apnews.com
Some imports might get banned by the US because of conservation of wild fish and to prevent exploitation of the species.
US looks to ban imports, exports of a tropical fish threatened by aquarium trade
The federal government is looking to ban importation and exportation of a species of tropical fish that conservation groups have long said is exploited by the pet trade.
A classic example of this is the Australian government that made Gambusia a noxious species. They said they would eradicate the fish. That was 20 years ago and to date they have no idea how they are going to deal with them. If they hadn't made them a noxious species, then collectors like me could still be harvesting thousands of them from the creeks every week to sell to shops as live feeder fish. Instead, we're not allowed to touch them and the government isn't touching them, and they are breeding like flies and decimating the native fish stocks.
The only thing I know governments do well is tax the snot out of people, and make our lives as miserable as possible. Everything else they get their hands on, they always screw it up, and then of course spend even more money to "fix it".
Bars are for discussing ideology like that. We have a rule about discussing politics here, since it keeps the fighting down. Focus on fish...
Well, that's my opinion. If they're getting in the business of regulating a hobby, they'll screw things up, as they do with everything else they get their grubby hands on.
I think this would cause more issues than it fixes. As someone who has bred this species in a home aquarium (as @Colin_T pointed out, this is not all that hard, and thus no real feather in my cap), I fear this would shut down a lot of legitimate work people are doing to help alleviate the import demand. I'm not typically for heavy handed approaches, as I believe incentives can work well. I do think we could get out ahead of this issue by adding a tariff to all imports that are wild caught (yes, I realize this raises a tracking issue, but this is typically born on the shoulders of the importer - business, broker, or individual; and I fully recogonize some wild caught individulas might slip through the cracks), particularly for species that have been shown to be able to be bred in captivity. It would likely up the appeal of captive bred stocks, incentivize in-country breeders, and reduce demand for wild caught specimens except perhaps to add new bloodlines to captive bred stock*. That said, in this case, given the precarious nature of the wild population (likely a small metapopulation), I agree more direct action might be required vis-à-vis imports to have an impact of the magnitude necessary in the time frame required.
I agree with the ban. I've been in saltwater wholesale dealers and etc and the losses in marine fish from catch to hobbyist are horrendous. I won't shop at Petco because they sell marine fish. I haven't purchased a marine fish since 2012 and then I got tank bred clownfishUS looks to ban imports, exports of a tropical fish threatened by aquarium trade
The federal government is looking to ban importation and exportation of a species of tropical fish that conservation groups have long said is exploited by the pet trade.
