> You know Pete, I can only think of a few streams where we collected
> exotics. We didn't collect any pleco's, paradise fish, chiclids etc. Mainly
> just Gambusia and I think only 1 stream had guppies.
Yes Roy, but we were up mostly in Cape York and western Qld where there
are very few people or aquarium shops. Actually, I don't think we hardly
even saw any gambusia. We saw guppies in two streams, Little Crystal
Creek and Dirran Creek. They are pretty common on the Tablelands due to
introductions probably mostly by landholders for mosquito control.
Remember the Ross River? There have been a number of cichlids and
livebears found there, even a platy that some dumb American reliberated
trying to do his bit to help the fish. :-) So far in Australia's
history aquarium releases have not overall contributed a substantial
number of new species to the wild. But they have contributed some and it
would have been more except that most people live in cooler parts of the
country. Swordtails, guppies, and platties can be pretty common in some
places around Brisbane. How did they get there? What about the tilapias
that are spreading around Qld? What about weatherloaches around
Melbourne and Sydney? How do you think they got there? It's a pity
Adrian can't visit Florida so he can get an idea of what could happen
around Darwin or Cairns without proper controls on both fish farms and
aquarists. He should also visit western USA where it is impossible to
visit virtually any streams and find a purely native fish fauna like it
is presently possible to do throughout the bulk of Australia. And sure,
many of the species were not aquarium releases, but some clearly were.
> Blaming problems on the hobbiest is just plain bullshit. They are making us
> the scape goat.
You won't find anyone who will argue that hobbiests are the greatest
problem when it comes to introduced fishes, it is well known that most
were made in the past by well intentioned, though misguided governments
and it has been repeated across the world and still is happening in many
places today. Anglers are also major contributers, more so in the USA,
but it's on the increase in Oz. Some Australian state governments have
taken actions to prevent the translocation of fishes both by govt and
anglers.
> I cant imagine what your recommendations would be if you were in the
> position to do so. I dont think there would be a hobby left.
Have I ever said I would like to see a ban on aquarium fishes? No, all I
argue for is some balance. I'll agree with Adrian that many of the moves
the government has made or are thinking of making may not be based on good
reasoning. I'd rather see a program put in place for the evaluation of
all aquarium fishes to eliminate those that are an unreasonable threat
to the Australian environment. I know a system like this was being
developed a few years ago but I don't know if it was ever adopted. It'd
be better to get rid of the hand waving and work towards a more
accountable system. Then the reasonings can be put down on paper in a
clearer fashion and then you have something more tangable to fight over.
Tootles
Peter Unmack
PS: Hey Roy, I've caught plecos in Nevada and they are common in some
places in Florida too I believe.