A Must read...glad I did before stocking my new reef....

Bumgrundle · Apr 12, 2016

Ok, so not to be a Debby Downer or anything, but, I was posting pics on FB to share with friends and family and a close friend, she is a marine biologist, posted this link for me to look at. It forced me to do some soul searching as to how i'm gonna stock my reef. Now I know no matter what, i'll be following my heart and conscience religiously when i run down my want sheet.
I'm lucky and was made aware of this before i've even introduced a cleaner crew, most will not be so lucky.
But for those of you who are just starting out, and vets, please read this and then do as you will.
Also, the "Tank watch good/bad" app is only for iphone...bummer. But i'm gonna do my part and try to knudge someone to make one for Android.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/...-saltwater-tropical-fish-cyanide-coral-reefs/

4FordFamily · Apr 12, 2016

Last I heard almost no one still did this, which leads me to question this article and what ulterior motives might be had, here.

[HASHTAG]#reefsquad[/HASHTAG] any of you know if there's much validity here?

Bumgrundle · Apr 12, 2016

4FordFamily said:
Last I heard almost no one still did this, which leads me to question this article and what ulterior motives might be had, here.

[HASHTAG]#reefsquad[/HASHTAG] any of you know if there's much validity here?

Really? I took it as face value as it's Natty Geo....hrm...piqued my intrest even more!

melypr1985 · Apr 12, 2016

I was under the impression that cyanide fishing has just about completely stopped. Most dealers wont buy fish that have been collected this way. They would have a really bad rep if it got out they were buying/collecting fish this way then trying to pawn them off to hobbyists.

Nat Geo and Discovery Channel have both been known to fabricate stories for their shows (example: Shark Week) so I dont see any reason to take a printed store to heart right off the bat.

hybridazn · Apr 12, 2016

Please take that article with a grain of salt. It's nat geo so everyone thinks it's legit, but if you dig into it the stats/studies used to write that terrible article were from 1997! Here is a article debunking this one

https://www.reefs.com/blog/2016/03/11/national-geographic-checks-facts-door/

Lionfish Lair · Apr 12, 2016

An article without references holds zero validity for me. Nat Geo is horrible at sloppy writing. I've read some far out stuff on that site. There's prize money involved in that witch hunt.... $500,000.00. When it's not biased, doesn't have a monetary motive and is better written, I'll then listen to what they have to say. Until that time, it's up there with the tabloids.....

Sabellafella · Apr 12, 2016

hybridazn said:
Please take that article with a grain of salt. It's nat geo so everyone thinks it's legit, but if you dig into it the stats/studies used to write that terrible article were from 1997! Here is a article debunking this one

https://www.reefs.com/blog/2016/03/11/national-geographic-checks-facts-door/

Yes thank you, dont kno why they brought this back, its almost 20 years old!!

Lionfish Lair · Apr 12, 2016

Money, money , money, money.... MONey!

4FordFamily · Apr 12, 2016

OK this is what I thought. What IS new to me is that Nat Geo is not legit, but I mean it does make sense

Oscaror · Apr 12, 2016

Well, at least they're advocating the right thing. Still I don't like how they paint the hobby off so negatively.

melypr1985 · Apr 12, 2016

4FordFamily said:
OK this is what I thought. What IS new to me is that Nat Geo is not legit, but I mean it does make sense

They gotta make money... to do that they gotta get ratings. Sensationalizing things, even old things, brings in views, and readers and ratings. It's all about money for them and the people in the article. They pepper in some factual stuff about lions and what-not on their channel but I wouldn't take it all to heart. It's just one more thing that proves "do your own research" ya know?

cmcoker · Apr 12, 2016

That app was made by a group associated with snorkel Bob

Group is "for the fish"

hybridazn · Apr 12, 2016

cmcoker said:
That app was made by a group associated with snorkelbob

that pretty much answers your question as to why this article was published

Lionfish Lair · Apr 12, 2016

So, I'm going through some journal articles..... I got 147 hits, so it'll take me a bit. The first one I opened...

"Recently, an even more destructive version of cyanide fishing has been impacting Indo-Pacific coral reefs. It mostly targets live reef fish for human consumption, although marine ornamental fish are also considered a viable part of the catch."

HUMAN consumption....

"Calado, R., Leal, M., Vaz, M., Brown, C., Rosa, R., Stevenson, T., Cooper, C., Tissot, B., Li, Y., & Thornhill, D. (2014). Caught in the Act: How the U.S. Lacey Act Can Hamper the Fight Against Cyanide Fishing in Tropical Coral Reefs. Conservation Letters, 7(6), 561-564."

Oscaror · Apr 12, 2016

Lionfish Lair said:
So, I'm going through some journal articles..... I got 147 hits, so it'll take me a bit. The first one I opened...

"Recently, an even more destructive version of cyanide fishing has been impacting Indo-Pacific coral reefs. It mostly targets live reef fish for human consumption, although marine ornamental fish are also considered a viable part of the catch."

HUMAN consumption....

"Calado, R., Leal, M., Vaz, M., Brown, C., Rosa, R., Stevenson, T., Cooper, C., Tissot, B., Li, Y., & Thornhill, D. (2014). Caught in the Act: How the U.S. Lacey Act Can Hamper the Fight Against Cyanide Fishing in Tropical Coral Reefs. Conservation Letters, 7(6), 561-564."

What's that
a citation?
Unbelievable :O

Ppoeschl · Apr 12, 2016

http://www.saltwatersmarts.com/aquarium-trade-battle-cyanide-collection-6448/

Salty1962 · Apr 12, 2016

I believe that we are more careful about whom we purchase from. This hobby is still a small world. I also believe that we ,as reefers, do our very best to treat our livestock with the most admiration and care. Through our propagation and husbandry practices, we're going a long way in giving mother nature the opportunity to recover and flourish. We also make it known when dealers have utilized these destructive means of collection. JM.02W

Naiad · Apr 12, 2016

I agree with your idea of knowing where and how fish are collected. This type has been banned for some time in the US so only illegally imported fish would be caught this way. If your lfs is getting animals from black market dealers well... [emoji35]. There are some other methods that are legal that I am against so I try hard to both educate and avoid collectors that use them. Prime example is spear collection of mandys. Please try to be sure to get a hand collected mandy or be on the lookout as ORA is possibly going to try and raise another batch. If they can get a good number of survivors and good interest they may start the project back up. Fingers and toes crossed.

Scottsquatch · Apr 12, 2016

I read that and thought "What the heck? That was exposed and stopped nearly 20 years ago." I see stuff like this and it just makes me wanna slap somebody. As if our hobby isn't under enough pressure without Nat Geo stirring up more trouble.

Bumgrundle · Apr 13, 2016

I gotta thank you kind folks for the education and opinions. I guess I should have, and will in the future, do my own research prior to opening a post of this nature. Having said that, i'm totally floored that this article is 20 years old, and that Nat Geo would pull something like this. Eyes wide open now!
Think I should delete this thread so as not to spread any misinformation?