Sad day for Blue Heron Bridge

[CuzzA]

A professional collector is a lot like a hunting guide. For anyone who has aquarium fish or parrots or any domesticated wild animal, someone caught it and in the case of mammals, probably killed the mother to do it.

Your understanding of the marine aquarium industry is off. Plenty of captive bred/aquacultured tanks out there. Most coral sold in stores and traded among aquarists these days hasn't been in the ocean in decades. Hell, for many species there is more biomass on land than in the ocean due to aquaculturing. Countless species of fish are captive bred rather than collected. Not all, but the most popular are. ORA is one example of one of the largest suppliers of captive bred and aqua cultured marine life. How about bivalves? None are taken from the ocean, they are all maricultured.

Have a look for yourself... ORA | Oceans, Reefs & Aquariums

Here's the list of fish that have been captive bred. Every year there is break through after break through... CORAL Magazine’s Captive-Bred Marine Fish Species List for 2018 Invertebrates too... CORAL Magazine’s Captive-Bred Marine Invertebrate Species

Nearly every species of coral is being aquacultured and so before you go way over the top knocking the aquarium industry, just remember where the coral and marine life seed bank exist, not to mention the fact the reason we are able to keep all of these species alive indefinitely in closed systems for retail, reef restoration and research is because of the funding and research that was provided by the industry. It wasn't the government that figured it out. It was private people and capitalism.

Today, there's no reason you can't have an aquarium where nothing came from the ocean. Hell even the liverock is man made these days.

These people from Texas are likely doing good work, they just had extremely poor judgement picking that site.

 

[PatW]

Your understanding of the marine aquarium industry is off. Plenty of captive bred/aquacultured tanks out there. Most coral sold in stores and traded among aquarists these days hasn't been in the ocean in decades. Hell, for many species there is more biomass on land than in the ocean due to aquaculturing. Countless species of fish are captive bred rather than collected. Not all, but the most popular are. ORA is one example of one of the largest suppliers of captive bred and aqua cultured marine life. How about bivalves? None are taken from the ocean, they are all maricultured.

Have a look for yourself... ORA | Oceans, Reefs & Aquariums

Here's the list of fish that have been captive bred. Every year there is break through after break through... CORAL Magazine’s Captive-Bred Marine Fish Species List for 2018 Invertebrates too... CORAL Magazine’s Captive-Bred Marine Invertebrate Species

Nearly every species of coral is being aquacultured and so before you go way over the top knocking the aquarium industry, just remember where the coral and marine life seed bank exist, not to mention the fact the reason we are able to keep all of these species alive indefinitely in closed systems for retail, reef restoration and research is because of the funding and research that was provided by the industry. It wasn't the government that figured it out. It was private people and capitalism.

Today, there's no reason you can't have an aquarium where nothing came from the ocean. Hell even the liverock is man made these days.

These people from Texas are likely doing good work, they just had extremely poor judgement picking that site.

ORA does a fantastic job. They raise wonderful captive bred fish and corals. Presently, most of the corals in the hobby are captive raised. There are a large number of small businesses that thrive on raising and selling live corals. Take a look at the web sites of Battlecorals or World Wide Corals to see what kind of job is being done.

Fish are a harder deal. Certain fish, like clown fish are nearly all captive raised. Other fish are nearly all wild caught. Even wild caught fish can be done sustainably. Collectors can seine small fish in the shallows, raise them in holding pens and sell the commercially valuable ones. Or collectors can hand catch limited numbers of fish in small enough numbers to not affect the reef populations.

Small pieces of corals can be collected on the reefs. They can be mounted and raised on platforms, reproduced by fission and sold. It is a way for locals to make a living off of the local reefs while keeping them healthy.

But there are irresponsible collectors also. There are other collectors who use cyanide to stun fish, capture them and sell them. Many of these fish do not live long. So the hobby can be highly destructive to being beneficial to the reefs. It is a matter of whether it is done responsibly.

 

[lexvil]

Your understanding of the marine aquarium industry is off. Plenty of captive bred/aquacultured tanks out there. Most coral sold in stores and traded among aquarists these days hasn't been in the ocean in decades. Hell, for many species there is more biomass on land than in the ocean due to aquaculturing. Countless species of fish are captive bred rather than collected. Not all, but the most popular are. ORA is one example of one of the largest suppliers of captive bred and aqua cultured marine life. How about bivalves? None are taken from the ocean, they are all maricultured.

Have a look for yourself... ORA | Oceans, Reefs & Aquariums

Here's the list of fish that have been captive bred. Every year there is break through after break through... CORAL Magazine’s Captive-Bred Marine Fish Species List for 2018 Invertebrates too... CORAL Magazine’s Captive-Bred Marine Invertebrate Species

Nearly every species of coral is being aquacultured and so before you go way over the top knocking the aquarium industry, just remember where the coral and marine life seed bank exist, not to mention the fact the reason we are able to keep all of these species alive indefinitely in closed systems for retail, reef restoration and research is because of the funding and research that was provided by the industry. It wasn't the government that figured it out. It was private people and capitalism.

Today, there's no reason you can't have an aquarium where nothing came from the ocean. Hell even the liverock is man made these days.

These people from Texas are likely doing good work, they just had extremely poor judgement picking that site.

So, since it isn’t necessary why did they do it?

 

[Wookie]

Your understanding of the marine aquarium industry is off. Plenty of captive bred/aquacultured tanks out there. Most coral sold in stores and traded among aquarists these days hasn't been in the ocean in decades. Hell, for many species there is more biomass on land than in the ocean due to aquaculturing. Countless species of fish are captive bred rather than collected. Not all, but the most popular are. ORA is one example of one of the largest suppliers of captive bred and aqua cultured marine life. How about bivalves? None are taken from the ocean, they are all maricultured.

Have a look for yourself... ORA | Oceans, Reefs & Aquariums

Here's the list of fish that have been captive bred. Every year there is break through after break through... CORAL Magazine’s Captive-Bred Marine Fish Species List for 2018 Invertebrates too... CORAL Magazine’s Captive-Bred Marine Invertebrate Species

Nearly every species of coral is being aquacultured and so before you go way over the top knocking the aquarium industry, just remember where the coral and marine life seed bank exist, not to mention the fact the reason we are able to keep all of these species alive indefinitely in closed systems for retail, reef restoration and research is because of the funding and research that was provided by the industry. It wasn't the government that figured it out. It was private people and capitalism.

Today, there's no reason you can't have an aquarium where nothing came from the ocean. Hell even the liverock is man made these days.

These people from Texas are likely doing good work, they just had extremely poor judgement picking that site.

Every one of those coral or fish species were collected from an ocean by a professional collector. Yes, many are now captive bred, some by Moody Gardens. I’d say my understanding of what a professional collector is is right on. After all, I work with a number of them. So thanks for your help, but it wasn’t needed. Everyone who read your explanation is now dumber for having done so.

 

[Wookie]

So, since it isn’t necessary why did they di it?

It’s necessary to add wild stock into captive breeding programs to prevent inbreeding, something zoos and aquariums are fighting.

This was a case of being lazy. The biologists at FWRI seine in shallow waters of the bay often (100 days or so a year) and catch many of these species. I work with or are friends with some of the tropical collectors in the keys. None of the species collected at BHB are unique to BHB, it’s just an easy place to grab them.

 

[lexvil]

It’s necessary to add wild stock into captive breeding programs to prevent inbreeding, something zoos and aquariums are fighting.

This was a case of being lazy. The biologists at FWRI seine in shallow waters of the bay often (100 days or so a year) and catch many of these species. I work with or are friends with some of the tropical collectors in the keys. None of the species collected at BHB are unique to BHB, it’s just an easy place to grab them.

So it is necessary but the location is wrong, like strip mining, ok so long as it’s over “my” hill?

 

[Wookie]

So it is necessary but the location is wrong, like strip mining, ok so long as it’s over “my” hill?

I understand why we have to drill for oil, after all, I enjoy going for a boat ride. I believe that if there is oil there, the technology is there to safely drill it. So i’m Not a NIMBY guy. I also believe that BHB brings in far more tourist revenue for people
I actually know than any value of the actual fish. It’s like shark tourism. I’d rather have someone pay $200 to go see wild sharks than 5 Bucks for a bowl of soup.

It’s like shooting the rhino so the poachers can’t take the horns...

 

[lowviz]

...//... This was a case of being lazy. ...

I think that quote captures the whole mess really well.

Professionals should hold themselves to a professional standard that makes this sort of ugly mess highly unlikely. They know what they have to lose. (It seems to me) they did it because they could and it was legal. That isn't good enough. This is how knee-jerk legislation begins.

I don't deny them their scientific work, the description offered passes my test of reasonability. I also appreciate that others would deny them their work. I see the whole episode as a stellar example of professional abdication of 'good faith'.

 

[hilljo88]

We have been diving BHB this week and can confirm the OPs account. We dove Friday night and there were a number of locals who confronted the Texas group as “poachers”. There was also an officer, possibly Florida Wildlife? The Texas group did not return Saturday or Sunday. As for fish sightings, lots of more common fish, but no batfish, no jawfish, no seahorse, no octopi, no pipefish, no conch, very few blennies... we usually see some of these, although infairness they’re hard to find anyway. We did see a mantis shrimp, quite a few scorpion fish, and zillions of lobster, arrow crabs, schools of barracuda, spade fish, huge angels, file fish and on and on.
Also, we saw no dead fish on the shore line. Reports of red tide have had no impact on our Diving BHB.

 

[dberry]

Just out of idle curiosity, how do you catch a blennie? I have enough trouble snapping a photo of the sneaky little buggers.

Answers involving "sprinkling frozen vegetables around their nest and waiting for the blennie to take a pea" will not be accepted.