>Where should aquarists focus their attention in terms of which
>species/varieties to maintain for conservation purposes? A couple of
>important points to consider in this issue is the fact that very few fish
>raised by amateur aquarists have ever been used or considered in releases of
>endangered species. The second is that, as Les Kaufman put it earlier,
>once fish are released to amateur aquarists they consider them to out of
>the managed stock of that species, ie, they can release fish to
>aquarists but the aquarists cannot return fish into the program later.
>However, I should also point out that these fish can also be used quite
>valuably in other ways such as research and educational programs, just
>not returned to the wild.
Interesting topic, and one I have given a lot of thought to over the last
few years... Can aquarists "give something back" to the wild fish that their
finny friends are descended from (or even *shudder* wild caught), or are
they just being "conservation neutral" by maintaining parallel stocks to
those that may well be dwindling in the wild? I hesitate to mention the Nene
Goose, because there are a lot of people on this list that would know a lot
more about them than I do, but it was an example of how much management is
involved in returning captive bred critters to the wild.
I am involved in a small, local aquarium society of some 150 odd members
(some extremely odd!) and I believe that the best job I can do is to train
those, that show enough interest, how to breed a range of fishes, and point
them gently in the direction of endangered fishes, by use of common analogue
species. For instance, if they can breed and maintain Zebra Danios, then
they can do the same for Melanotaenia eachamensis. If they can breed Neon
Tetras, then they can breed any of the Blue-Eyes. The ideal conditions vary
between analogues of course but the *level of care* is similiar.
>Should aquarists be worrying about species that are only in minor to
>moderate decline, or should they just focus on maintaining those species
>most likely to go extinct in the wild in the next few years? Is the
>"function" of amateur aquarist conservation efforts going to be the
>"arcing" of extinct species in the wild rather than ever having active
>involvement in release programs?
I'd be happy if there were more communication between amateur and boffin in
the preservation of endangered species, but I have encountered powerful
vested interests on both sides (commercial interests vs. professional pride)
that make this difficult. Meanwhile, I will do what I can, spreading the
good word and pointing interested persons in the direction of the
appropriate organisation (such as ANGFA, AKA etc.).
Amatuer involvement in organised breeding programs would be a good thing, if
it could be managed. I know Rob Wager was trying to garner interest in some
sort of project (was it a National Register of Endangered Sahulian Fishes?)
at the '94 ANGFA Conference but nothing ever came of it, AFAIK. I tried to
raise interest in both of our local clubs a couple of times for a similiar
effort to no avail (I couldn't even get them to join ACN as associate clubs,
how's that for slack!). The Australian Federation of Cichlid Societies had
a failed attempt at a Register a few years (mid 80s) back. I believe that a
Register would be essential to any structured effort at coordinated breeding
programs to eliminate duplication of effort, so that (using a Sahulian
analogy) everyone isn't breeding Melanotania praecox because they are pretty
to the exclusion of rarer, more worthy species. There is a tendancy in
amateur circles to faddishness, which I blame the commercial dealers for -
one day a fish is valuable ($$$-wise) and everyone breeds it, it becomes
popular, everyone that can afford them buys them, everyone has them, then
they are guilty of the great crime of being "common" and nobody breeds them
anymore, they disappear. This happened in Canberra Australia (where I live)
a few years back with Peacock Gudgeons. They were "popular", became
"common" (to the stage where they were being given away as lucky door prizes
at aquarium society meetings and being refused by prizewinners "nah, don't
want those things, got a tankful at home"), then they vanished. They went
from being widespread to having disappeared within a couple of years. They
are coming back now... I wish I could say the same for Desert Gobies, but
they seem to be rare all over Australia now.
To come at last to the point, IMHO amateur aquarists may have very little to
do with conservation/preservation, despite all the good intentions in the world.
Regards, Andrew Boyd
(andrew at pcug.org.au)