Environmental Survey for Marine Ornamental hobbyists

[Don McAllister]

File: iucn\aquhobb.srv
Marine Aquarium Hobbyist Survey
Ocean Voice International has worked with the Haribon Foundation for the
harvest of healthy cyanide-free marine aquarium fishes in the hilippines
since 1987. Ocean Voice International would like your input on this
survey of marine aquarium hobbyists concerning their hobby and how they
relate to the environment.

Please help us read your input and print clearly if you fill this in by
hand! Thanks, & may your fish live forever, & your tank water and glass
be clear as crystal!

How many coral reef fishes are you keeping? ..........,
Coral reef invertebrates? ............

How many marine aquarium tanks are you maintaining? .........

Size or size range ............gallons/litre (cross out one)

What are the principal species of fishes you have kept? List their
names. Mark with a tick the species that have done well in your
aquarium, with an x the species that have done poorly/died.

..........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................
Should you wish, list other species on another sheet of paper.

Which is your favourite marine aquarium fish species?

......................................................................................................................................

Do you have in your tanks:
Live hard corals? Yes....... No ......,
Soft corals? Yes....... No ........
Live rocks? Yes....... No ......
Live sand? Yes....... No ........

What kind of tank system?
..............................................................................................................

How long have you kept marine aquarium fishes? ............. years
............ months

Why do you keep marine aquarium fishes?

........................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................

How many marine aquarium fishes do you buy each year?
.................................

Are you a member of: An aquarium club Yes........ No ........
If yes, how many ...........
Of a marine environmental organization Yes........ No ........
If yes, how many ...........

Approximately how much do you spend on your hobby each year?
$..................
(Include fish, tank equipment, supplies, publications, etc.)

How many, if any, marine aquarium magazines do you subscribe to?
....................

Would you be willing to pay extra for certified cyanide-free fish?
Yes....... No ........
If yes, how much? 5% ....., 10% ....., 15% ....., 20% ....., 25% .....
(Tick one)

Do you care about the state of the seas?
Tick one. No...., A bit..., Some..., A lot ......

Does the healthiness of coral reefs affect the aquarium fish hobby?
Yes........ No ........

Have you donated to a marine environmental organization in last year?
Yes..... No .....

Whose responsibility is it to look after the marine environment?

..........................................................................................................................................

What are the benefits of the marine aquarium hobby?

.........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................

Does the marine aquarium hobby/industry, as it is presently run,
have any harmful effects on the marine environment? Yes........ No
.........

In what way:
.....................................................................................................................

How can the hobby/industry become more environmentally friendly?
.......................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................

Should aquarium companies support marine environmental organizations?
Yes........ No .........

Do you have any other comments on the marine aquarium hobby?
..........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.

The above information will be summarized & presented as combined
statistics to better understand the hobby. It is not necessary, but you
can add the following information.

Name:
...........................................................................................................................................
.

Address:
...............................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................

Age: ....... Gender: .........

How far do you live from the sea?............... miles/km (cross out
one)

Thank you for your help! Please mail your reply to:

Ocean Voice International
Box 37026, 3332 McCarthy Road
Ottawa, Ontario K1V 0W0, Canada
Or fax it to: (613) 521-4205
Or e-mail it to: mc...@superaje.com
--
Don E. McAllister /& Canadian Centre for Biodiversity
Ocean Voice International /Canadian Museum of Nature
Box 37026, 3332 McCarthy Rd. /Box 3443, Station D
Ottawa, ON K1V 0W0, Canada /Ottawa, ON K1P 6P4
URL: http://www.ovi.ca E-mail: mc...@superaje.com
(or: ah...@freenet.carleton.ca) Tel: (613) 264-8986, Fax: (613)
264-9204

--
Don E. McAllister /& Canadian Centre for Biodiversity
Ocean Voice International /Canadian Museum of Nature
Box 37026, 3332 McCarthy Rd. /Box 3443, Station D
Ottawa, ON K1V 0W0, Canada /Ottawa, ON K1P 6P4
URL: http://www.ovi.ca E-mail: mc...@superaje.com
(or: ah...@freenet.carleton.ca) Tel: (613) 264-8986, Fax: (613)
264-9204

[Jim Strasen]

Don McAllister <mc...@superaje.com> wrote in article
<330C6D...@superaje.com>...

> File: iucn\aquhobb.srv
> Marine Aquarium Hobbyist Survey
> Ocean Voice International has worked with the Haribon Foundation for the
> harvest of healthy cyanide-free marine aquarium fishes in the hilippines
> since 1987. Ocean Voice International would like your input on this
> survey of marine aquarium hobbyists concerning their hobby and how they
> relate to the environment.

It worries me when I see this kind of political message appear in a
technical newsgroup couched in some kind of concern about cyanide in the
Philippines. Seems to me this group is out to drum-up new members and
contributors for some specious cause they can have no impact on. Everyone
cares about the purity of the oceans and I'm sure everyone would prefer
cyanide-free fish. However, these kinds of groups cannot guarantee we will
get either. If I want leading and simplistic poll questions ("Do you care
about the state of the seas?") I'll go to some political site. I have dove
leading dive sites all over the Pacific and Indo-Pacific and I see zero
environmental impact caused by whatever activities this group may be
against. I suspect that the seas will continue to flourish long after our
species makes its departure from the scene. Can we stick to technical
discussions in this newgroup, or are we seeing a beginning of a spam
campaign for politically-correct environmental groups? Maybe I'm wrong
about this and would appreciate hearing other's views about these types of
posts and the message they promote.

[Ross S. Irvine]

Jim,

Your response is excellent and most perceptive. Let's keep politics out
of this news group.

Regards,
Ross