Re: our impact

On Tue, 23 Aug 2005 19:45:06 -0700, "Tidepool Geek"
<big_smegma@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>
><beanoil@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>news:ongkg19r3odq8bo8i82d1di7ujb3j4v427@xxxxxxxxxx
>> Hello everyone,
>>
>> I have a basic question to satisfy my own curiosity: Is anyone else
>> ridden with guilt over this hobby or is it just me? My point is, because
>> I
>> wanted that coral beauty, the four others in the cooler with him had
>> to die. I can rationalize it by saying that I rescued any fish I did
>> take home, but still....
>>
>Hi Grant,
>
>It strikes me that your moral dilemma has several levels relating to the
>history of the animal being considered.
>
>1. If it bothers you to keep another living creature for no other reason
>than personal enjoyment then you probably would be best served by getting
>out of the hobby. OTOH: If you're OK with having a pet such as a dog or cat
>or if you don't have a problem with eating meat then you shouldn't worry
>about the _ethical_ keeping of aquarium pets either.
>
>2. If your concern is about mortality connected with collecting animals from
>the wild then you've got a valid concern that should be shared by everyone.
>Many aquarium animals are harvested by techniques, such as cyanide, that
>lead to increased mortality of both the harvested fish and his less saleable
>neighbors. You do have the option, as mentioned elsewhere in this thread, of
>buying only captive/tank bred animals.
>
>2a. There are some of us that are interested in collecting and keeping
>animals native to our home area. If you do your own collecting then you have
>control over the whole process and can limit mortality associated with both
>collection and transport as well as drastically reducing 'collateral damage'
>compared to what a commercial harvester might cause. Of course, if you live
>in Kansas this probably isn't an option ;-).
>
>3. If the discussion is limited to tank bred animals then it seems to me
>that it's just a question of statistics - consider a fish that normally has
>only 10 offspring per breeding and that is capable of breeding annually for
>only two years. In the wild, just 2 offspring (10%) would be expected to
>survive to breeding age. Compared to that, the TFP survival rate that you
>mention (25%) looks pretty good. For an extreme example, the Giant Pacific
>Octopus lays up to 60,000 eggs of which only two survive to breeding age.
>That's a cradle to grave survival rate of 0.00167%!
>
>It's all a personal decision of course but I think you can do the most good
>by keeping only tank bred animals AND using your aquarium to occasionally
>teach something to your family, friends, or associates about the problems
>faced by the coral reef environment (or whatever habitat you happen to be
>simulating). BTW: Don't go overboard on the teaching - I'm pretty sure that
>we have fewer guests at our house because of the fact that I sometimes 'go
>on a bit'.
>
>
>Ethically yours,
>
>TPG
>
>
TPG

Thanks for the interest and your opinions. In response to the
domestic animal/reef fish comparison, I think there is a big
difference. Not to get on any moral high horse, but I only get
animals from shelters. My last cat, I had for 14 years; my last dog,
for only 2, but he was 16, blind and deaf when we adopted him. My
point is, for these animals, we truly are helping them by bringing
them home. These reef fish weren't having a tough life, weren't
facing euthanasia, weren't even bothering anyone when they were yanked
from the ocean because of our demand for them. Having said all that,
I realize that that I'm something of a hypocrite. I'd never shoot an
animal, but I love a good hamburger...

Incidentally, the tank raised angle sounds good to me. I can remain
in the hobby with only a fraction of the guilt. Are there any facts
out there on reef depletion? I'm a scuba diver (occasionally), and if
you read the scuba magazines, many of the world's reefs that were
teeming with fish 15 years ago are pretty barren now, due mostly to
the aquarium trade. I wonder how much of this is true and how much is
propaganda.

Anyway, thanks again for the reply. It lent some perspective.

Grant

.

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