Attention all Marine customers

[Rastapus]

Hey everyone,
I have been considering this post for some time but feel it needs addressing.

As many of you are aware, there is still a lot of destructive fishing practices when it comes to collecting marine livestock. For those of you unaware, cyanide is still used in the collection of marine fish particularly in the Philippines and Indonesia. Not only does the Cyanide destroy the surrounding corals but kills a huge amount of fish annually, both at the source and in your aquariums.

This post is not intended as a promotion per se, but more of to create awareness of the problem and what some retailers are doing to avoid it.

At IPU we go to great lengths to avoid cyanide collection. There are a number of importers who claim to not import cyanide fish that do. Weather this is ignorance, or just lies I am sure varies from importer to importer. We occasionally receive comments from customers that some of our marine fish are cheaper elsewhere. Almost always it is a common fish that is being compared. Fish from Indonesia and the Philippines cost a fraction of what they cost elsewhere and are the countries of choice when it comes to importing cheap fish. Our most recent Fiji and Vanuatu shipments are guaranteed net caught shipments and no drugs have been used in the collection of these fish. Unfortunately if buying from the Philippines it is difficult to say if the fish are drug free. Indonesia however is another story. Drug free fish from Indonesia is a myth in my professional opinion. I have not heard of a station not using cyanide or dynamite.
We will be coding our fish labels for marine if we can guarantee they are net caught. If we cannot guarantee it, the label will not have this code. Likely nc for net caught. We avoid Indonesia but we deal with a couple of Philippine sources that claim to be drug free.
Large wholesalers in the Philippines and Indonesia receive their shipments from various divers and buy whatever is brought to them with fear of the divers not returning if they do not buy them. It is a very competitive industry in these countries. Therefore the shipper is sometimes unaware of what quality of fish he is getting. Unfortunately due to this fact, this type of collection will likely never stop in these countries.
There are a number of species of fish that we cannot obtain from our current net caught sources that we do need for our customers, we only wish to inform our customers that there is a possibility of it with certain fish.
An example of what I am talking about is a Canary Wrasse. These wrasse we only import from our Vanuatu station. They are net caught and very hardy. We sell this fish for around $20.00. I have seen this fish from other sources sell for as low as $10.00. We will not bring this fish in from other sources because put simply, they will likely die.
By importing with this priority in mind, IPU does lose sales, but we feel in the long run our customers appreciate the lengths at which we go to in order to obtain the best quality Marine fish we can. This is not a marketing ploy but rather an attempt to bring more attention to this subject and to inform our customers what our stand on it is.
I hope customers will take this into consideration when viewing our marine livestock.

[Algae Beater]

Grant, Thanks for making this distinction. As someone who has worked abroad and seen first hand the differences between responsible and irresponsible practices and their impacts on reefs and fish populations. the distinction is very important to most people and is along the same lines as ethically produced products in different industries.

knowing you are not impacting the reef negatively is a very reassuring feeling.

[Rastapus]

Thanks Algae beater!
Let's hope others feel the same way and look past the difference in price in getting good specimens!

[rescuepenguin]

It might be an idea to post this on your website. There are several responsible practices that you chosen, maybe put these on your website, so that everyone can see. People who read about these practices will quickly receive an education of what actually happens in the industry.

Steve

[Rastapus]

Agreed, we are planning a new website however so we will plan it for the new version.

[monkE]

great post rasta, I'm sure the majority of us aquaholics do so because of our respect for nature... knowing that you guys go to these lengths even loosing customers in the process just shows that you share that same respect and it's not just about the money

[Otter]

Is there a list, somewhere, of the best marine species to collect, in terms of ethics? As well as species/retailers/collectors to avoid? I'd be proud to support such an endeavor.

[Rastapus]

Is there a list, somewhere, of the best marine species to collect, in terms of ethics? As well as species/retailers/collectors to avoid? I'd be proud to support such an endeavor.

I would not post retailers to avoid, that would be very unprofessional. We are already known for our quality, would rather customers decide for themselves. If a marine deal is too good to be true, it likely is. I see a lot of Gobies for example for $10-$13 dollars around. Do you think they were net caught? the truth is there are a lot of species that would be too expensive due to the time consumption to collect with nets. Of course, if the abusive trade did not collect these fish at the cheap prices they do, there would be demand to do so. Some wholesalers are carrying more and more net caught fish and paying a little more to do so because they monitor their margins and see their loss with unreliable sources.
An example of this would be our Fire fish. Fire fish have always been relatively cheap in the trade, unfortunately due to the fact that these fish live in holes and sandy bottoms, they are not easy to catch. My divers spend a lot of time collecting them, patiently. We sell a lot of Fire fish to Europe where wholesalers there recognize that Fire fish die in huge quantities from Indonesia.
If you purchase a marine fish and it either does not eat, or eats and wastes away, there is a good chance it is poisoned by cyanide. Of course this is not the only explanation but it is a common one. Other problems are fish that are simply held too long without being fed, sometimes upwards of 3 weeks or more. By the time they get to their destination they have no fat deposits left and break down over a short period of time.

[bcareader]

Is there a list, somewhere, of the best marine species to collect, in terms of ethics? As well as species/retailers/collectors to avoid? I'd be proud to support such an endeavor.

Hi,

There are a number of sources of info out there. The Marine Aquarium Council site is worth looking at: Marine Aquarium Council

If you're a hardy soul, there is a very detailed 175 page report available on line at the US NOAA site which is the 2008 Proceedings of a workshop on cyanide detection testing (a very tricky problem). You can download that report from: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdfs/nmfsopr40.pdf

It's interesting to note that cyanide is (illegally) used both for marine aquarium collecting and live reef fish food collection. All those who want to each a fish that's been cyanide treated raise their hands! When looking at a marine fish for your tank, pretend you'd like to eat it and think....do I know what the collection history of this fish is, have I asked some direct questions about this? As the report above notes, detection at the import point is difficult, but asking the relevant questions is easy and will send the appropriate signals to suppliers...customer demand is a potent force.

I applaud Grant's efforts to increase our awareness of these issues. As customers, we need to ask about and look for sustainable practices along the entire supply chain to avoid becoming a part of the problem.

Cheers, Gary.

[Rastapus]

Thanks Gary! Yes, unfortunately it is a huge problem and really has not improved over the years. It's amazing all the attention puppy mills get yet many or our aquarium fish are being poisoned to find their way to our aquariums.
It is sad that price often wins over ethics. Often I don't think awareness has as much to do with it as price does. I feel the marine trade here in BC has swung more to the who can be the cheapest, rather then who can offer the best livestock as it is in many cities. As always we will do our part to ensure the best quality at the best value. Sourcing direct enables us to do so but also increases the amount we must purchase. I still love this hobby, I just don't like where it seems to be going in BC. I am always amazed at how far a retailer will go to offer something so cheap, only to lose money. There is high risk in the business, responsible pricing ensures longevity of the business and the hobby in that area.