Your thoughts on wild caught stuff.

[sg88]

I would buy wild caught with no issues. I also legally/commercially collect fish and other marine life native to Florida and the Caribbean. Most wild caught fish (ones I catch included) are caught with sustainably in mind. Native collectors for most fish are more aware of populations than anyone and respect that. What is the point of collecting and just phasing out your income, as you over collected. There are also strict rules and regulation in place (in most places) to also keep people in check.

Our collection of wild fish is a drop in the bucket compared to commercial fishing for the food industry. For example, Hawaii does not permit collection of fish for the Aquarium Trade, yet collection for food is still allowed. Most tangs in Hawaii are unregulated, outside of a daily bag limit. This means no minimum size, maximum size or slot for the fish. With that in mind, think of it this way; a typical fisherman will take the largest fish they can get and take as many as the bag limit allows. By doing this, they are taking the breeding stock. Most aquarium collectors take the smaller fish, as it is easier/cheaper to collect/ship. While yes, they are taking the smaller fish, most smaller fish do not grow up to be adults. So which one is doing more harm?

In the end, wild caught fish collected sustainably is a nice income for locals and has minimal impact on the population. All while commercial fishing for food seems to cause more damage, as the breeding stock is typically collected.

While I see that either can be considered bad, the Aquarium trade has the least effect on the population of most fish. Now, if you do remove collection for the aquarium trade, it will benefit the population to an extent. My issue is the ban of aquarium collection of marine fish, but no changes to the collection for food. If they were smart, they would adjust both to allow for X number total harvested by either method each year. Not ban one and not changes the regulations for the other. This benefits all involved. Taxes, licenses, fish management, etc.

Just my .02 cents, as I guess I am a bad person, since I collect wild fish and other marine life as well.

I think your response is very thorough and thoughtful, only I would add a distinction that the big difference in Hawaii, and similar isolated locations, is that the vast majority of the catch for consumption is kept locally to feed the population, many who have challenges with the enormously high cost of living, while there is a very small number of people who make a living off the aquarium trade. We have to eat but we don’t need to keep fish for a hobby.

 

[ScubaScott]

Would you ever buy wild caught stuff? I would NEVER, In my whole life buy wild caught stuff.

That's all I own: I catch my own

 

[Karen00]

I try to buy captive bred whenever possible. I think there needs to be a crackdown on how wild fish are collected to make sure it's humane and not outstripping the wild population. For instance I didn't know they used cyanide to collect fish. This needs to be banned immediately as far as I'm concerned. I also read an article that wild mandarins (and others like them) are speared to collect them because it's too difficult to net them. Supposedly you can see the wound marks on these fish. Having said that I don't know how long ago the article is from. I think it was fairly recent. Maybe this isn't done anymore (I hope) but if it is that needs to stop as well and any other captures like this. Groups like Biota and Ora have done wonders for the hobby but even hobbyists who are fortunate to have their creatures procreate and they're able to grow them out and sell them also help to keep the wild guys in the wild.

 

[Obsessed with fish]

Does that mean you don’t eat fish at all?

Ye

 

[Jdadams]

Y’all need to watch the show trafficked. You will then learn that putting a ban in place and making something illegal changes nothing. Look at Asian arowana for instance, they still make it in the U.S. and are being bred. There’s always people with money and then people that will do whatever it takes to get that money. You can’t stop it.

 

[Obsessed with fish]

Y’all need to watch the show trafficked. You will then learn that putting a ban in place and making something illegal changes nothing. Look at Asian arowana for instance, they still make it in the U.S. and are being bred. There’s always people with money and then people that will do whatever it takes to get that money. You can’t stop it.

That last parts kinda sad...

 

[kados]

Where do you think most of the fish come from?

Truth!

 

[Obsessed with fish]

Here's my opinion:

The corals are getting bleached, fast. Fish that rely on those corals to survive die. Fish that rely on the fish that rely on the coral die. What I'm trying to say is the lower something is on the food chain, the more important it is. If the lowest thing on the food chain dies, everything dies. If the highest thing on the food chain dies, nothing happens. If all reefs die this would have a terrible affect on the ocean. Were above the ocean on the food chain, so if the ocean dies, we die. We need to leave da fish alone!

 

[Lyss]

Here's my opinion:

The corals are getting bleached, fast. Fish that rely on those corals to survive die. Fish that rely on the fish that rely on the coral die. What I'm trying to say is the lower something is on the food chain, the more important it is. If the lowest thing on the food chain dies, everything dies. If the highest thing on the food chain dies, nothing happens. If all reefs die this would have a terrible affect on the ocean. Were above the ocean on the food chain, so if the ocean dies, we die. We need to leave da fish alone!

I agree with that, actually. But again, fixing it is not as simple as you make it sound.

 

[Obsessed with fish]

Whos with me?

 

[Obsessed with fish]

I agree with that, actually. But again, fixing it is not as simple as you make it sound.

I thought most of the governments and prime ministers made an agreement that by 2050 all electric generators and cars will be renewable

 

[Lyss]

I agree with that, actually. But again, fixing it is not as simple as you make it sound.

I’ve also gotten into this with insects, b/c man if only we understood how important they are…

 

[Obsessed with fish]

Y

I’ve also gotten into this with insects, b/c man if only we understood how important they are…

Ye, the only insects i kill are cocroaches and mosquitos.

 

[kados]

Here's my opinion:

The corals are getting bleached, fast. Fish that rely on those corals to survive die. Fish that rely on the fish that rely on the coral die. What I'm trying to say is the lower something is on the food chain, the more important it is. If the lowest thing on the food chain dies, everything dies. If the highest thing on the food chain dies, nothing happens. If all reefs die this would have a terrible affect on the ocean. Were above the ocean on the food chain, so if the ocean dies, we die. We need to leave da fish alone!

I think you start these threads to get people going lol.. any bit of research or reading in this hobby and you'd know a tiny percent of marine fish are captive cultured.

Thread 'Do any other reeefers here refuse to eat fish because they dont want to eat there pets.' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/d...ause-they-dont-want-to-eat-there-pets.882795/

Thread 'Can you smelt iron and pour it into your tank to fertalize your plants' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/c...to-your-tank-to-fertalize-your-plants.881108/

Thread 'Can you use milk to add calcium to your aquarium?' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/can-you-use-milk-to-add-calcium-to-your-aquarium.878709/

 

[Jdadams]

Here's my opinion:

The corals are getting bleached, fast. Fish that rely on those corals to survive die. Fish that rely on the fish that rely on the coral die. What I'm trying to say is the lower something is on the food chain, the more important it is. If the lowest thing on the food chain dies, everything dies. If the highest thing on the food chain dies, nothing happens. If all reefs die this would have a terrible affect on the ocean. Were above the ocean on the food chain, so if the ocean dies, we die. We need to leave da fish alone!

Sounds like your watching to many Netflix documentaries. Have you gone out to the reefs yourself?

 

[Lyss]

I think you start these threads to get people going lol.. any bit of research or reading in this hobby and you'd know a tiny percent of marine fish are captive cultured.

Thread 'Do any other reeefers here refuse to eat fish because they dont want to eat there pets.' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/d...ause-they-dont-want-to-eat-there-pets.882795/

Thread 'Can you smelt iron and pour it into your tank to fertalize your plants' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/c...to-your-tank-to-fertalize-your-plants.881108/

Thread 'Can you use milk to add calcium to your aquarium?' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/can-you-use-milk-to-add-calcium-to-your-aquarium.878709/

Lol I was recalling the milk one, personally. Hadn’t seen the iron one!

 

[Obsessed with fish]

I think you start these threads to get people going lol.. any bit of research or reading in this hobby and you'd know a tiny percent of marine fish are captive cultured.

Thread 'Do any other reeefers here refuse to eat fish because they dont want to eat there pets.' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/d...ause-they-dont-want-to-eat-there-pets.882795/

Thread 'Can you smelt iron and pour it into your tank to fertalize your plants' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/c...to-your-tank-to-fertalize-your-plants.881108/

Thread 'Can you use milk to add calcium to your aquarium?' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/can-you-use-milk-to-add-calcium-to-your-aquarium.878709/

Yes, how did you know?

 

[|Frank|]

are you implying that purchasing "wild caught" means an individual "doesnt care about the environment"?

correlation does not equal causation, you're making a blanket statement and extrapolating data you have no way of quantifying.

you think simply because something is captive bred it's "better" for the environment? Have you factored in carbon footprint of the operation producing these captive bred animals. Pollution. Transport. Chemical run off. Facility square footage taking up land etc. Define "care about the environment"...

 

[Obsessed with fish]

Sounds like your watching to many Netflix documentaries. Have you gone out to the reefs yourself?

I am going to the great barrier reef in a month or 2 so I will go through them myself, and yes I do watch to many Netflix documentary.

 

[Obsessed with fish]

Sounds like your watching to many Netflix documentaries. Have you gone out to the reefs yourself?

If my theory is wrong, then whats the right theory?