Update
Still no corals, cultured or wild collected, flowing in from Indonesia. Still tons of rumors of every type and scenario. Checking, verifying, debunking would be a full time job.
One of my suppliers sent me info about an upcoming conference:
https://ourocean2018.org
The conference is a fact, my supplier's comments are opinion, but opinion of someone in the trenches every day and someone intimately involved and has had zero income for past 6 months, the duration so far of the ban.
My supplier's concern is this (their words, not mine):
"Tell your australians friends to somehow be awared of whats going to Susi convey next week in Our Ocean Legacy, Bali 28-30 October
Tell them to talk with their country’s representative whos coming here. I think Susi is going to launch agenda which is banning coral trade all over the world. She will ask australian fiji and other coral exporters to stop exports and make commitment there.
She keeps saying in media over past days that at this event there has to be solid commitment, and one of her agenda mentioned in website is about preservation of coral reef.
I hope its not, tho!"
I looked at the info about this conference and it appears to be the fifth such event. No speakers are listed yet. We should all be in favor of saving the reefs, but not at the cost of shutting down our industry and hobby. Mariculture and aquaculture can be done sustainably with no impact on wild reefs. Bans that include mariculture and aquaculture are detrimental to their stated agenda of saving the reefs. Their agenda is not actually saving the reefs! Be wary of those asking for donations to save the reefs or restore the reefs, etc. I see many such requests poping up all over. Their sites are slick, their requests seem in ernest, but watch what you are donating to. For one they may be funding shutting down our industry and hobby, or secondly and more likely, feeding someone's pocket.
