collection for the aquarium trade. He is a financial advisor to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and has helped gain them national and international media recognition for their anti-whaling crusades. His financial support for Sea Shepherd comes from the sale "Snorkle Bob" masks and dive fins, large snorkle group excursions, Hawaiian action sports trips, and luaus.
Yellow Tang: A Poster Child for Anti-Aquarium Arguments?
Hawaiian Yellow Tang: collected in the millions, says anti-aquarium activist "Snorkle Bob" Wintner, who took this image.
He is especially critical of collectors, politicians, and state natural resources policies in Hawaii:
"The Kona coast is 135 miles of continuous reef. Once called the Gold Coast for its yellow tangs in the surf, now it’s the gold coast because Charles Schwab and Michael Dell plunked down $50 million on lots there. The new gold rush is for easy pickin’s on aquarium fish with no catch limits. Grossly mismanaged on data spun politically, those reefs are now minus 8 species. 'Nobody knows where they went or why....'
"The Humane Society of the U.S. and Humane Society International (HSUS/HSI) state that reef fish have complex needs and are not suited for captivity," he says. "Reef animals in confinement live far short of their natural potential. Yellow Tangs can live 40 years on a reef, but tank stress most often kills them in a year—if capture and transport doesn’t kill them first. Yellow Tangs are herbivores who graze on algae dawn to dusk. Algae suffocation is a primary threat to Hawaii reefs. Millions of yellow tangs ship out annually."
He concludes a long commentary with a plug for his new book, "Some Fishes I Have Known, A Reef Rescue Odyssey," which has this call to action: "A few aquarium hobbyists may see the light and hear our beloved 41st President of the United States of America, Ronald W. Reagan, who cried out, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this aquarium!”
"What can you do? If you see an aquarium, ask that it be taken down for the sake of the reefs, the fish and us."
Comments are invited.
If I had any fish that died in a year, I'd have serious doubts about my fishkeeping abilities. I practiced on tropical freshwater fishes for over ten years before I bought my first saltwater aquarium, and I never once bought a fish to replace any that died in less than a year. I figured I didn't know enough to keep that species yet. I've learned a lot in the last 20 years or more in this hobby. My sons have too. I have several fish that are the 'first' fish I bought for my saltwater aquarium. They will probably live a lot longer than the ones who might be in the ocean, with diseases, parasites, predators and poorly regulated fish trapping; but they're not complaining about their home away from home.
Many freshwater species are captive-bred, and we need to learn more about breeding marine fishes and invertebrates, but we don't need to shut down the hobby, because someone calls for change. If the BP oil spill proves worse than BP estimates it will (who thinks BP is correct and the oil is GONE?) and any species actually disappear from the oceans, where are we going to look for their replacements, if not to home aquariusts? Every member of the reefkeeping society I belong to would give any and every one of his fishes / inverts up to a qualified breeder, should they be needed to bring a species back from the brink of extinction. We're all aiming at the same goal: preserving and protecting our oceans and every single lifeform in them. If you really want to help protect the planet from the oceans rising due to global warming, start keeping a really large saltwater aquarium in your home. Heck, strike that: just fill your home with saltwater and buy some S.C.U.B.A. equipment. =)
There's nothing like an aquarium to demonstrate how fragile, yet how tough, sealife can be. The aquarium is one of the only ways that humans can experientially develop a sense of ownership of the waters of this world. With that sense should come loving responsibility. As for the Reagan quote, he never said that.
Best fishes,
Mary Sweeney
Best fishes,
Mary
Mary E. Sweeney, Publisher
Sweeney Creative Works
Highlands, NJ 07732
908-461-6269
We have an industry that has unique benefits for humans (economics here and to rural and developing regions, education, and society) and ecosystems (species preservation, economic-driven habitat protection), but is not without its complexities. In 2002 one of us (Tlusty) wrote in the peer reviewed journal Aquaculture about Risks and Benefits of Ornamental Aquaculture production, but those lessons can be applied to the whole industry. When a high profile detractor chooses to only look at the “dark side” of the industry, it opens us up to attack and a lot of subsequent scrambling to refocus the negative messaging and fears of harmful legislation.
The industry needs to be proactive and develop policies that can be used to ensure that the true benefits of the industry’s sustainable actions are being accurately conveyed and received by the general public (and more importantly, governmental officials). As it stands, the lack of tangible evidence with regards to sustainability and efficiency criteria is a serious gap. This is the gap through which “Snorkel Bob” attacks. This is not the first time our industry has been attacked from this gap, and will not be the last.
A decade ago, the seafood industry faced similar vitriol, and the industry became proactive and less reactive by using market based mechanisms to improve the sustainability of their sourcing decisions. To accomplish this, the industry did not act alone. Multi-stakeholder groups comprised of academics, industry, and NGOs were formed to work towards creating solutions for the continual improvement of seafood sources (both wild and aquacultured).
Here at the New England Aquarium, we have a long history of working with the seafood industry on moving towards sustainability. We believe it is now time for ornamental fish to fully embark on a similar multi-stakeholder journey. We have worked to improve wild ornamental fisheries, and at the same time working to develop new technologies for captive production. Our recent partnership with Roger Williams University and continuing efforts to promote ornamental fish from the Rio Negro, Brazil sets the framework for such actions. See our program description at http://www.neaq.org/conservation_and_research/projects/project_pages/Sus...
As an industry we must not sit idle while we are attacked from outside interest groups or the misinformed. We must set and live up to tangible science based standards (key point is tangible, not verbal) for the collection, care, and transportation of our fishes, invertebrates and corals. Here at the New England Aquarium, as an NGO, a keeper of ornamental fish, and a group vested in the industry, we can assist to provide an independent scientific authority for development and implementation of such standards and oversight. As an independent scientific authority, we will call out industry issues, but in doing so, look to improve the industry. We will also defend this industry when imprudent actions, such as HR 669, are bandied about.
We invite all interested parties to join the discussion. Moving together as a multi-stakeholder voice is critical for success.
Dr Michael Tlusty
Director of Research
New England Aquarium
Dr Andrew Rhyne
Research Scientist / Assistant Professor
New England Aquarium / Roger Williams University
Thank you for another fascinating issue of Coral newsletter.
Something tells me that the quieting of Mr. Wintner will require more than a little grapeshot from the swivel gun mounted on the bow of Mr. Fenner's launch. a navy sized for the purpose will likely be necessary ...don't you think?
If the guy is as resourced and agile as indicated, this is a very serious matter. Who in the industry should assume responsibility for the creation of an admiralty for the purpose?
Stephen C. Brooks
James Lawrence
Editor & Publisher
http://www.coralmagazine-us.com/content/distortions-snorkle-bobs-dark-ho...
James Lawrence
Editor & Publisher