Gayatri (from LINI) just sent me an e-mail with long-awaited news pertaining to the Banggai situation and the November meeting in the Banggai Islands about which I have previously written here. The full report can be found on the LINI webiste.
In short, the meeting took place on November 23 and 24th in Palu. The agenda was to review program implementation on the Banggai cardinalfish, and, according to Gayatri, the meeting was well attended, including Banggai collectors and officials from the district government of the Banggai Islands, the Banggai cardinalfish committee, staff from the department of Fisheries and Marine Affairs (Jakarta), and several NGOs.
According to Gayatri, it became apparent, based on the data presented, that a more efficient chain of custody between the collector and the exporters’ facilities needs to be established. From LINI's report:
The local traders from Bone Baru, who also own two boats, are currently the main buyers of BCF. The boats brought the BCF to Tumbak, and the fish were sold to the Tumbak traders who then shipped them to Jakarta, Bali, Surabaya, and also to Singapore. The price paid to the collectors for each BCF is currently Rp. 350 (US$0.03), and the first buyers (middlemen) will sell them in Tumbak for Rp. 1,250 (US$0.11) each fish. A boat owner claimed that mortality is high during the holding of the fish in Tumbak while waiting for the local buyers in Tumbak purchase their fish. Sometimes the sellers had to wait for one week in Tumbak until the fish are sold. In order to cover the fuel costs, each trip they needed to take to take an average of 7000 fish each time.
This report, of course, is based on the notion that the trade is wild caught Banggai cardinalfish should continue, which runs counter to much of the sentiment expressed in the current hobby literature here in the States. In his article in the January 2009 issue of Tropical Fish Hobbyist ("Cardinal Sin"), Kieron Dodds writes: "I, myself, will forego purchase [of Banggai cardinalfish] altogether, feeling the most responsible thing is to just say 'no.'"
It boils down to this: Is the possibility of being directly responsible for the extinction of a species, and the complete ban on all imports that might follow, worth having that one species in your tank right now? I would put forth that the most responsible thing to do at the moment would be to not purchase Banggai cardinalfish at all unless you dealer can verify that it is a captive-bred individual.
Stay tuned...
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