Florida considers limiting exotic fish catch for aquaria

[Barry Kent MacKay]

Florida may limit catches of exotic fish for aquariums

By David Fleshler
Staff Writer
Posted November 23 2004

About three miles off the coast of Islamorada, Ken Nedimyer glides along the
ocean floor, trailing bubbles from his scuba gear and carrying two nets.

Two yellow jawfish emerge from their sandy holes. He squirts them with an
anesthetic called quinaldine and scoops them up. Within a few days the fish
would be airborne, packed in oxygen-rich water, on their way to
aquarium-supply stores in Columbus and Cleveland.

Nedimyer is among a group of highly skilled Florida divers who earn a living
providing live fish to the aquarium trade. He knows where to find angelfish,
blue tangs and dozens of other species sought by collectors. Equally
important, he knows how to get them alive to Phoenix or New York or Chicago.

But with fish stocks around the world threatened by overfishing, Florida
wildlife officials have decided to impose limits on the business of catching
live fish for the pet trade. At the urging of Nedimyer and other
professionals, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has
proposed rules that would reduce the number of permits and offer only
limited ones to nonprofessionals.

"This fishery is largely pursued in sensitive areas, particularly coral reef
areas," said Lee Schlesinger, spokesman for the commission, a board
appointed by the governor that sets the rules for hunting, fishing and
wildlife protection. "A lot of people go out and dive and just look at these
animals, and we want to make sure there's plenty there for folks to enjoy
over the years."

Florida and Hawaii are the only states with substantial aquarium-trade
fisheries. In Florida, an estimated 75 to 100 people make a living catching
live fish for the aquarium trade, along with about the same number of
part-timers. Most work out of South Florida, along the coral reefs that
stretch from the Keys through Palm Beach County.

Tom Scaturro, owner of Tom's Caribbean Tropicals of Tavernier in the Keys,
dives one day a week. He faxes a list of what he's caught to about 200 pet
shops and aquariums, and he posts price lists on his Web page. This week's
offerings include medium-sized sea cucumbers for $4 each, large blue tangs
for $40, a large strawberry grouper for $12, a porcupine puffer for $24 and
dozens of other fish, plants and invertebrates.

On Sunday he assembles his orders. He ships small orders via Federal Express
and large orders on commercial airlines. He does about $1,000 a week in
business.

The industry catches millions of fish and invertebrates in Florida every
year. In 2002, the trade included 29,815 angelfish, 19,273 damselfish, 8,490
surgeonfish and 18,095 wrasses, among many other species, according the
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

While no one knows whether the aquarium trade has caused any species to
decline, divers and government officials say there appear to be fewer of
these fish in Florida waters.

"My gut feeling is that some of these species numbers are down," said Billy
Causey, superintendent of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, who
himself used to catch fish for the aquarium trade.

Causey and other experts say the drop in numbers could have many causes
besides fishing for the aquarium trade, such as pollution, overfishing
generally and global warming.

"The blame lies with what we've done to the ocean," Causey said.

Formal stock assessments have not been done for any species captured for
aquariums, which means that no one knows whether the current level of
fishing is sustainable. This lack of information is precisely why many
fishermen are pressing for restrictions.

"There's no science on this fishery," said Nedimyer, chairman of the Florida
Marine Life Association, which represents people who catch the fish. "Nobody
really has a clue how many fish are out there. There's a handful of us
trying to be managers, trying to help the state do the right thing."

The vast majority of fish that are caught survive the trip to the pet shop,
according to people in the industry. Nedimyer said his survival rate easily
exceeds 90 percent. When he loses fish, it's generally because a flight
delay leaves the fish in an area that's too hot or too cold, he said.

Bill Wymard, director of operations for Aquarium Adventure, in Columbus, who
has bought fish from Nedimyer since the 1970s, agreed with his survival
estimate, saying "when we get them, they're in very good shape."

The Marine Aquarium Council, an international organization that promotes
environmentally sound practices in the industry, has established a survival
standard of about 99 percent for each species at each stage of the
collection and transport process.

Some environmentalists object to the use of the anesthetic quinaldine to
catch fish, saying it harms nearby fish and coral reefs. Animal-rights
groups oppose the trade in principle, saying it's wrong to confine fish that
haven't been raised in captivity.

"We don't think life in an aquarium for a wild-caught fish is what you want
to see," said Richard Farinato, director of captive protection for the
Humane Society of the United States. "It's such a restriction for the fish.
When you consider that these are animals that live in an environment that's
an organic, live community -- the reefs, the schools of fish."

The effort to restrict the aquarium-fish trade began several years ago.
Concerned when the number of permits rose past 700, the state wildlife
commission in 1998 imposed a moratorium on new permits. Even though only a
fourth of permit holders actually caught any fish, the commission was
concerned that the dormant permits could suddenly come into use.

The moratorium expires next year, and the commission is now trying to
establish rules that would permanently hold down the number of permits.
Under the proposed rules, only those who have actually caught fish during
the past few years could qualify for a permit, with the top-tier permits
reserved for those who did at least $5,000 in business in year. The rules
would also restrict who could sell their permits.

Among those who would receive only limited permits under the new rules,
there's talk that the professionals are promoting the changes just to
eliminate competition.

But Jessica McCawley, a biologist with the state wildlife commission, said
she thinks the professionals are acting primarily to protect the health of
the fishery. Several major players would receive more restricted licenses
under the new rules, she said, yet they still support the changes.

The commission is scheduled to vote on the permit restrictions Dec. 1 during
its meeting in Key Largo.

Causey said the restrictions will help drive out the amateurs, who hold fish
in garbage cans, put incompatible fish together or put big fish in a
position to kill small fish.

"It is critical that you have people that are professionals all the way,"
Causey said. "It will definitely weed out those that are not serious about
it."


David Fleshler can be reached at dfle...@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4535.
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Copyright C 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

______________________________

Barry Kent MacKay
Canadian Representative
Animal Protection Institute
www.api4animals.org