Marine Aquarium Council news
Abadia
from the Marine Aquarium Council. (I work for a conservation NGO, and
this was just distributed via our company email.)
Best, Robin
=======
MARINE AQUARIUM COUNCIL
Certification for Quality and Sustainability
in the Collection, Culture and Commerce of Marine Ornamentals
MAC NEWS 2nd Quarter 2001
Welcome
We are especially pleased to bring you this MAC News to announce that
the MAC "Core Standards" and "Best Practice Guidance" are finalized.
This issue will also update you on the progress towards launching the
complete MAC Certification system later this year.
MAC "CORE STANDARDS" and "BEST PRACTICE GUIDANCE" Now Available !
The MAC "Core Standards" and "Best Practice Guidance" have been
completed and are available on the MAC website
<www.aquariumcouncil.org <http://www.aquariumcouncil.org/>> in the
section on "MAC Standards".
These documents establish the basic criteria and supporting advice on
environmental certification for the marine ornamentals trade in the
areas of:
- Ecosystem and Fisheries Management (EFM)
- Collection, Fishing and Holding (CFH)
- Handling, Husbandry and Transport (HHT)
The "Core Standards" and "Best Practice Guidance" incorporate public
feedback and the results of numerous rounds of review by the
international, multi-stakeholder MAC Standards Advisory Group (SAG).
We are grateful for the time and effort that so many concerned
individuals have put into the development of the MAC Standards and
guidance documents. A synthesis of the comments from the public and
SAG will be available soon on the MAC website. Some of the suggestions
that were unable to be taken on board in the Core Standards are more
appropriate to, and will be incorporated in, the "Full Standards".
Field Partnership Well Underway in the Philippines; More Possible in
Other Areas
Good progress is being made in the Feasibility Study to ensure a
critical mass of collection areas and collectors in the Philippines
have the potential to comply with MAC Core Standards. At the
collectors and collection sites participating in the study, the
MAC-IMA Partnership Project is assessing the collectors' ability to
meet MAC Standards, developing a training program to ensure collectors
have the knowledge and skills they need and trying out the Standards.
Collectors are pleased with the many aspects of the emerging
certification system, such as the "supply to order" process and
collection logbooks. All participants are especially happy with the
high quality fish and low mortality rates that the Feasibility Study
is already delivering. MAC will be developing more partnership
projects with additional organizations to facilitate certification
testing and training in other areas that supply marine ornamentals.
Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) supports MAC
Certification
The PCSD and MAC have agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU),
pledging to collaborate to achieve a sustainable ornamental fish
industry in Palawan Province of the Philippines. PCSD is mandated by
law to ensure the sustainable development of Palawan and has developed
an accreditation program for those involved the live fish trade. The
MOU will ensure a linkage between MAC Certification and PCSD licensing
of those involved in the marine ornamental trade.
MAC Certification Test Cases Coming Soon: Participants Wanted
Test Cases - conducting trial runs of the entire certification system
from reef to retail - are the next major step in bringing
certification to reality. These will focus on operations in the supply
areas where the marine aquarium industry has been most interested and
able to interact with MAC, e.g. the Philippines, Fiji, and Hawaii.
Many exporters in these areas, and wholesalers importing from these
areas, have already expressed interest in helping test the
certification system.
MAC would particularly welcome participation in the testing from
companies involved in the transshipment and retail of marine
ornamentals from these areas. Other supply areas may be added to the
Test Cases based on the strength of commitment from industry operators
in areas and the capacity of MAC to respond. Numerous independent
certification companies have applied to become accredited by MAC and
are listed on the MAC website, where an application form and
guidelines for certifier accreditation can be found.
Marine aquarium industry companies and certification companies
interested in participating in the Test Cases should contact Peter
Scott, the MAC Accreditation Coordinator, at:
<peter...@aquariumcouncil.org>
MAC Standards and Monitoring: Key Input to International Workshop on
the Coral Trade
In Jakarta in April, the US Government and Indonesia organized an
international workshop on the trade in coral and live rock to develop
recommendations for the management, best harvest practices, and
monitoring of these resources. Representatives of industry, government
agencies and non-government organizations from most coral exporting
countries participated in the workshop. The draft MAC Standards and
draft MAC Monitoring protocols were a major component of the
deliberations on collection, management and monitoring and were
refined and strengthened through the workshop review and comment.
Global Marine Aquarium Database (GMAD) Update
The partnership between MAC and the UNEP - World Conservation
Monitoring Center (WCMC) to create GMAD - the world's database on the
international trade in marine aquarium organisms - is growing steadily
and now includes data from: Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Indonesia,
Maldives, Marshall Islands, Netherlands, Palau, Philippines, Saudi
Arabia, Sri Lanka, UK, and USA.
We strongly encourage those who have not yet provided their data,
which is kept confidential, to contact Dr Ed Green:
<Ed.G...@unep-wcmc.org>. Companies that provide data to GMAD are
listed and linked on the MAC website. MAC encourages these companies
to put a link from their website to MAC and make the following claim
on their site: "This company supports the Marine Aquarium Council by
providing data to the Global Marine Aquarium Database (GMAD) of the
UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre"
MAC in the Media
Substantial articles on the marine aquarium trade and MAC
certification, have appeared in:
- Pets International, June 2001, "The Marine Aquarium Council:
Certification for Quality and Sustainability in Marine Ornamentals".
- Scientific American, July 2001, Fishy Business".
- San Jose Mercury News, 22 May 2001, "Saving Reefs: A collective
approach".
- VetCentric (on-line magazine), 24 June 2001, "The Seahorse
Situation".
- "Marine Ornamentals and Conservation", in "Korallenriff - Aquarium:
Volume 1" by Svein A. Fossa and Alf Jacob Nielson - revised and
republished in 2001 (in German).
MAC and certification have also been mentioned by:
- The Wall Street Journal, 29 May 2001, "Guppies for yuppies".
- Reuters, 14 June 2001, "Exotic Fish Trade Grapples with Image,
Breeding".
- The Honolulu Advertiser, 4 June 2001, "Reef-fish collectors treat
prey with care".
- Audubon Magazine (on line magazine), Question and Answer section.
Most of these articles will be posted on the MAC website as soon as
possible.
For More Information on MAC or for Copies of the MAC Brochure
Visit the MAC website: <http://www.aquariumcouncil.org/> or contact us
at: in...@aquariumcouncil.org
Paul Holthus
Executive Director, Marine Aquarium Council
923 Nu'uanu Ave., Honolulu, Hawaii USA 96817
Phone: (+1 808) 550-8217 Fax: (+1 808) 550-8317
Email: paul.h...@aquariumcouncil.org
Website: www.aquariumcouncil.org <http://www.aquariumcouncil.org/>
westcott
Thank you very much for the links and the update. It is unfortunate
that few people seem to care where there fish came from and how they
were collected.
I hope the effort put forth by MAC and others is a smashing success.
Collection and handling methods must change for our hobby to continue
in harmony with nature.
Regards,
westcott
r.ab...@conservation.org (Abadia) wrote in message news:<e033cfb.01070...@posting.google.com>...