News & Notes

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...

Pet Advocacy Network Refutes Negative Depiction of Global Aquarium Trade by Associated Press

An Associated Press article by Victoria Milko, Firdia Lisnawati, and Kathy Young, published on October 19th, 2022, has sparked discussion of the marine aquarium trade, including a response from the Pet Advocacy Network (formerly PIJAC). The report builds a case that wild collection of marine fishes for the aquarium trade is unregulated and with no standards for sustainability. A response from the Pet Advocacy Network, below, argues that progress is being made and that the AP article paints a distortedly pessimistic picture of the global aquarium fishery.

27 Oct 1:24 PM 0 Read More...