News & Notes

Brazil Shortsightedly Proposes Zebra Pleco for CITES Appendix I Listing

The 19th CoP occurs November 14-26, 2022, in Panama City, Panama. At this CoP, the government of Brazil has submitted a proposal to uplist H. zebra from the least restrictive CITES listing on Appendix III, to Appendix I, which is the most restrictive CITES listing. Some argue that the new proposals will lead to increased demand for illegally harvested and smuggled specimens of Zebra Pleco.

16 Nov 10:44 PM 0 Read More...

OATA Joins Fellow Pet Trade Associations at CITES CoP19

On the agenda for the meeting, which looks at ways to ensure the sustainable trade in wildlife, are several items that would affect the global ornamental fish trade, including plans to move Zebra pleco (Hypancistrus zebra) from Appendix III to Appendix I – the highest level of restriction – and to put a number of freshwater stingray (Potamotrygon spp.) onto Appendix II.

14 Nov 1:14 PM 0 Read More...

Conservationists release extinct-in-the-wild fish into natural habitat in Mexican river

With the help of local children, a team of conservationists has released more than 1,000 golden skiffia (Skiffia francesae), a freshwater fish found only in Mexico, into the species’ native range in the Teuchitlán River, Jalisco.

12 Nov 1:39 AM 1 Read More...

Skiffia francesae: Back from the Dead on Day of the Dead

More than two dozen years since the golden skiffia (Skiffia francesae) disappeared from its only natural habitat in Mexico, a team of conservationists will release the species back into the wild.

02 Nov 1:15 PM 1 Read More...

Remembering Jake Adams

Adams was a true thought leader in the marine aquarium world, and he served as the Managing Editor of the Reef Builders blog since 2008. But there was so much more to Jake. Collective opinion is that the best was yet to come.

28 Oct 12:43 PM 2 Read More...