FW: Mail

Bruce Hansen (bhansen at oznet02.ozemail.com.au)
Fri, 16 Aug 1996 15:23:14 +-1000

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From: Bruce Hansen[SMTP:bhansen]
Sent: Friday, 16 August 1996 8:10
To: 'rainbowfish at pcug.org.au'
Subject: RE: Mail

From: roy hunter[SMTP:103707.2451 at compuserve.com]
Sent: Thursday, 15 August 1996 13:11
<<Now back to fish... I posted a question on ANGFA having a voice in
government
decisions or if they are even recogonized as an opinion when laws are made
concerning fish or does your government look to ANGFA as just a hobbiest
group?>>

Angfa has a reasonably good standing with several governmental bodies both
National and state, and we are regularly requested to provide submissions
on topics of concern to policymakers. I cannot remember any specific
instances when the decisions actually followed our recommendations bit
that's the wat the cookie crumbles :-)

Of course some departments e.g. Customs, probably view us as a bunch of
incipient smugglers just looking for a chance to sneak in some of those
dangerous PNG Rainbowfishes :-) :-)

Although our aquarium-based observations and collecting "anecdotes" are
important to us (and are often the only published information available) to
the "true" scientist they lack credibility for all sorts of reasons ranging
from lack of academic credentials to improper statistical methodology (
Peter Unmack excepted).So all we can do is kep on doing our best to be as
accurate as we can and keep the welfare of the fish to the forefront. And
above all keep talking and keep our sense op humour!

<<Are things simular there or do they work harder to keep things the way
they
should be? I hear of trout and Gambusia being in your waterways but I am a
little confused as to the extent of the problems with those and other
introduced
exotics>>

It was only in the last couple of years that Gambusia ( Dambusia) no longer
are the recommended mosquito-control fish for farm dams in Queensland and
still I see the ill-informed designers of artificial wetlands ( who know
nothing about the plants and fish in their projects) not aware of the
hazards of poor species selection