@Colin_T I am not good at speeches but I tried to do an example one:
SPEECH FOR ANGFA/ASWA
There are fish that are common in the fishkeeping hobby; and there are fish rarer than tigers. If we can save tigers, why not save native freshwater fish from extinction? That begs the question on how to save them from extinction. Most endemic Southwestern Australian fish are endangered and we need immediate action to save them. Freshwater ecosystems are slowly disappearing due to a drying climate fuelled by climate change, habitat loss and pesticide poisoning; and if we don't take action now, they will disappear from time.
The South-west region of Western Australia is full of unique native species, for example,
Myrmecobius fasciatus fasciatus, the numbat (nominate subspecies),
Zanda baudinii, Baudin's black cockatoo, and
Tarsipes rostratus, the noolbenger (honey possum). The former two are endangered and critically endangered in the wild, with the
rufus numbat subspecies being extinct in the 1960s. But freshwater fish are often overlooked and many people have never heard of them. These native fish are the poster child of climate change and habitat loss in the Wildflower State. They are so rare, there is mostly limited information about them and many of them never been bred in captivity, with a few exceptions.
Lepidogalaxias salamandroides, the prehistoric salamanderfish, is much rarer in the wild than most of us think. They are Endangered according to the IUCN Red List. They are the only fish in the world that can turn their head independently, have been around since the dinosaurs and aestivates in sand during the dry summer period for 6 months of a year when the ponds have dried up. The salamanderfish lives in the South-west region in semi-permanent blackwater environments with no mineral content in waters as acidic as 3.0 pH. They grow up to 7.5cm maximum length and feed on microcrustaceans and insect larvae, which are delicious snacks for the salamanderfish to dine on. The fish cannot be bred in captivity due to special needs such as diet and that they cannot survive in captive environments for very long.
The threats to salamanderfish are habitat loss caused by widening country roads and climate change. The government thought that widening country roads can make roads less dangerous and prevent car accidents, but what will happen to the salamanderfish's habitat? It gets destroyed in the process.
The ponds get filled up with road concrete, causing the fish to die in their burrows. If the fish don't have enough body fat while they aestivate in their burrows, if the rains are late or when the climate is too dry and they aestivate longer, they die. And to add insult to injury, no one in the government really cared about the fish except putting their name into the history books. But we hobbyists do care about the fish and we have been wanting to breed them for a long time. It will take a long time to do a captive breeding program of this rare, prehistoric fish. This is a serious matter that we at ANGFA need to take seriously. The team at ANGFA have done captive breeding programs of an undescribed rainbowfish called the Running River rainbowfish. This rainbowfish has been saved from extinction by such captive breeding programs and people that helped save their habitat from destruction by introduced species.
The first time I heard about the salamanderfish was in a fish forum, a helpful one, from a year ago. I thought 'wow, what a neat little fish', but as I read more about it, and realising the government is not taking enough action on it, it is very saddening to see a prehistoric fish disappear before our own eyes and unnoticed to the public. If captive breeding programs are going to be taken place, the fish will be given a second glance of life and saved from extinction. We are like ants trying to raise cheetahs.
Salamanderfish are not the only native fish going extinct due to crises caused by humans. There are many others suffering the same fate too.
Galaxias occidentalis, the western minnow, suffers a similar fate except they are more exposed to herbicides dumped near waterways. They are not threatened, but they can disappear easily when their habitat are destroyed. The body colour of the fish can range from olive-green to brown and have a distinctive vertical barred pattern throughout their bodies. Western minnows live in the South-west region and grow up to a maximum total length of 20cm but usually grow to 9cm. The fish can jump up to 50cm, which makes them excellent navigators while migrating up-stream. They feed on crustaceans and insects that land on the water. This fish have been bred in captivity before but not reared up successfully.
The herbicide issue happens when local councils get rid of weeds in the designated area. This can spread into the waterways themselves, killing the fish and any small water animal in the affected waterways. This is called herbicide poisoning. Many native fish, including western minnows, are affected and killed by herbicide poisoning, which herbicides are being sprayed by local councils in order to control weeds. A lack of trees and bushes near the waterway area is a problem for some native fish. Most fish, but not all of them, depend on terrestrial insects for their survival. Habitat loss is the main cause of insect population collapse because of urban sprawl, meaning more houses for people, due to a rising population and need for housing, and less habitat for native animals.
Introduced species are also a threat to native fish, with the government releasing non-native trout that has fish TB in the wild for fishing purposes, effectively killing native fish with their disease. Introduced species are one of the main reasons why native animals go extinct. They take over the food chain, disrupting it. They also kill native animals, as in the case of foxes and cats. They were introduced by British people in purpose and they disrupted the environment and killed a lot of different native animals, birds and fish.
Captive breeding programs are the second best way to save endangered fish, including salamanderfish, after habitat protection. If the government allow hobbyists to do a captive breeding program for the salamanderfish, the western minnow and other Western Australian native fish, life would be so much better for the fishes as hobbyists are here to save the species. If we can breed them, local ecosystems thrive. If we can breed them, we can save their habitat as we can survey them. If we can breed them, we can save the fishes from potential extinction by breeding the next generation of native fish in captivity, then releasing them into the wild. It's like the captive breeding programs held by zoos and some public aquaria around the world.
Zoos, hobbyists and aquaria can contribute to saving species by doing the following: the endangered animal is first captured in the wild (happened in the past, but not anymore) kept in captivity, if a pair comes, zookeepers try to breed them to secure the next generation of animals and some of the best grown-up offspring are eventually released back into the wild, and repeat, repeat, repeat. Some animals do survive being released back into the wild, but others die in a few days. Habitat protection is the most important aspect of freshwater fish conservation. If we can protect the habitat of a specific native fish, the fish will have a high chance of survival. We can protect fish habitat by preventing it being destroyed for roads, houses, etc. You can help out by doing the following:
- Donate to charities that specialises in wetland conservation,
- Volunteer a wetland survey by a group that specialises in wetlands,
- Join ANGFA and other local aquarium society groups in your country/state
- and finally, do your own captive breeding program to help ANGFA preserve freshwater fish population, but it can be difficult to achieve
The question at the start is if we can save tigers, why not save native freshwater fish from extinction? Fish are very important in local wetlands. They keep the food chain going. They are a good food source for people. They inspire Aboriginal Dreamtime stories. They have a purpose, and we have a purpose to save them. If you have a dream of conserving wild fishes, chase it and do the right thing and defy the odds. Be a good hobbyist and start your own conservation adventure.
Well, I do not like people displaying their tongues all throughout talk shows, etc. Moral of the story, do not underestimate the human tongue... Maybe Kiss is weird after all?
