CRESTED OYSTER GOBY - CORAL MAGAZINE

Filed under Coral Magazine Article by Tim

Crested Oyster Goby – A Breeder Almost Overlooked

26 Feb, 2013

Crested Oyster Goby – Cryptocentriodes gobiodes – male above, female below – image courtesy Matthew L. Wittenrich / Rising Tide Conservation

We can add another species to our ongoing captive-bred marine aquarium fish list this week with the announcement of successful captive breeding of the Crested Oyster Goby,Cryptocentroides gobiodes. At first glance, it’s safe to say most aquarists are going to credit Rising Tide with claiming another “species first”. However, Rising Tide’s story is much more complicated, since Dr. Matthew L. Wittenrich and the rest of his team at the University of Florida Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory were actually working with “F1″ broodstock. More explicitly, the broodstock used was itself captive-bred.

According to Wittenrich, it turns out that Amy Drehmel, an aquarist based in South Carolina, obtained broodstock in 2010 and by 2011, had quietly succeeded in being the first to rear this attractive goby species, unknown pretty much to everyone outside of a very small circle. Of course, in attempting to double check that fact, we couldn’t find any information published by Drehmel beyond a short note about her obtaining the species. So while Wittenrich et. al. have done a good job of citing Drehmel’s prior work and building upon it, we wonder if Drehmel’s success will be truly recognized by the aquarium hobby at large. More to the point, if the Rising Tide team had omitted this information, it’s fair to say that the world would automatically presume that they were the first to spawn and rear this species, not Drehmel.

Crested Oyster Goby, from egg to juvenile – image courtesy Matthew L. Wittenrich

‘

In the past few years, I have repeatedly encountered aquarists who have accomplished amazing things, yet no one knows about them. Sometimes, this lack of notoriety and due respect is even annoying to said aquarist, particularly when some other aquarist later succeeds in a similar project and receives the accolades and attention of the community. Of course, I often find that such accomplished aquarists failed to do one thing; they failed to document and share their discoveries and findings with the world!

Some might ask why “credit” matters. It matters when you realize that for most innovative aquarists, “credit”, and the recognition and respect that comes with being the first to accomplish something, is often the only external motivator and reward provided freely by our collective community. Case in point, it is not Amy Drehmel who has leveraged her discoveries into a commercial offering of the species, rather it is FishEye Aquaculture (who announced the commercial availability of the species today).

Certainly, I assume Drehmel was ecstatic about her accomplishment, being the first to breed a species (having done so myself, it was the culmination of a boyhood dream to innovate, and immensely satisfying). Imagine how it would feel if someone else had come along in 2012 and claimed to have been the first to breed the species. Frame this with the added reality that since this hypothetical “second” success would’ve been the first publication of the accomplishment, the collective world would have accepted this other aquarist as the pioneer, not Drehmel.

When it comes to being recognized for innovation, I’d encourage aquarists to be proud of their achievements and not keep them quite. After all, the entire aquarium hobby and industry thrives, and grows exponentially, when information is shared and collaboration is fostered. A story like this potentially points dozens of hobbyist marine breeders in a new breeding direction, searching out other attractive species of Cryptocentroides gobies as breeding project candidates, while a formerly rare species may now become more available (and presumably affordable) as a direct result of this breeding success. None of that would have happened without Drehmel sharing her success with Rising Tide, who then repeated the success and has finally broadcast it to the masses.

Meanwhile, there are stories just like Drehmel’s that to date have failed to make it to the public’s attention (insert personal nudge at new-father and talented fish breeder friend Mike Hoang). Some stories are currently being worked on as future articles for CORAL, but other successes may be destined to remain unknown, or in obscurity, due to a lack of time or interest on the part of an innovator to make the story come to life. Sadly, I can’t write the story for these aquarists; it is their story to tell!

I believe CORAL Magazine plays a critical role in bringing innovation to a greater audience, especially given our roles as curators of information, weeding through the clutter of the internet. In my role as a Sr. Editor, it’s my job to help innovative aquarists like Drehmel, or you, tell the story. I realize that the thought of drafting an article is often intimidating, but I promise to do my best to make you look good! The recognition and seeing your name in print is certainly worth it. That said, we do pay our authors too, so there’s even a financial incentive to telling your story. Perhaps most importantly, by publishing your discoveries, you are helping the next aquarist succeed just as you currently stand on the shoulders of all the aquarist who came before you. Yes, you are giving back to the community.

It’s safe to say that Amy Drehmel’s name will live on in association with the story of the captive-bred Crested Oyster Goby, but it’s also safe to say that it might not have happened that way. “Credit where credit is due” sometimes means making sure you claim the credit that’s rightfully yours!

CORAL loves stories of innovation and chasing the frontiers in the marine aquarium hobby; please don’t hesitate to contact us with your successes. A word of advice for future innovators, start taking tons of high-resolution photos and good notes now; while they don’t seem important at the start of a project, they will be by the end! We’d love to hear about your latest innovation – tell us about it!

Congratulations to Amy Drehmel, Rising Tide, and FishEye Aquaculture for sharing a wonderful story about how a fish went from unknown to the latest commercially-available captive-bred marine fish species. We applaud these ongoing efforts, and keep an eye on a future issue of CORAL for more on this project.

March 18, 2013 - 10:42 AM No Comments

New PNG Livestock…

Filed under Aqua Blue, Coral Magazine Article by Tim

PNG Sustainably Collected Livestock Arrives
Aquarists can expect rare fishes and exotic clowns

The Golden Nugget Wrasse, just arrived from EcoAquariums Papua New Guinea.

On a hot Southern California summer afternoon in a Valley warehouse adjacent to Van Nuys airport, an important bit of North American aquarium history occurred. On Saturday, July 14th, the first North American shipment of sustainably collected marine aquarium animals from EcoAquariums Papua New Guinea (PNG), Ltd. arrived in the United States. This marks the first opportunity since North American aquarists rallied around the new PNG aquarium fishery in late summer 2010 that sustainably collected animals from PNG will be widely available to Americans.

“This shipment is not only important to me personally, Joe-Caparatta Joe Caparatta, right, told CORAL Magazine during an interview while the animals were being unpacked, “I feel that it’s important for the hobby.” Caparatta is the owner of Manhattan Aquariums and New York Aquarium Service. He founded the original Unique Corals in the basement of the New York store before moving it to Los Angeles, where he is rebranding it with the sustainability ethos.

Caparatta and partner Scott Fellman are set to launch the new Unique Corals, a boutique marine aquarium business dedicated to making “conscientious, sustainable and responsible” aquarium animals widely and readily available through both wholesale and retail sales. The official launch of the new company is scheduled for early August, and the recently imported PNG fishes (and a few zoanthids and other inverts) are front and center in the inaugural line-up of a uniquely different approach to the marine aquarium trade.

Walking the Walk of Sustainability

“We wanted to ‘walk the walk,’” explains Caparatta as he unpacks a stunning hybrid Lemonpeel Angelfish (Centropyge flavissimus). “We wanted to create a company whose ethics and mission statement truly mirror our belief that there can be a healthy, sustainable way to collect fishes and corals. EcoAquariums PNG is a perfect fit for our business model, and we feel that continuing to support organizations like [it] will result in an ornamental fish trade that is viable for many years, respecting not only the reefs themselves and the animals that live there, but the people who make their living collecting from them.”

Fellman, watching a Percula Clown being tanked, below, who most recently worked at Connecticut-based House of Fins, returned to his native Southern California to help launch Unique Corals with Caparatta. Johnny Ciotti, former creative director and photographer at Ecoxotic, is also involved in the new company, which, according to the mission statement, will only support “responsible collectors, aquaculture facilities, coral propagators, fish breeders, and marine scientists who believe that it is possible to have a thriving aquarium hobby/industry and, more important, a healthy marine environment, for future generations to enjoy.” Ciotti is working with Fellman on forging brand identity and creative strategy.

The History of PNG’s Marine Aquarium Fishery

While it has had a bit of a rocky history, the PNG marine aquarium fishery remains synonymous with sustainability for many North American aquarists. In 2010, PNG became emblematic of what a growing number of North American aquarists believe is a necessary sea change in how the global marine aquarium trade operates. Based on the collaborative work undertaken by EcoEZ, a US-based environmental consultancy, and PNG National Fisheries Authority (NFA), PNG-based SEASMART emerged on the public stage during the summer of 2010. The PNG marine aquarium fishery promised to become one of only a handful of marine aquarium fisheries—and, notably, the only one in a developing island nation—sustainably managed based on scientific data.

As CORAL Magazine covered in “A New Frontier for Marine Livestock Collection” (July/Aug 2010), SEASMART’s definition of sustainability went well beyond environmental sustainability. For SEASMART, sustainability also meant socio-economic sustainability for fishers and fisher communities, something many aquarists had never contemplated.

There is palpable excitement as people get a glimpse of livestock from the new collection areas in Papua New Guinea. Through having access to PNG, aquarists will start seeing some stunning “new” animals like the so-called Gold Nugget Wrasse (Xenojulis margaritaceus) and a plethora of misbarred clownfishes best exemplified, of course, by the now famous Lightning Maroon Clownfish.

EcoAquariums Picks Up Where SEASMART Left Off

Unfortunately, just as word was getting out to North American hobbyists about SEASMART in September 2010, the three-year trial period, during which SEASMART was heavily subsidized by NFA, was coming to an end. While SEASMART managers hoped to continue to operate collaboratively with NFA in PNG, fisheries managers decided to head in a different direction and privatize the fishery. As a result, for sustainably minded North American aquarists who were now eager to have access to PNG animals, there were no PNG animals available. Industry observers who had hoped PNG’s marine aquarium fishery could be a model and impetus for trade reform, watched anxiously, knowing that privatization of the fishery could go either way. In 2011, NFA announced they would award one export permit to one marine aquarium business, and early that summer, as reported in CORAL, EcoAquariums PNG was announced as the permit holder.

Daniel Navin, an American who had been the mariculture director for SEASMART, is the founding director of EcoAquariums. While the company has already shipped to both Asia and the United Kingdom, this first shipment to the United States is particularly noteworthy for Navin.

“It has been a long time coming and quite the challenge getting fish from Papua New Guinea to the USA,” says Navin, who had initially hoped to have PNG animals in the United States last year. “I am very excited to know that our little fishes from PNG are now available to hobbyists in the USA,” continues Navin, “and I am very excited to gauge the retail market reaction to both the sustainability and traceability aspects of these fish.”

Transparency Lacking in North American Trade

At present, the aquarium animals available to aquarists in North America represent the gamut in terms of sustainability and legality. Because it is so difficult for the aquarist at the point of sale to know the origin of the animal he or she purchases, the reality is that most North American aquarists who have purchased marine fishes, corals and other invertebrates from fisheries around the world have unwittingly supported unsustainable fisheries, destructive fishing practices and illegal activity.

While there are some fisheries, such as those in the smaller developing island nations (e.g., Fiji, Solomon Islands, etc.), where collection is generally sustainable and destructive fishing practices like cyanide use is rare, it often difficult or impossible for the aquarist to know they are purchasing an animal from one of these countries unless, of course, the animal is endemic.

While various certification and labeling schemes (e.g., Marine Aquarium Council certification and Quality Marine’s tank tags) have attempted to address this issue, there is still a distinct lack of transparency in the North American marine aquarium trade.

“This is why what Dan is doing with EcoAquariums is so exciting,” says Fellman holding up an EcoAquariums PNG label taped to a bag with a so-called “PNG naked clownfish.” “Every single animal has one of these tags,” says Fellman, as he prepares to acclimate the fish. “By passing this tag along to the aquarist, they know where the animal originated and how it was collected. That’s a big deal.”

Will People Put Their Money Where Their Mouth Is?

The big question, as alluded to earlier by Navin, is how will these sustainably collected animals from PNG be received in the marketplace, and, more pointedly, will aquarists be willing to pay a price premium for them? Given the fishery management procedures, the higher-than-average wage paid to the fishers and the cost of freight from PNG, Unique Corals will need to pass along some of the additional cost with the tag. Fellman believes aquarists will be willing to pay a little more for these animals. After all, this is a model consumers in North America commonly see employed at the grocery store. Whether it be sustainable seafood, cage-free hen eggs, grass-fed beef, fair trade coffee, or any number of other products that are priced somewhat higher than their non-ecolabeled counterparts, consumers in the United States have proven there is enough market share for both “cheap” products and products that may be more consistent with an individual’s personal ethic.

Dale Pritchard is owner and managing director of EcoreefUK Ltd., a wholesaler of marine ornamental fishes and corals in the UK, and he has been actively working to promote and sell EcoAquarium’s fishes in the United Kingdom for the past six months. “It has become clear to me that there is definitely a market for a sustainable option,” he says, “but the most difficult part has been convincing retailers to stock the fish.” Pritchard explains that, for many marine aquarium livestock retailers, it is all about economics. “Success for them is to be able to sell fish cheaper than their competitors down the road.” While Pritchard certainly understands the role of price in driving markets, he strongly believes price should not trump all else. Misbarred Maroon Clown, below, part of first shipment.

“The truth in fact is the most successful retailers are the stores that offer something different with great service and advice,” he says. “The most successful retailers I have visited understand this and will not consider the price as being the primary driver in purchasing decisions.” Pritchard says, in his experience, these retailers tend to have a deeper understanding of the marine aquarium industry and the importance of having a unique selling point.

Pritchard and Unique Corals’ Fellman and Caparatta are hedging their bets on the belief that there are enough customers—both wholesale and retail—who are willing to pay a price premium for a marine aquarium animal with just such a distinguishing selling point. “EcoAquariums makes it easier to show this at the point of sale through their labeling system, which really sets their animals apart,” says Pritchard. At present, the EcoAquariums’ label accompanying every animal exported is the closest thing aquarists have to a now widely available ecolabel.

“Besides being sustainably collected and equitably traded,” explains Navin, “all of our fish come with a serialized waterproof tag that allows each fish to tell a unique story.” Each tag has a specific number that, when entered into the EcoAquariums database, gives the aquarist an ever more complete picture of where the animal originated and its collection and transport to the local fish store.

“The tags come into their own in helping to generate interest and an introduction for storekeepers to talk about the sustainable and ethical nature of EcoAquariums’ operation,” says Pritchard, who adds that aquarists in the UK have been willing to pay a price premium of up to 25 percent more for these animals from PNG. In an industry where devaluing the animals is one of the greatest threats to sustainability, these increased prices are widely thought to be a positive step for the trade.

Real Challenges—and Opportunities—Lay Ahead

Unique Corals plans to launch its website in August, making these and other animals widely available to sustainably minded aquarists across the United States. Southern California aquarists will have an opportunity to view and purchase these animals prior to the official company launch at what Unique Corals is calling a “Sneak Pique” at their Van Nuys facility on Saturday, July 21st.

In addition to the PNG animals from EcoAquariums PNG, there will be a variety of other cultured animals and animals sourced from sustainable collectors available at “exclusive pre-debut prices.” Unique Corals will also be holding a raffle at the event, with proceeds benefitting the Coral Restoration Foundation.

“We know that the real challenge for Unique Corals will be to educate the consumer to chose sustainably-sourced livestock that may cost a little more from known sources, over low priced animals that may have been collected with unethical, non-sustainable practices,” Caparatta tells CORAL after a long day of unpacking the first 15 boxes of PNG animals to arrive in North America in roughly two years. “We believe that a properly educated consumer will make the right choice.”

…and that’s why Unique Corals has already discussed its next order with EcoAquariums.

Lightning Maroon Clownfish Spawns

Filed under Aqua Blue, Coral Magazine Article by Tim

LIGHTNING MAROON CLOWNFISH SPAWNS
First successful hatch after months of frustration

Dubbed the Lightning Maroon Clownfish, the aberrant markings may or may not be a genetically transmitted trait. Both members of the pair were collected in the same area of Papua New Guinea. They were coaxed into this first viable spawn by breeder Matt Pedersen in Duluth, Minnesota. The pair are housed in a 30-gallon cube reef aquarium, below.

STAFF REPORT: It has been two long years since an electrifyingly pigmented Maroon Clownfish,Premnas biaculeatus, was collected in Papua New Guinea and exported to the United States. This emblematic clownfish, the only known living specimen and the second of two aberrant Maroon Clownfish collected in Papua New Guinea in the last few years, has captured the hearts and minds of aquarists around the world (see CORAL, July/August 2011). Matt Pedersen, a breeder in Duluth, Minnesota, has been on a quest to get the fish, a female, to spawn but has admitted to many frustrations via hisLightning Project blog.

“In the past few months The Lightning Project has gone from relatively boring stability to dramatic highs and lows,” he says. Pedersen has been battling ongoing chronic maladies in the broodstock pair, having gone as far as to enlist a fish veterinarian to collaborate in troubleshooting this problem. Finally, however, Pedersen reports having succeeded in coaxing the Lightning Maroon and her mate to produce a healthy clutch of eggs after months of fruitless nesting behaviors.

Pedersen says he used a technique referred to as a “double down,” first shared with him by fellow marine fish breeder Mitch “Booyah” May. By placing a spawning tile with eggs from another clownfish pair, a breeder can sometimes stimulate a reluctant pair to produce their own eggs. The Lightning Maroon pair was successfuly enticed into their first small spawn, which was quickly eaten. Extreme disappointment settled in among all aquarists who are following this drama.

In the past two weeks, the Lightning Maroon and her mate have spawned for a second time, this time with an estimated 310 fertile eggs which they did not consume. “Of course, they’ve continued to throw every trick in the book at me,”says Pedersen. “First, more disease problems surfaced during the incubation of the spawn. No sooner was that problem handled, then it was followed by the early hatching of a single larva. This early hatch could have put the rest of the clutch in jeopardy during what could have been a risky, if not disastrous, artificial incubation and hatch.”

As of July 5th, 2012, Pedersen has reached yet another milestone in the breeding project, introducing APBreed TDO, a larviculture feed, as the Lightning Maroon’s offspring near the next critical and risky step in their development: metamorphosis and settlement.

“It is at settlement when Maroon clownfish first reveal their stripes; it may become known if the ‘lightning trait has appeared in this first generation of offspring,” says Pedersen, a CORAL senior editor. “While it may or may not be immediately apparent, the first possible glimmer may be only days away.”

Read more at The Lightning Project.

Field Report from the Banggai Team

Filed under Coral Magazine Article by Tim

BANGGAI RESCUE SCIENCE TEAM UPDATE
Tracking transplanted Banggai Cardinals

Banggai Rescue scientific team member Dr. Roy Yanong, VMD, inspects a bag of stressed Banggai Cardinalfish at Bone Baru, Banggai Islands. It is believed the species may become more susceptible to a lethal virus secondary to stress, so the Team is looking at as many of the widely varying supply chains as possible.

Luwuk, Sulawesi, Indonesia
June, 2012

By Ret Talbot

As we’ve come to expect, it didn’t take long for U.S.-based scientists who are part of the Banggai Rescue (BR) international science team to find “invasive” Banggai Cardinalfish in Sulawesi. Upon arriving in Luwuk (Central Sulawesi) by increasingly smaller aircraft from Denpasar in Bali, the U.S.-based BR team members had most of a day to kill before meeting up with their Indonesian counterparts and heading by ferry to the Banggai Islands. What to do?

Look for Banggais, of course!

Matt Wittenrich shooting Banggai Cardinalfish, Luwuk Hrbour

An introduced population of Banggai cardinalfish in Luwuk Harbour is oft-cited in the literature, and we suspected it would not be hard to find. So we arranged for a car and driver, loaded up the gear and headed out armed with pictures of the species on our phones and a rough approximation of local and trade names. We stopped at several places inquiring about the fish, and while the language barrier certainly exacerbated the situation, the fact that a couple of Americans wanted to see a small fish in the busy and polluted harbour proper as opposed to diving on a nearby near-pristine reef was our biggest obstacle. Finally, with a little more directive leadership, we turned away from the road headed out of town toward the pristine reefs and instead made our way down to Luwuk’s port proper.

The harbour, chiselled against a backdrop of dense mountain forest, was hot with a miasma of odors colliding beneath a blue sky fringed by cumulus clouds skirting the horizon. Wide wood-planked piers cut amidst a tapestry of brightly colored ferries and fishing boats, small traditional craft and a handful of government vessels. Flotsam sloshed in the shallows where freshwater runoff mixed with the stagnant backwater against the stone quay. Plastic bottles, foil wrappers and other sundry trash items were punctuated by the occasional fish carcas and a virtual smörgåsbord of discarded food waste.

Perhaps we wouldn’t get in the water here.

Right, Dr. Matt Wittenrich recording Banggai Cardinalfish near a jetty in Luwuk Harbour.

Our team, most of us glaringly white and no doubt a bit wide-eyed by the sudden assault on all senses, elicited curious stares from locals who clearly don’t see a lot of tourists poking around the Harbour with cameras. Undaunted, we approached the water’s edge with eager anticipation. From several meters away, the blackspine sea urchin clumps were easy to see. A little closer, and there was no doubt there were fish hovering about the urchin clumps. A little closer…and…definitely Banggai Cardinalfish…

…and lots of them!

While these were not the first Banggais we have seen in the wild in Indonesia (we’ve observed three other wild populations in Bali), seeing them here was still a thrill. After studying this animal for so long and from so many different perspectives, all of us could barely contain our enthusiasm. Pointing and talking in excited bursts, snapping photographs of what could only be described as severely degraded habitat, we must have provided Luwuk’s monthly quota of entertainment in a few short minutes.

Unknown Origins

What is often referred to as “a small population of unknown origins” in Luwuk Harbor, appeared to be alive and well, and depending upon how one defines small, it appears anything but. As we travelled around the harbor, we consistently saw Banggai Cardinalfish sheltering around urchins less than a meter from shore in shallow water. While there is some speculation in the literature that this could be

an endemic population, the latest research (both scientific and sociological) seems to point to an introduction by traders in Banggai Cardinalfish destined for the marine aquarium trade. (It is reported that fish handlers routinely cull damaged, deformed or dying fish and toss them overboard.)

Left, Banggai Rescue scientists Dr. Matt Wittenrich, Dr. Roy Yanong and Yunaldi Yahya head out with a local fisher (and an exceedingly capable young bailer) to collect samples from a village that reports collecting 18,000 Banggai Cardinalfish a month.

As previously reported, the Team has now observed two of the four or five sites where we have heard introduced populations of Banggais are thriving. In addition, the team observed Banggais in a location in North Bali we have not seen cited in the literature. These introduced populations–especially the now infamous Lembeh Straits population to the north–have, of course, been a significant talking point in the ongoing debate about the species and its conservation status.

With introduced populations doing so well even in areas with such abysmal water quality, could this truly be a species on the verge of collapse?

This is a line of reasoning put forth by some, including some members of the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Agency for Marine and Fisheries Research we have interviewed in Indonesia as part of our research.

Of course, as others have pointed out in the literature, this is a complex question. Without looking at extensive population data and understanding the significance and origins of introduced populations versus endemic populations (and without understanding the genetic diversity and the genetic flow (or lack thereof) of sub-populations of the species–a rush to judgement could be very damaging to the species’ future.

As has been frequently reported, this is a species believed to have an extremely limited endemic distribution. When one combines this with the fish’s high site fidelity and mouthbrooding characteristics (e.g., individuals don’t move very far from their parents throughout their entire life cycle), re-stocking (especially if the stock represent trader’s culled fish) or in-situ culturing initiatives could have deleterious impacts on the species overall genetic diversity. Throw the virus we are here to research into the equation, and fishery aside, it could easily be argued this a fish that needs a management plan to ensure its fitness into the future.

Filled with renewed excitement for the Banggai Rescue Project and our role in that Project, the U.S.-based team members headed back to the rendezvous point with our Indonesian counterparts. Tonight we are off to the Banggai Islands by ferry.

Stay tuned, as you can rest assured there is lots more to come.

Visit the Banggai Rescue official site.
See more images and updates on the Banggai Rescue Facebook page.

Tags: aqua blue distribution, Coral Magazine Article
July 6, 2012 - 6:42 AM No Comments

Banggai Expedition Hits the water

Filed under Coral Magazine Article by Tim

BANGGAI RESCUE PROJECT
Science Team Starts Work in Indonesia

The science team gathering in Bali: Fish veterinarian Dr. Roy Yanong, DVM, left, and
Dr. Tom Waltzek, VMD, PhD, right, an aquatic veterinary pathologist, both from
the University of Florida, tour a research facility in Bali this week with
a new Indonesian colleague, center. Images by Ret Talbot.

International team tries to unravel the conundrum of Pterapogon kauderni

By RET TALBOT

June 26, 2012 Luwuk, Sulawesi, Indonesia - Banggai Rescue is now in full swing, and we’re excited to share our adventures and investigations with you! As you know, Matthew Pedersen is hard at work in the new fish room in Minnesota, Karen Talbot is working on scientific illustrations in California, the U.S.-based scientific team is now on the ground and collaborating with their Indonesian counterparts in Bali, and James Lawrence, in Vermont, is keeping us all moving in the right direction toward our book publication deadline.

The U.S. Science Team is here, including Dr. Matthew L. Wittenrich, Ph.D.; Dr. Roy Yanong, V.M.D: Dr. Thomas Waltzek, V.M.D., Ph.D., all from the University of Florida’s Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory. They have teamed up with Indonesian marine biologists, including Gayatri Reksodihardjo-Lilley, Dr. Ketut Mahardika, Ph.D.; and Yunaldi Yahya, M.Sc.

Right: Luwuk Harbour, departure point to the Banggai Islands and a site of reported release of Pterapogon kauderni outside their normal range.

Unknowns Galore

The team in Indonesia is learning that, as expected, there are more unknowns about the Banggai Cardinalfish than hard facts. Sure, we know it is a beguiling fish with a set of fascinating biological characteristics. We believe it is a species endemic to a very limited area (the Banggai Archipelago to the east of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia) but introduced populations are on the rise.

We know that since 2003-04, there has been a sharp increase in mortality of Banggai Cardinalfish in public aquaria, aquaculture facilities and in the marine ornamental trade the world over. We know much of this mortality is directly related to a relatively indiscriminate and alarming virus with repercussions that could extend far beyond marine ornamentals with potential impacts to food and recreational fisheries.

• But where is the virus originating? How can healthy Banggai Cardinalfish broodstock be reliably obtained for home and commercial aquaculture and the marine aquarium trade? Is the virus a threat to wild populations?

• What is the real impact of the trade on endemic populations, host ecosystems, and local fishers and fisher communities?

• What are the potential impacts of what we are learning on Indonesia‚Äôs marine aquarium trade, and how is the Banggai cardinalfish emblematic of trade-wide issues that require greater transparency and wider discussion?

These questions are ones that keep team members up late into the night discussing, debating and hypothesising, and with so many unique backgrounds and skill sets in play, these discussions are yielding truly exciting, interdisciplinary and novel approaches to the larger discussion about the Banggai Cardinalfish.

In terms of nuts and bolts, the U.S.-based scientists arrived in Indonesia on Friday and Saturday, making the Indonesian expeditionary team complete. After meeting with Banggai Rescue’s in-country sponsor, Gayatri Lilley of Yayasan Alam Indonesia Lestari (Indonesian Nature Foundation or LINI) on Saturday morning, we headed to West Bali and then Java and the town of Banyuwangi on Selat Bali (Bali Straits), where several marine aquarium trade export facilities deal regularly with Banggai Cardinalfish and where there are reports of introduced Pterapogon kaudernipopulations living in the wild.

Wild-caught Banggai Cardinalfish in a holding facility in Bali, Indonesia.

On Monday morning, we were hosted by the Gondol Research Institute for Mariculture in North Bali (GRIM), where one of the Indonesian scientists who will be working closely with the U.S.-based scientists in the Banggai Islands is based. The entire team was very impressed with the facility and the scientists who work there (more to come on our visit), and we are looking forward to collaborating fully with them. On Tuesday, the US-based scientists, using information provided by our Indonesian counterparts, set out to observe more introduced populations in Bali before briefly returning to the south and tomorrow’s flight to the Banggai Islands.

We will try to post another update before leaving for the Banggai Archipelago, but from here on out, Internet connection may be spotty at best. Rest assured we will be documenting all our activities, and we will update you when we are able. Thank you again for your interest and support of this important project. While we may be a small group made up of passionate scientists, fish breeders, aquarists, a journalist, an artist, and a publisher, we very much feel as if you all our part of the Team! Stay tuned.¶

Don’t forget to “Like” the Banggai Rescue Facebook Page for more updates and photos from Indonesia.

Banggai Rescue Official Site

Tags: aqua blue distribution, Coral Magazine Article
July 6, 2012 - 6:38 AM No Comments

New Cyanide test draws Reaction - Coral Magazine article

Filed under Coral Magazine Article by Tim

New Cyanide Test Draws Reaction from 104th Street

By CORAL Editors - Posted on 04 May 2012

Cyanide fishermen in the Philippines. Image courtesy IRDC.

Aquarium livestock industry leaders sound positive notes on streamlined detection method

By Ret Talbot

The announcement of a new, non-invasive, non-destructive test for the presence of illegal cyanide in the bag water of collected reef fishes (New Cyanide Test: A Game Changer, Coral Newsletter, April 27), has the epi-center of the marine trade in the United States buzzing. Reaction from 104th Street in Los Angeles, in the shadow of LAX Airport, with a concentration of the world’s largest and busiest aquarium livestock importers has been swift and cautiously optimistic about the new protocol developed by scientists in Portugal.

While some casual aquarists immediately expressed surprise that cyanide use is still as prevalent as it is, those who have been around the trade for any length of time had a more nuanced, mostly positive response. Some of the more interesting observations came from those who have the most proverbial skin in the game–the importers and wholesalers, who, in many ways, are the trade’s gatekeepers.

Unlike previously known methods of testing for cyanide, the new method does not require the sacrifice of living fish, nor long, sophisticated, and expensive laboratory work. The researchers say it will offer affordable and almost immediate method for screening water samples from incoming shipments of fish for the presence of thiocyanate (SCN-) a metabolite excreted by fish exposed to sodium or potassium cyanide. Lead researcher in the development of the method was Dr. Ricardo Calado, right, at the University of Santiago, Aviero, Portugal.

Self-Policing Options

“I know what I believe about my sources and what I have been told,” says veteran importer Dave Palmer. “It would be very interesting to see if the test results back that up.” Palmer, below, of Pacific Aqua Farms (PAF), a large Los Angeles-based importer and wholesaler 5450 W. 104th St., says he would support an effective, easy-to-use and cost effective cyanide detection test. In fact, if the fiber optic sensor described in last week’s article were readily available and affordable, Palmer says he would be interested in using it for in-house verification regarding his sources.

A common theme expressed by most importers was the fact that, in the absence of any cyanide screening, it is difficult to actually know beyond a question of a doubt that the fishes they purchase are collected without employing destructive fishing practices like cyanide. In addition to using the new test to audit his own supply chains, Palmer is curious about other potential uses for the test. “It would be interesting,” Palmer conjectures, “to test the Solomon or Fiji fish when they first arrive and then again after being mixed in the same system with Indonesia and Philippine fish to see if there is any transfer of a positive test from being mixed with other tainted fish.” The crux for Palmer is price. “Lots of interesting things can be done if this test is indeed cheap enough to more or less test at will,” he says.

SDC: Three Strikes Rule Possible

Eric Cohen, below right, of Sea Dwelling Creatures (SDC), 5515 W. 104th St., also expressed enthusiasm for the new test. “This is excellent news,” says Cohen. “We have always pressured our suppliers to provide the best quality possible, but now we can hold them to a standard never before possible.” Like the other importers interviewed for this story, Cohen alluded to the very real challenges of knowing every shipment of animals has been collected without the use of cyanide or other destructive fishing practices.

“With the new test kit for cyanide detection,” he says, “we can now randomly test incoming fish and let our suppliers know that we will not support unsustainable collection methods.” How would SDC implement such a policy? “I believe once we begin the testing stage,” Cohen suggests, “we will implement a three strikes rule and give our suppliers a chance to reform 100 percent or lose the business.”

“Very positive breakthrough…”

Chris Buerner of Quality Marine, 5420 W. 104th St., is as enthusiastic about the new detection protocol as Palmer and Cohen, but he does point out the challenges to importers who do not have tight control and oversight over their own supply chains.

“This is obviously a very positive breakthrough if it is reliable and indicative of responsible collection versus that which is in violation of local fishing regulations,” says Buerner, below left. The challenge, of course, is that if cyanide is detected in fishes at an import facility, that importer could be prosecuted under the Lacey Act even if the importer honestly did not intend to import fishes collected with cyanide. The Lacey Act (16 U.S.C. ¬ß¬ß 3371-3378) protects both plants and wildlife by creating civil and criminal penalties for a wide array of violations, including the trade in wildlife, fish, and plants illegally taken, possessed, transported, or sold.

Every importer interviewed expressed concerns that, given the current state of the trade, it is virtually impossible to know all fishes from all supply chains have been collected legally without cyanide. As several importers pointed out, it is even difficult for all source country exporters to know without question that the fishers from whom they buy fishes have not used cyanide. An easy-to-use, cost-effective testing tool could change that, and it is why such a test is almost universally embraced by most of the major players along the chain of custody for in-house auditing. While most importers readily embrace using the test in-house, whether or not they would as enthusiastically support randomized third party testing is a more complex question.

“From what I understand current testing methodology is impractical and costly,” says Buerner. “These newer technologies that are being developed will assist regulatory agencies to police industries suspected of using cyanide. Responsible industry operators should be supportive of these efforts which will lend transparency to sustainable collection methods and validate responsible trade, while discouraging those in violation from continuing and misrepresenting animals collected unlawfully.” So are they?

Cross-Contamination Issues

Palmer says PAF would be supportive of third party testing, but first, he says, he would need to be convinced the test is accurate with no false positives from other sources or from cross contamination through water or food. “Once I am convinced that the test is accurate,” says Palmer, “I would love to have tests done on incoming shipments before they are put into our system in order to solve any issues that might come up with particular suppliers.”

Like other suppliers interviewed, Palmer says he would be reluctant to allow random testing of fishes in PAF’s system before having a chance to solve any issue that may arise from a particular supplier and be identified through in-house auditing first‚Äìperhaps through a three-strike system such as the one Cohen says SDC would imlement.

“The reason for that,” Palmer explains, “is that I would not want to have Solomon fish tainted with a cyanide label if contaminated from a Philippine or Indonesian source. If a third party comes in and starts testing and releases information about the tests before we have had time to solve any issues it could hurt reputations and business severely.”

Palmer points out, as did the other importers interviewed for this story, his suppliers claim to have no cyanide-caught fishes. “But really how can they be sure taking into consideration how fish are collected and the journey they go through in those countries?” asks Palmer. As such, he tells CORAL he would want to test in-house first and attempt to solve any issues before a third party was allowed to test and make the results public. “Too much is at stake when I only have others’ guarantee about the fish I receive,” Palmer concludes. “It would be terrible to bring into question Solomon fish from a cross-contamination.”

Testing Before Exporting

Buerner of Quality Marine says he would prefer source country testing starting at the point of export. This way, he explains, “we as importers aren’t unwittingly importing fishes that have been collected in that manner.” Buerner points out that the longer the supply chain, the more difficult it is to have real transparency. “[It is] no problem on short supply chains where we have good oversight and influence,” he says, ‚Äúbut there are just too many unknowns about the longer supply chains that are, for better or for worse, a central part of the marine aquarium trade at present.‚Äù

As many importers expressed in confidence, there is a great deal of concern regarding the politics within the industry when it comes to cyanide. As one importer put it, “there is a lot of posturing done in the industry about suppliers having guaranteed cyanide-free fish, but none of us really know for sure unless we buy only from certain known cyanide-free areas which will limit the species offered for sale. I don’t know of any major wholesaler who does not buy fish from an area that could possibly have an issue with cyanide.”

All importers agreed eliminating cyanide use was an important goal, but most claimed they would have to be assured they would have time to “clean up their own house first” by, hopefully, using the new cyanide detection tool. They also say they would need to better understand the potential for cross contamination and false positive results.

Palmer agrees whole-heartedly with this assessment. “I think that all the major wholesalers are at risk of having a positive result until they have some time to use the test on incoming shipments and solve any problem that might show up,” he says. “The damage that could be done to someone by releasing test results is great. That is why I think that we all would need some time to use the test and root out any unknown problems that might exist.”

Ret Talbot is a CORAL senior editor reporting on sustainability issues. He is leaving for Indonesia in the coming weeks as part of the Banggai Rescue Project.

May 5, 2012 - 11:23 AM No Comments

Bill Addison - Marine Fish Breeding Pioneer, Dead at 85

Filed under Coral Magazine Article by Tim

Bill Addison, Marine Fish Breeding Pioneer, Dead at 85

By CORAL Editors - Posted on 23 February 2012

Remembering Bill Addison:

“Fishes would see him and spawn”

By Matt Pedersen & The Staff of CORAL

It was the evening of February 17th, when we received word from long-time fish breeder and friend Joe Lichtenbert.

“Some very sad news,” wrote Lichtenbert, “Bill passed away in his sleep last night….Although Bill suffered from diabetes requiring daily injections, pretty bad arthritis, and macular degeneration, he NEVER complained. His famous words of wisdom were, ‘So be it!’.

Bill was a WWII vet. His personal exploits would make you proud to be an American. The family is not planning any of the normal services. Instead, he will be cremated and his ashes will be spread across the mountain passes in his home state of Wyoming that he so loved. I, and the world, have lost a great and inspirational man.”

William Middleton Addison’s obituary was published on February 22nd in the Wheatland, Wyoming Record-Times and gives us insights beyond the man that was known in the aquarium world as Bill Addison, pioneering marine fish breeder and founder of C-Quest Hatchery.

In his 85 years of life, Addison accomplished and saw more than most, and as Matthew L. Wittenrich retells it: “He dug his first uranium mine by hand, amassed a collection of antique cars, set up a tropical fruit plantation in Central America and a fish hatchery in Puerto Rico.”

Indeed, Addision served in World War II as a Marine, returning afterwards to graduate high school, attend college, and married his wife Arline in 1952. Addison mined uranium and later white marble in Wyoming. Ultimately Addison sold the mining business to pursue the aforementioned interests, including the C-Quest Hatchery in Puerto Rico which was moved to Wyoming in 2010, as reported in Reefbuilders.

C-Quest is the oldest operating marine ornamental fish hatchery in the country, starting in 1988. In 1997, Joyce Wilkerson wrote an extensive look at the C-Quest facility in Puerto Rico. The author of Clownfishes(Microcosm, 1998), Wilkerson worked with Bill Addison for a number of years before her death in 2007.

It is interesting to note Wilkerson’s concern over the loss of several hatcheries in the late 90’s, leaving only C-Quest and Joe Lichtenbert’s Reef Propagations Inc. producing captive-bred marine fish for the aquarium industry at that time and fighting an uphill battle for profitability that seems to rage on today.

Lichtenbert retired in 2010, leaving only C-Quest still standing from that early era. C-Quest continues even today, continually extending the longevity record for a commercial marine ornamental hatchery, now under the leadership of Addison’s daughter, Katy.

“Bill’s Black Beauty Maroon,” one of many unusual anemonefishes kept by Addison at C-Quest.

Martin Moe: “Bill and Arline Kept the Marine Breeding Dream Alive”

Martin Moe, author of The Marine Aquarium Handbook: Beginner to Breeder, recalled the time some 15 years back when asked about Addison’s passing and the impact he had.

“I have known Bill Addison for many years. We had much in common, both in world outlook and marine fish culture interests. We met and spent time together at many conferences and often talked on the phone. Bill wasn’t one for email, he preferred a more direct form of communication.

I dedicated my book, Breeding the Orchid Dottyback to him and Arline:

‘To Bill and Arline Addison, with thanks for keeping the dream alive.’ There was time in the 1990s when ornamental marine fish culture was not the vibrant activity that it is today. New species were not in development and tank bred fish were on an uphill economic battle with wild caught fish. Some of this remains today, but tank-reared fish are now playing with a much better poker hand (Bill loved a good game of poker).

My dedication was stimulated by the wonderful job Bill and Arline did with the establishment and support of C-Quest, which helped greatly in the development of a market for tank-reared marine fish and in the understanding of the importance of this endeavor.”

When we call Bill Addison a pioneering marine fish breeder, we must point out that he was the third person recognized as a MASNA Aquarist of the Year, in 1997. It’s interesting to note that Bill was only preceded by fellow Aquarists of the Year Martin Moe (1995), and Thomas Frakes (1996), both talented and pioneering breeders cut from the same cloth in the same pioneering era. However, we ought never to judge a man simply by the stature of his peers, but through the words of those who knew him best.

Matt Wittenrich: “He was sharp as a tack”

Wittenrich, author of The Complete Illustrated Guide to Marine Aquarium Fishes, says he was truly fortunate to have met Addison several years ago in Puerto Rico.

Wittenrich recalls that “From the very beginning I respected him. I had known of his pursuits and accomplishments from many years of childhood admiration, but got to know the real Bill spending time with him and Arline at their home in Wyoming. Bill was a man to be admired….He loved his family, loved his wife, and loved life. He was sharp as a tack, remembering spawning records of fish spawned in his hatchery in 1992.”

Jeff Turner: “Many people learned from him.”

Jeff Turner, who had an early role with Oceans Reefs and Aquaria (ORA),currently the country’s largest marine ornamental aquaculture operation, knew Addison well. Turner now heads up Boyd Enterprises and Reef Aquaria Design.

“With Bill leaving the planet physically, we have lost a tremendous wealth of marine fish knowledge and a guy that certainly owned the knack of marine fish breeding. Many people learned from him and also taught Bill a thing or two. Todd Gardner, Matt Wittenrich, Martin Moe, Frank Hoff, Joyce Willkerson, Paul Schlicht, Dave Palmer, myself and so many others respected Bill’s opinion, and I think all of us were fond of the fact that Bill could do whatever it was that Bill was going to do.

Bill would want us to press forward with marine ornamental fish breeding and to keep the lines of communication open between ourselves so that more discoveries are made and more species are cracked.”

Edgar Diaz: “Fishes would see him and spawn”

One of the many others Turner alludes to is Edgar Diaz. Diaz is the proprietor of Addy-Zone Hatcheries in Michigan, and got his start breeding marine fish under Addison at C-Quest. Diaz remembered that “Bill was the greatest of them all, the master. Fishes would see him and spawn.

He was a great boss, firm but fair. He believed in what he did and never gave up. He is the person I admire most. The best thing I learned from him was not about fish – don’t mess around and don’t let people mess with you. Then raise fish.”

And raise fish C-Quest did. At one time C-Quest employed some 20 people and maintained over 550 broodstock pairs. C-Quest has been a driving force for breeding innovation throughout its history. If you admire the many Red Sea Dottybacks that are available today almost exclusively as affordable captive bred fish, you owe a debt of gratitude to Addison and his crew.

The vast majority of “Onyx Perculas” from captive-bred lines today are descendents of the “C-Quest Line,” the name for the phenotype being coined by Addison himself and shares a distinct breeding history when compared to “Onyx” Perculas caught in the wild – Addison was fortunate enough to recall the story of the Onyx Percula in 2007. Beyond the Onyx Percula, C-Quest is also known for originating the Ocellaris counterpart of a “Platinum Percula,” the harder-to-find and arguably slightly more stunning “Wyoming White” Ocellaris.

“His success in the marine breeding world as a pioneer will never be forgotten and his legacy lives on in one of the longest lineages of captive clownfish,” wrote Wittenrich, now with the University of Florida’s Tropical Aquaculture Lab. “The Onyx clownfish was named after the black onyx stone he mined in Wyoming. The Wyoming White was named after the white marble he mined there too.

Bill has influenced the lives of many and I feel honored to have known him. The stories I learned from Bill could fill a book. One of my favorite memories of Bill was the moment I snapped his portrait. He was happy, doing what he loved,” said Witterich.

Indeed, Jeff Turner’s memories conjure a vision of Addision truly being a die-hard aquarist of the most indulgent kind. “Bill loved the communication/camaraderie with all of the fish people who would gravitate towards Bill as the center of the ornamental marine fish breeding universe” wrote Turner.

While C-Quest certainly is a business, Turner’s take was that “[Bill] never really worried about the money he was spending on his ‘hobby’, or hobbies- the fruit farm in Roatan, and the vast collection of old cars he would restore, and the marine ornamental fish farm in Puerto Rico. After 15 years…I realized that he was not in it for the money. He loved it and liked the discussion with guys like us.”

Leave it to Martin Moe to sum it up perfectly. “Bill was businessman as well as a hobbyist and innovator. A new species was a challenge to him and a successful rearing brought him great satisfaction. It is difficult to say goodbye.”

Matt Pedersen is a CORAL Senior Contributing Editor and winner of the MASNA Aquarist of the Year in 2009.

Images courtesy Matthew L. Wittenrich, Ph.D.

More from Joe Lichtenbert can be read at ReefBuilders.com

Candid rememberances from Todd Gardner, former C-Quest employee, atReefs.com

Tags: Aquabluedistribution, Coral Magazine
March 3, 2012 - 8:38 AM No Comments

Tracking the Origins of Crown of Thorns Starfish Plague

Filed under Coral Magazine Article by Tim

By CORAL Editors - Posted on 03 February 2012

A juvenile COT Sea Star grazing among corals: not a threat to reefs in small numbers, but a significant threat when populations explode. Image by Stephani Holzwarth.

One of the most-dreaded biological threats to tropical coral reefscan be a population outbreak of Crown-of-Thorns (COT) Sea Stars (Acanthaster planci). Growing to a diameter of 30 to 60 cm (12 to 24 inches), these large echinoderms can have population explosions and form masses gliding over tropical reefs, feeding on coral polyps by everting their stomachs through their mouths and digesting the coral tissue. Although they can opportunistically feed on a variety of prey items, COT Sea Stars are notorious for eating the tissues from all types of stony corals, leaving only skeletal remains.

Outbreaks can consume live corals over large areas, leaving large swaths of white skeletons that offer a perfect substrate for algal growth. This chain of events alter reef fish populations and reduce the aesthetic value of coral reefs, which negatively affects both fishing and tourism.

Despite more than 30 years of research, the triggers and spread of COT outbreaks are not fully understood. Early researchers attributed COT plagues to “natural facets of the life-history ofAcanthaster” (Peter Vine, 1973). About a decade later, a researcher in Guam theorized that sudden population explosions of A. planci were followed periods of heavy rainfall and terrestrial runoff from ountainous islands that caused plankton blooms. With more available plankton, more larval sea stars were able to reach maturity (Charles Birkeland, 1982). (See notes below.)

Human impacts such as urbanization, runoff, and fishing have also been correlated with outbreaks, but some outbreaks continue to occur in the absence of known anthropogenic triggers. Waves of a spreading outbreak that moves southerly along the Great Barrier Reef are termed secondary outbreaks because they are thought to be seeded from dispersing larvae of a primary outbreak upstream. With a single large female capable of producing 100 million eggs per spawning season, the threat of massive numbers of pelagic larvae drifting onto a reef from afar is something of great concern to those charged with protecting reef areas.

Long-distance larval drift?

This secondary outbreak hypothesis has been widely accepted as the mechanism by which COT outbreaks spread across broad regions of the Pacific Ocean and impact remote locations such as Hawaii, Guam, or French Polynesia—until now.

A team of scientists from the Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology and the Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research at the University of Hawai‘i and Rutgers University have recently used genetic techniques to evaluate the spatial scale at which COT outbreaks can occur via larval dispersal across the central Pacific Ocean. Above: researchers collecting COT specimen for genetic testing. Image by Derek Smith.

The results of this work have demonstrated that, unlike on the Great Barrier Reef, COT larvae are not moving en masse among central Pacific archipelagos. In fact, contrary to expectations under the secondary outbreak hypothesis, all COT outbreaks in the study came from local populations.

On a finer scale, genetic differences were detected among reefs around islands and even between lagoon and forereef habitats of the same island, indicating that the larvae of this species are not routinely reaching their full dispersal potential, and are certainly not fueling outbreaks at distant sites.

This research has proved that outbreaks are not some rogue population that expands and ravages across central Pacific reefs. Instead, the authors hypothesize that nutrient inputs from humans and favorable climatic and ecological conditions likely create conditions that can trigger explosions of local populations.
Large COT: a mature female can produce up to 100 million eggs in one spawning season. Image by Molly Timmers.

This work is particularly important because most current management strategies are focused on stopping secondary spread rather than preventing human activities that can start an outbreak. This study is the first genetic survey of COT populations in which both outbreak and non-outbreak populations are surveyed across a broad region of the Pacific and the results are pretty clear that outbreaks are not jumping across large expanses of open ocean.

Dr. Rob Toonen, one of the researchers involved in this project, explains “the genetic differences found among COT populations clearly indicate that outbreaks are not spreading from the Hawaiian Archipelago to elsewhere. Furthermore, the similarity between outbreak and non-outbreak COT populations within each archipelago indicates that outbreaks are a local phenomenon.

“Our recommendation to managers is to seriously consider the role that environmental conditions and local nutrient inputs play in driving COT outbreaks, Toonen said.”

SOURCES: From materials released by Hawai’i Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB), Manoa, and edited by CORAL.

The full paper will be available free online on February 17, 2012, at 5 PM:
http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0031159

NOTES: from Dr. Rob Toonen (pers. comm. to CORAL):

Eating habits of A. planci: “In the couple of studies I have seen, the adults prey preferentially on specific corals but it is all corals that are observed being eaten in the field. For example, a study at Sulawesi found that A. planci consumed a total of 70 different species of corals, but that massive species (particularly of Faviidae) were more frequently consumed than would be expected based on their abundance in the population. In my experience, though, echinoderms in general will eat damn near anything when they are starving, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they became opportunistic omnivores when there is no coral left to eat… “

Dr. Charles Birkeland: “Chuck is a great colleague and collaborator of mine, so I am more than happy to acknowledge him for the original idea. We cite his prior work in Guam in the article itself (ref 13 in our manuscript):

“Birkeland [13] correlated outbreak prevalence among high islands across the central and western Pacific with heavy rainfall and typhoon induced terrestrial runoff. He hypothesized that the heightened nutrients in the water column from these large-scale storm events triggered phytoplankton blooms that independently increased A. planci larval survivorship, settlement, and A. planci densities around high islands. This ‘terrestrial run-off hypothesis’ was further supported by the rare occurrence of documented outbreaks on nearby nutrient poor atoll and low island systems.

“Similarly, Fabricius et al. [12] argued that the onset of outbreaks on the GBR is predominantly controlled by phytoplankton availability, which is governed by flooding rivers and elevated nutrient inputs. Our findings support that hypothesis; with the exception of Kingman Reef, outbreak locations in this study were found at high islands and of the high islands, the outbreaks were generally in the vicinity of rivers and watersheds (with the exception of Mo‘orea and Asuncion). If higher nutrient loads do drive outbreaks [as suggested by 11-13, 20, 21], then mitigating land-based sources of nutrients would be a far more effective management strategy than physically eradicating this corallivore, with the hope of precluding outbreak propagation in distant archipelagos.”

February 6, 2012 - 8:41 AM No Comments

Promoising New Aquarium Bill in Hawaii

Filed under Aqua Blue, Coral Magazine Article by Tim

New Bill to Protect & Manage Marine Trade in Hawaii Gains Support

By CORAL Editors - Posted on 27 January 2012

Yellow Tang, Zebrasoma flavescens: at the center of pro- and anti-marinelife collection issues.

2012 looks to be pivotal year for Hawaiian aquarium collectors, activists who would ban them, legislators and marine biologists

By Ret Talbot

A grand, if not astonishing, total of eighteen aquarium-related measures have been introduced into Hawaii’s 2012 legislative session. There are seven new bills, four new resolutions and seven measures carried over from the 2011 legislative session.

Seven of the measures are measures seeking to shut down aquarium fisheries statewide, while the rest of the measures seek to further regulate the aquarium fishery and the aquarium trade in Hawaii.

As CORAL has reported in the past, Hawaii’s marine aquarium trade requires further science-based regulation to be able to demonstrate that it is a well-managed, sustainable, non-destructive fishery. In some cases, fishers and others involved in the trade have been proactive in proposing regulation.

In West Hawaii on the Big Island of Hawaii, where the vast majority of aquarium fishes are harvested, the West Hawaii Fisheries Council has engaged in multi-stakeholder efforts to come up with meaningful regulation. One of this year’s regulatory bills—House Bill 2129 (HB 2129)—originated in West Hawaii through a collaborative process involving fisheries managers, fishers, concerned citizens, and politicians. According to proponents of the Bill, HB 2129 would empower fisheries managers to better manage the fishery through legislation drafted with substantial community input.

Democratic Floor Leader Offers New Bill:
Protect trade but regulate it
HB 2129, introduced by Representative Cindy Evans (D) of Big Island, right, is already receiving a lot of attention by both pro-trade and anti-trade individuals. Evans is Democratic Floor Leader and an experienced and respected legislator for the majority party in Hawaii.

The Bill authorizes the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) to impose temporary management measures (i.e., bag limits, closed seasons and moratoriums) within the West Hawaii Regional Fisheries Management Area without adhering to the usual administrative rule-making process. It also requires DLNR to establish a limited entry program for commercial aquarium fishers, and it mandates some key changes to the commercial aquarium catch reporting system.

While the Bill is viewed by fisheries managers as an important step toward a better managed, more sustainable marine aquarium fishery, commercial aquarium fishers are split in the their support of the Bill.

Extreme elements of the anti-trade side of the debate, many of whom want a statewide ban on aquarium fishing, do not support HB 2129, as they say it simply does not go far enough.

West Hawaii Fishery: “Already well regulated…”
Unlike most of this session’s aquarium-related bills, which assert the marine aquarium fishery is devastating Hawaii’s reefs, HB 2129 calls the West Hawaii fishery “one of the most well-regulated fisheries within the State” and “one of the best-understood marine ecosystems in the State.”

Acknowledging the data that exists and the fisheries managers already on the resource, HB 2129 seeks to give those fisheries managers the tools they say they need to better manage the fishery based on the data. Paramount amongst these tools is the ability to manage the aquarium fishery and the aquarium fish industry “in real time.”

The Red Tape Factor
At present, adaptive management—managing the fishery as a dynamic resource that sometimes requires timely action based on the best science—is not possible because of the constraints imposed by the administrative rulemaking process outlined in Chapter 91 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes.

“As it stands,” DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) Aquatic Biologist Dr. William Walsh tells CORAL, “Chapter 91 rulemaking is wholly impractical for any adaptive management, since it literally takes years to implement any and all changes within an existing rule or to create a new rule.”

The current efforts to implement approved new rules in the West Hawaii Regional Fisheries Management Area, including the 40-species white list, is one example of how long it can take to implement management when constrained by Chapter 91.

Mixed Support from Fishers

Many aquarium fishers support HB 2129 because they think it is good for the fishery and will allow the people best suited to manage the fishery to actually manage it.

“I support this bill,” says West Hawaii-based aquarium fisher David Dart, “because it gives an option for a complete ban. I believe in real time fish management where the local biologists can adjust take according to fish count.”

Dart has 15 years experience in Alaskan food fisheries, where similar adaptive management has been essential to establishing those fisheries’ reputation as some of the best managed and most sustainable fisheries in the world. Like some others, Dart is disappointed the Bill only relates to the aquarium fishery, as this sort of real time management is needed across all fisheries. For some aquarium fishers, they are frustrated that HB 2129 would put additional restrictions on the aquarium fishery while ignoring major problems on Hawaii’s reefs.

Beyond frustration that HB 2129 unfairly targets the marine aquarium fishery, some fishers express concerns that HB 2129 could be “very harmful” to the trade. Specifically they worry the Bill does not explicitly define the criteria required for putting in place a temporary management measure such as a bag limit, seasonal closure or a moratorium on a particular species.

Additionally, a few fishers have expressed concerns that HB 2129 would eliminate the need for public hearings whenever DLNR desires to change an aquarium fishing rule.

Marine Scientists Favor Bill
Dr. Walsh, left, who helped draft the Bill with Rep. Evans’ office, acknowledges some of the concerns expressed by fishers, but he believes the potential benefits far outweigh the concerns, which he says, in some cases, are unwarranted. Walsh acknowledges HB 2129 would give the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR)—the seven-member DLNR board, which convenes regularly to review and take action on department submittals—the ability to implement certain management changes without adhering to Chapter 91, but he feels there are plenty of provisions in place to stave off abuse.

“[Under HB 2129] the information,” says Walsh, “would have to be persuasive enough for the Board to feel that the management change requested—such as a moratorium on the collection of a certain species—was justified and necessary.”

Walsh also points out the Board meetings are public meetings where people can testify and present their own information.

“So,” he concludes, “there is a fairly high bar established to implement change via board decision—maybe even higher than by rulemaking where only DAR and the general public have a chance to weigh in on a proposed rule or rule change without in-depth BLNR scrutiny or deliberation.”

Fishing Free-for-All Would End
Individuals familiar with the rulemaking process in Hawaii also point out that precedent exists for circumventing Chapter 91 in very specific situations. BLNR, for example, has already done what is proposed in HB2129 in other situations such as the rules concerning the bottomfish fishery and the urchin fishery.

In both cases, while the authorizing legislation clearly states adopting, amending and repealing pertinent rules is subject to Chapter 91, within each rule there is a provision allowing the Board to implement real-time change such as a temporary moratorium when the data shows it is necessary. In addition to DLNR, other departments, such as the Agriculture Department, already have rules providing for board-level change without Chapter 91 rulemaking.

In addition to enhancing DLNR’s ability to manage the fishery in real time, HB 2129 also would impose a limited entry program for commercial aquarium fishers in the West Hawaii Regional Fisheries Management Area effective January 2014, and it would require some key changes to commercial aquarium catch reports.

While most fishers agree the changes to the reporting system are not bad—aquarium fishers would now need to submit a report by the end of each daily fishing trip—the issue of limited entry remains extremely contentious. In a limited entry fishery, the number of fishers is restricted to balance the amount of fishing effort with the sustainable harvest limits of the fishery.

Building on Success Toward a Better-Managed and More Sustainable Fishery

HB 2129 begins by stating emphatically “the aquarium fishing industry in

West Hawaii is one of the most well-regulated fisheries within the State.” The Bill seeks to build on legislative successes such as the 1998 legislative action that first created the West Hawaii Regional Fisheries Management Area and required the ongoing data collection that has made this fishery such a well-studied fishery.

In acknowledging that “living natural resources…have a variety of factors that determine the health and vibrancy of any individual population,” and in further acknowledging “commercial exploitation may or may not always be involved in the natural fluctuations in a population,” HB 2129 seeks to give real-time decision making ability to those with a comprehensive understanding of the data.

As the Bill states, “The decision to determine cause and effect [between commercial exploitation and changes in the fish populations] should be made by scientists specializing in such cycles.”

“We are long overdue in allowing temporary closures as a means to manage fisheries such as aquarium fish,” Rep. Evans tells CORAL. “I drafted the aforementioned bill in response to the growing concerns in West Hawai’i of the reefs and aquatic life that inhabit them. There needs to be more support for managing our ocean resources. We need to recognize the work of the West Hawaii Fisheries Council. Now is the time to prove that ocean resource management is viable and sustainable.”

Activist Says She is Onboard with Bill
Tina Owens, right with “No Aquarium Collection” sign, of the Lost Fish Coalition and who played a role in drafting HB 2129 tells CORAL she is really proud of HB 2129. Owens is regarded by many as an environmentalist who wants to protect natural resources, but with a better grasp of marine science than other anti-trade activists.

“I really think this is a perfect example that folks can come together and all work for the good of the resource. That’s what it is all about. It’s not about one bunch against another; it’s not about ‘I win, you lose.’ If the resource loses, we all lose. There has been a great deal of cooperation between the aquarium fishers and the resource managers, and I do believe that we have all reached adulthood about this issue.”

The fact that Owens, who at one time was one of the most important voices advocating for a complete ban of Hawaii’s marine aquarium fishery, is now working with fishers, fisheries managers, politicians, and other stakeholders to shape a bill in the best interest of the resource is proof positive that the aquarium debate in Hawaii can be brought back to the level of rational discussion, scientific data and meaningful collaboration.

Ret Talbot is a CORAL senior editor who specializes in sustainabilty issues in the marine aquarium trade.

January 30, 2012 - 7:56 AM No Comments

Call for ban on Aquatic Life Collecting in Hawaii

Filed under Coral Magazine Article by Tim

Open season on marinelife collectors in the Hawaiian Islands in 2012.

By Ret Talbot

The State of Hawaii’s twenty-sixth legislature is open for business, and, dismaying to many scientists and marinelife collectors in the state, there are a total of five new measures that have been introduced seeking to ban outright or further regulate the marine aquarium trade in Hawaii.

It is anticipated that several more measures will be introduced before the cut-off date next week. In addition to the new measures, there are at least seven aquarium-related bills re-introduced automatically from last year’s session. In short, it will be a busy season for people on both sides of the marine aquarium fishery debate in Hawaii, and it has never been a more important time to be educated on the issues.

Not a Surprise

The introduction of certain measures like Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 1 (SCR 1) and Senate Resolution No. 2 (SR 2), both introduced on January 18th, is no surprise and does not indicate any documented change in the fishery.

The introduction of these two resolutions—as well as two of the other three measures introduced yesterday—was assured when Kauai attached an anti-aquarium trade resolution to its County Package in November of last year. At that time, and as reported by CORAL, Kauai passed a resolution nearly identical to Big Island’s October resolution urging the State to ban the aquarium trade. As such, both SCR 1 and SR 2 are essentially identical to the Kauai and Big Island resolutions.

At their collective heart, these resolutions claim “Hawaii’s indigenous and endemic aquatic species are being devastated by collection for aquarium purposes.”

The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), the state agency charged with managing fisheries, disagreed with this statement when testimony was given in opposition to the Big Island resolution seeking to ban the trade last October, and they disagree with it today. DLNR maintains the data actually shows a trend toward sustainability, and while DLNR is currently working on rules packages that will further regulate both the Oahu and the West Hawaii marine aquarium fisheries, the agency contends a statewide ban is unwarranted.

“This is not devastation”

DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) aquatic biologist Dr. William Walsh,right, stated in testimony last October responding to the allegations of devastation, “This is not devastation.” Walsh was speaking specifically to the marine aquarium fishery in West Hawaii, which is by far the largest aquarium fishery in the State. It is also one of the most studied fisheries statewide. Walsh and his colleagues, as well as independent researchers, believe there is no credible scientific data showing a total ban on Hawaii’s marine aquarium fishery is warranted at this time. “We know a lot about what’s happening out there [in the fishery],” says Walsh, who believes whatever is ultimately decided regarding the aquarium fishery will have wider repercussions in other fisheries. “If we can’t successfully manage the aquarium fishery,” Walsh asks, “what hope is there for management of our other fisheries here in Hawaii?”

Trade Opponents Cry “Unsustainable” and “Wildlife Trafficking

Of course many anti-trade activists do not believe the aquarium fishery is being managed sustainably, and they have successfully taken that message to the County Councils in the past year.

Some individuals closely watching the County Councils’ deliberation over the aquarium issue expressed surprise that, at least on Big Island, emotion and anecdotal testimony appeared to trump the State’s data, especially since the same County Council had passed a resolution “recognizing that effective management of the West Hawaii aquarium industry can be achieved through several different management approaches.”

In at least one situation, a councilmember voting in favor of the ban said he did not believe the aquarium issue was a “resource issue,” and he said he trusted the State’s data showing sustainability—yet he voted for the resolution. In the case of Kauai, current fishery data was neither solicited from the State nor presented by the State prior to the Council’s vote. A councilmember who voted in favor of Kauai’s resolution to ban the trade told CORAL at the time that there would be plenty of time to look at the data once the measure reached the Legislature.

Nonetheless, anti-trade activists are encouraged by what they refer to as “momentum against the trade.” “By now everyone knows that coral reefs are the world’s most endangered ecosystems,” says Rene Umberger of the anti-trade group For the Fishes. “Hawaii is not a third world country needing to exploit resources, regardless of costs, and it’s time to stop acting like one. SCR 1 and various measures proposed to ban or restrict the trade are responses to this fact, as well as a simple cost-benefit analysis showing the true value of Hawaii’s coral reef wildlife.” Umberger, who interprets the data differently and who helped craft the language behind resolutions like SCR 1, believes 2012 “is going to be a very good year for the fishes.”

Some anti-trade activists are not particularly concerned with the data at all, and they simply scoff at the word sustainability used in the context of the marine aquarium fishery. “Trafficking in marine wildlife for the pet trade cannot be justified with a buzz word,” says Robert Wintner, above, longtime anti-trade activist and owner of Snorkel Bob’s, which rents snorkeling gear to tourists. Wintner claims “sustainability is as nebulous as ‘virtue’ at a debutante ball.”

His argument against the trade, while at times referencing data, is most accurately a moral and ethical argument against keeping animals in aquaria. As such, he not only refuses to discuss sustainable aquarium fisheries, but he also rebuffs “the ‘f’ word” altogether.

“A Lot of Frustration”

While there isn’t a lot of surprise over the newly introduced measures, fisheries managers, fishers and others who support sustainable fisheries in Hawaii, express a lot of frustration. “These attacks on the trade originate from a small group of people on Maui and ignore the facts, process and common sense,” one exacerbated fisher said yesterday when asked about the new measures. “I’m not surprised, but it’s very disheartening.”

SCR 1 and SR 2 were both introduced by Senate President Shan Tsutsui, right, who is a Maui legislator, and Maui has indeed been the de facto epicenter of the anti-trade movement in Hawaii. In part, this is because Maui is the home of the aforementioned Wintner and Umberger.

Most recently, Maui has been the site of a series of increasingly larger anti-trade protests against Petco and the chain’s sale of marine aquarium fishes. While the degradation of Maui’s reefs is an important issue desperately needing to be addressed, it’s quite clear the aquarium fishery is amongst the least of the stressors causing damage to the Island’s reefs. In fact, when it comes to the marine aquarium fishery, Maui is almost irrelevant.

According to state records, only three aquarium fishers harvested a total of just over 2,000 fishes in Maui’s waters in FY 2011. More than 40 times as many reef fishes were harvested from Maui’s other, non-aquarium related fisheries. Unlike aquarium fishers, who most often target younger fishes, food fishers typically target the larger breeding portion of the population, further compounding their impact.

This selective targeting of one fishery over another worries fisheries managers, and, as one person commented, “stinks of politics and special interest.”

Even in the case of West Hawaii, where the most aquarium fishes are harvested for the trade, the almost completely unregulated recreational fishery is as large, if not larger, than the marine aquarium fishery. “It makes little biological sense for such legislation to exclusively target aquarium collecting while totally ignoring other harvesting impacts,” says Walsh.

Below: Convict Surgeonfish School grazes a Hawaiian reef. This species is largely avoided by aquarium collectors because it is a popular food fish there, known as manini. Those in the aquarium trade come from elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific.

A Collector Speaks: “Wrong Facts” Being Used

Internationally respected rare fish collector Tony Nahacky has been fishing for aquarium fishes in Hawaii for about as long as anyone. By extension, he has a better long-range view of the debate surrounding Hawaii’s marine aquarium fishery than most. Nahacky is frustrated by this new round of measures.

“I have not reviewed all the bills being introduced in the current Hawaii Legislative Session,” Nahacky tells CORAL, “but of the bills I have reviewed they sadly have their facts wrong concerning the aquarium fishery in Hawaii.”

Nahacky, right, points to numerous inaccuracies, misused facts and blatant untruths in a number of the bills he has read. He points, for example, to SCR 1, which states emphatically: “endemic species, occurring nowhere else in the world and contributing to Hawaii’s natural legacy, are threatened with extinction by collection for aquarium purposes.”

Nahacky says there is no data to support any aquarium fishes in Hawaii are threatened with extinction. “The Convention for the Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which the U.S.A. is party to, have not listed any Hawaiian marine aquarium fish as being endangered,” Nahacky says.

“Unfortunately, little to no due diligence was undertaken to provide accurate and verifiable statements concerning the aquarium fishery in Hawaii and particularly in West Hawaii, which is,” Nahacky points out, “considered a model for developing aquarium fisheries in other parts of the world.”

Four of the five aquarium-related measures introduced yesterday are a direct result of a vote occurring on the island of Kauai—an island with virtually no aquarium fishery to speak of. The vote on Kauai followed testimony that was one hundred percent in support of the ban and organized by anti-trade activists from Maui. No data or opinion from the state agency charged with both monitoring and managing the State’s fisheries was solicited prior to the vote, although councilmembers did cite data more than ten years old as influencing their votes.

The Kauai Council, which voted in favor of a statewide ban on the aquarium trade and caused these measures to be introduced as part of Hawaii’s 2012 Legislative Session, introduced no similar bill expressing concern about any other fishery despite the fact that on Kauai the non-aquarium reef fish harvest was 400 times that taken by the two aquarium fishers working in island waters.

Over the coming week, several additional aquarium-related measures will no doubt be introduced. It will be important for all interested parties to read and do their best to understand each measure. CORAL will continue to report on the new measures, and, where appropriate, give people an opportunity to become involved.

Tags: Coral Magazine
January 23, 2012 - 8:24 AM No Comments

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