Fwd: Re: Re: wild-caught fish

["Ed Pon" <edpon@hotmail.com>]

>
><<.is there any real purpose to keeping wild specimens?>>
><< What kind of effect(if any) do aquarists have on
>the wild populations of aquarium fish? >>
>
There were no domestic stocks available for most of the apistos that we 
have been writing about on this list as recently as two to three years 
ago--so wild stocks are the only source.  Most of these apistos are 
relatively difficult to get because many of the apistos discussed on 
this list are not easy to breed in commercial quantities--I'm doubtful 
that anybody on this list is making very much, if any, money on selling 
the offspring.

If you're familiar with the plight of the Madagascan cichlids and the 
Lake Victorian cichlids,  you would know that the biggest reason for 
their demise is due to man's interference and greed.  Their environments 
are being destroyed by the encroachment of civilization and the tropical 
fish hobby has very little to do with this.  As a matter of fact, the 
domestic fish-keepers, both hobbyists and scientists, are the last hope 
for keeping some of these fish from becoming extinct.  Many of these 
cichlids ste already extinct in their natural environment.  It is hoped 
that one day, many of the captive stocks can be reintroduced into their 
natural range (when man learns to value this planet's natural resources 
more than the gold in his pockets). 



______________________________________________________