my comments were not directed toward you or any other list member in =
particular but to all readers generally. I can only speak of the =
Australian situation. However, when reading John Bondhus article _NANFA =
Endangered Species Conservation Program_ in the ACN Newsletter Vol.4, =
number 1 - March 1995, It looks like there is much the same problem in =
the U.S.
Within most Australian States once a species has been listed as =
endangered there is no hope of any aquarium hobbyists getting hold of =
any specimens unless you have _connections_ in the right place. It =
fact it is illegal to have these specimens in your care.
My experience with Government bodies in both Fisheries & Conservation =
areas is that Aquarium Hobbyists are treated as if they are _Lepers_. =
And I might add that support from the Academic area isn't much better.
According to the latest list from the Australian Society for fish =
Biology between 1985 and 1995 the number of endangered species in =
Australia has climbed from 4 to 12, Vulnerable species have jumped from =
4 to 8 and potentially threatened species has gone from 5 to 12. This is =
despite the allocation of reasonably large allocation of money to the =
academic field for research and recovery. Yet still the numbers rise!
So back to my original posting that Governments & Academics are =
reluctant to involve amateur Aquarists in any research or recovery until =
the situation has deteriorated. A case in point was the Eachamensis =
situation, and I wonder if all the money & effort to save this species =
was because of political embarrassment or the real desire to save the =
species from the brink of extinction. Not only was this species thought =
to be the first species to become extinct in Australia but the Lake was =
under the control of the Qld National Parks Service and even more =
embarrassing the lake is also in a World Heritage Area under the control =
of the Wet Tropics Management Authority. Very, very, embarrassing!
Another point I was trying to make was that the involvement of _most_ =
Academics is directly related to available funds whereas aquarium =
hobbyist do it for fun or maybe its _trendy_ or whatever reason, it =
really doesn't matter, the fact remains that many aquarium hobbyists =
would like to maintain certain species if they were given the =
opportunity.
Regards,
Adrian Tappin
atappin at ecn.net.au =20