On Tue, 02 Apr 96 17:07 EST, Cynthia Teague wrote:
>This is a very thought-provoking suggestion. Is it your experience that
>demand for new species from Africa is that short-lived? I hadn't realized
>that.
I've seen this happen very often. A new fish will come into an area
and in the beginning its very popular and expensive. After a few
generations of captive production, you can't give the fish away let
alone sell them. When a fish gets this common, aquarists no longer
show an interest in either breeding or keeping the fish. It often
isn't too long and nobody can even find the fish anymore. Its often
called the BAP and Dump approach to fish keeping that looses many fish
to the hobby.
For those unfamiliar with BAP, it stands for Breeder Award Program.
Its a program where Aquarium Societies reward members for breeding
fish. Its very good at improving the knowledge and breeding
capabilities in members of local societies. It even helps to bring in
species that would never come in via the commercial market. But often
has the unintended side effect of over producing a species. Followed
by the loss due to lack of interest.
>It would be very hard to regulate the disposition of offspring -- especially
snip
More likely, it would be impossible. The only chance they would really
have is in the production of a higher quality offspring. A wild caught
or F1 generation will demand a higher price than a fish that has been
in the hobby for generations. If a similar classification was
developed (possibly - native raised) for the fish these hatcheries
raised, you may stand a chance at a long term market. If the fish
could be raised and shipped at a competitive price at better quality,
their market would be assured.
Cary Hostrawser
()
/||\ Rainbowfish Study Group
|||| <))))<< http://home.earthlink.net/~sbuckel/index.html
|||| <))))<<
|||| Minnesota Aquarium Society
/||||\ http://www.umn.edu/nlhome/m392/c-ames/maspage.htm