Marinelife Collection Debate Heats Up in Florida
The headline “Are Aquariums Getting Too Lifelike?” is splashed across the top of the front page of today’s Science Times section of The New York Times, with a jumbo image of Joe Yaiullo doing maintenance in the 20,000-gallon reef at Atlantis Marine World. The article, by Henry Fountain, provides a balance of viewpoints, but it has Florida marinelife collectors, and state wildlife regulators, lining up to defend themselves.
Overharvests in Florida? Please Consider Some Truths
The Rhyne et al paper that spawned the New York Times article is a publication that we take exception to, as it is full of hyperbole and inaccurate claims that really don’t have any place in peer-reviewed publication. The title itself would lead one to believe our fishery is on the precipice, due largely to activities of marine life fishermen and the curio trade. The real culprit to the demise of the coral reef that we knew in our youth is nutrient loading and diminished water quality due to lack of appropriate wastewater treatment and many other of man’s destructive activities that take place in the name of development.
Shrouding Opinion in Fact: Science Stampeding to Collapse
The recent New York Times article which reports and discusses the paper “Crawling to Collapse: Ecologically Unsound Ornamental Invertebrate Fisheries”, published in the online journal, PloS ONE, highlights a disturbing trend in “science,” whereby the authors are allowed, if not encouraged, to pass off an opinion as if it were a scientific fact and publish these “facts” in a manner typical of advocacy and not science.
Sandhi 善迪 says:
Amazing spot. I love this part of knowledge: "Every small, free square inch is quickly occupied by Xeniidae corals. But, they seem to serve a very important function, preparing the substrate, and binding every piece of coral rubble together so sponges and coralline algae can finish the job by cementing everything up. Thus, later, coral larvae can settle on this newly stabilized real estate." Thank you, VincentNew Ocean-Inspired Designs from Walt Smith says:
[…] over 5 years ago, at the tail end of 2017, Fiji’s government unilaterally banned coral exports, leaving WSI with nothing more than fish and invertebrates to send to customers around the globe. […]CORAL New Issue “FREE THE FISHES” Inside Look says:
[…] of Contents for the May/June 2023 issue of CORAL Magazine. You can view this TOC online. “Is keeping a marine aquarium morally right? Is it ethically correct? Is it something we can […]Jon Gordon says:
Please sign this to support common sense rules in Florida. Ask Fish and Wildlife not to use an ill-advised whitelist of animals that can be kept. All you need to do is add your name to the following statement, "A viable option I support would be a list of prohibited species, which would be a much smaller, manageable and enforceable list than one that attempts to encompass all allowed species. " https://petadvocacy.org/advocacy-campaigns?vvsrc=%2FPetitions%2F3902%2FRespondBryce David says:
To whom it may concern, A whitelist approach to regulating which species are legally allowed to be obtained and traded will decimate fish farms and pet stores. This is not a well thought out approach for combating invasive species release into ecosystems. Best Management Practices have already made inroads on preventing the release of foreign invader species. I suggest a review of those practices and amend them if they are deemed to be insufficient. Sincerely, Bryce DavidEdward Moats says:
I urge you to consider the ramifications of losing a 172 million dollar industry in your state. I completely support the black list and agree that invasive species is a big concern. However , I feel that this bill is over reaching and will have a negative impact not only On the industry , but to Florida’s economy.