Where do your fish come from?

I don't mean which store do they come from. A lot of us tend to focus on big box vs. LFS, support the little guy, go with who has the knowledge, etc., but how many of us think about where wild-caught fish come from, how they're collected, and how the collection tactics affect the environment? I've just read a very little bit about the use of cyanide poisoning and explosives to collect reef fish, most of which are difficult, if not impossible, to breed in captivity. These tactics destroy the reefs, which are already weak and declining, all so we can enjoy the fish in our aquariums at home. I'm sure the same sort of thing goes on with freshwater fish, I just don't know the specifics. I don't mean to point fingers or place blame on anyone here-- far from it! I just wonder how many people know how their fish were procured? Do people ask? What about buying only fish bred in captivity? It seems as people who love aquaria, and buy aquaria, if anyone should be asking these questions and demanding that tactics that permanently damage the ecosystem not be used, it should be us.

 

It's something I think about alot, and have talked about around here periodically.
The bala shark is extinct in the wild, or nearly so, due in part to the way it was harvested for aquarium use.
I know about the cyanide/explosives harvesting, too. When I start in marine tanks, I'll likely only use captive-bred species.
My multi-genre-paper for Advanced Writing involves this topic, as well. It will be done in a few weeks, and then I plan on posting it on the forum here.

 

My multi-genre-paper for Advanced Writing involves this topic, as well. It will be done in a few weeks, and then I plan on posting it on the forum here.

I will be very interested to read it! Can you recommend other good resources on this topic?

Also, I wonder if maybe this paper, or some other writing could be made a sticky somewhere? I know the point of this forum is mainly to give information about how to care for fish and other aquarium dwellers, but this seems to me to be a serious issue that even the casual hobbiest should consider.

 

Its definently an interesting discussion. Wild caught vs tank raised. They both have benefits and drawbacks. Generally speaking, most fish in an LFS comes from a large wholesale operation. They go for quantity and not quality. That's why you see mixed species, deformed fish, and fish that just don't have that spunk that pictures online suggest they should.

Some wilds are harvested very tenderly. A lot of your wild caught amazon fish, especially discus and angels, are harvested by locals who in turn sell them to the bigger guys. This practice is actually very beneficial and sustainable. It brings good profit to the villages but keeps them in check from over harvesting because they don't want to ruin their natural cash crop. It keeps them fishing for the hobby rather then destroying forests for farmland, or illegal gold mining. Discus and angels are both collected by dip nets I'd venture a guess to say most of the tropical freshwater fish are caught by use of nets, not poison or explosives. Traditional fishing with a pole and hooks is also used.

As far as my tank raised fish go, being a discus hobbyist, I will get mine from a small dealer who brings them in directly from Malaysia. Germany as well. I trust the source and stick with it. Its a smaller operation so the fish seem to be in better health and of better quality. Many big farms will line breed fish over and over until they end up being the stuff we generally see in sub par LFS across the country.

Its often said that Wild fish are hardier. They have yet to be introduced to aquarium diseases, and the wild has already culled out all of the weak ones for us.

 

It brings good profit to the villages but keeps them in check from over harvesting because they don't want to ruin their natural cash crop.

This is not always the case. Just like big corporations, villages don't necessarily heed concerns about loss of their source of income. Mankind can be incredibly short-sighted when faced with immediate monetary gain.

 

I agree with sirdarksol's above point. I recently watched a discovery documentary about the over-harvesting of wild sea horses. Many people are struggling to survive one day at a time and do not have the luxury to consider how it will affect them years in the future. Sea horse populations are suffering because of it. It's so sad in so many ways.

I know my dragon goby was caught wild because no one has successfully bred them in aquariums. :-\

 

I've thought about this too. I plan to start a saltwater tank in the near future. After doing some reading about sw fish, I realized that most of them are wild caught. I will not be responsible for a beautiful fish swimming in the vast ocean being caught and put in an aquarium. I plan to limit myself to sw fish bred in captivity even though I realize it will really narrow my choices.

 

I've sometimes thought about it too. I know that some discus I see in stores are bred in special local fish farms. I just have no idea where and which state in my country. It IS very saddening. People just don't realize how much this effects our world and environment. I agree on putting it as a sticky somewhere on the forum and to make people realize how this is happening, and where all our fish come from. The only fish I know that are bred here in my country are the Arowanas and the Discus. The other fish I buy I believe are imported or I would have no idea

Great topic brought up, Meg.

 

Many people are struggling to survive one day at a time and do not have the luxury to consider how it will affect them years in the future.

You're right, and I shouldn't automatically demonize solely the people who participate in this kind of thing. In some cases, "civilized" interference with small villages has made previous methods of living unworkable (I've always liked the tale of the Mexican fisherman who fishes in the morning, goes home, has siesta with wife, fishes in the afternoon, goes home, has dinner with wife. American businessman tells him he should work really hard to improve the efficiency of his business so that he can afford to fish in the morning, have siesta with wife, fish in the afternoon, and have dinner with wife), forcing these villages to rely on monetary gain in order to live.

One example of my above point, that villages do not always care for their source of income:
Private, small-scale fishermen in the Phillipines have reduced football-field-sized swaths of reef to dead rubble with blast fishing. It's cheap, it's easy, and all you've got to do is sacrifice a limb and your grandchildren's source of income. But this isn't all their fault. The consumers are to blame, too. This has been happening since WWI, and I've personally known about it since the 80's. Still, it's not a huge topic. Stores don't advertise "not-blast-fished" for their reef fish (it would be similar to the "dolphin safe" tuna). We let it slide with our general silence.

 

Its not always true, you are right. But it does happen more then you think. Everyone i've talked to with experience down in the Amazon say a lot of tribes/people/collectors they run into are very sensible at this stuff. Its also why they rarely reveal their collection spots.

Peacemaker, i've told you before but you have all the good discus breeders near you! I'm jealous. The largest hotspot for them seems to be in Penang. My 2 personal favorites reside in the state of Johor. To my knowledge there are also a couple in Perak. Singapore is just south as well. Someday I'll come visit, someday....wanna be my translator? hahaha

 

Its not always true, you are right. But it does happen more then you think. Everyone i've talked to with experience down in the Amazon say a lot of tribes/people/collectors they run into are very sensible at this stuff. Its also why they rarely reveal their collection spots.

I think a lot of it depends on how much industrial world interference an area has encountered. Much of South America has been allowed to advance at its own pace, while a lot of Asia was forced to adapt to industrialization in a short amount of time. We've been dealing with it for over a century, and we still don't have the hang of it. We really can't expect others to get it in a few decades.