Ethics Of Wild Caught Fish

[electropunk06]

HI, ive been thinking about wild caught fish and i cant decide if it right for the fish. They are in (maybe) a safer environment but is it fair to take them from a limitless environment (a river or lake) and put them in a tanks which is small relative to nature. Also couldn't wild fish run out or drop in numbers?
What are your feelings on Wild fish being sold?

 

[FreedomFighter]

It depends really.

I think there should be a restriction on the number of each species you are allowed to take from the wild. But enforcing that rule would be rediculously hard.

But, wild fish are needed, without wild fish then the domestic strains would get more and more inbred and we'd destroy them all.

And think of it this way.

I could take you to africa, leave you in the safari with no food and no tools. And let you fend for yourself. And you will fight to survive, but you will be free.

Or, I can take you to a flat in london, make it feel as homely as possible for you, let you have a couple of friends, and make sure you get fed regularly.

I can't really see there being a clear advantage to one over the other.

 

[walkers101]

as said without wild fish we have no hobby

as long as they are sustainable in the wild then there is no harm

quite a few species are either extinct or nearly extinct in the wild and people have set up captive breeding programs to introduce them back into the wild

 

[electropunk06]

yeah i agree as long as the fish go to a good home with someone who can look after them then its ok.
cheers

 

[FreedomFighter]

Thats a good point. Making sure they go to a good home!

I do wish we had some kind of Fish RSPCA.

 

[Flute]

After buying two species of dwarf cichlids that were wild caught, I realised that I wasn't comfortable with the idea and felt rather guilty that they had been taken out of their natural environment. Because of that I'm going to try and ensure that I personally will never buy wild caught fish again.

Saying that, I do understand that it is needed for our hobby to continue and keep stocks healthy. It's of course up to each individual, and I don't judge anyone else for having wild caught fish, I just don't feel right buying them any more.

I was actually kind of thinking about trying to breed my Laetacara Araguaiae (one of my wild caught species), and try and up the numbers of these fish available so that less need to be caught in the wild. Although I do appreciate it's an enormous task and have no idea if people would be actually interested in that species, or if it's even possible to breed them.

 

[FreedomFighter]

After buying two species of dwarf cichlids that were wild caught, I realised that I wasn't comfortable with the idea and felt rather guilty that they had been taken out of their natural environment. Because of that I'm going to try and ensure that I personally will never buy wild caught fish again.

Saying that, I do understand that it is needed for our hobby to continue and keep stocks healthy. It's of course up to each individual, and I don't judge anyone else for having wild caught fish, I just don't feel right buying them any more.

I was actually kind of thinking about trying to breed my Laetacara Araguaiae (one of my wild caught species), and try and up the numbers of these fish available so that less need to be caught in the wild. Although I do appreciate it's an enormous task and have no idea if people would be actually interested in that species, or if it's even possible to breed them.

Unfortunately, that will still lead to inbreeding. Though what you're proposing is done a lot, you'll be breeding and selling what will be classed as F1 fish, first cross.

Saying that though, with all this deforestation and destruction of natural habitats (see xingu river) then we may need to catch a load of wild fish to keep the species alive.

 

[Harlequins]

It is a shame any animal or fish are taken from the wild...but to be honest unless the lfs/online places say whether fish have been caught in the wild,we are none the wiser...

I know a place i go to has a big sign up saying all their fish are from local breeders in the UK. whereas MA do have imports from fish farms and wild caught fish.

The down side is they're taking them from their natural enviroment to live in tanks which hopefully is big enough for their needs...

The upside is that hopefully new true bloodlines will keep the species going more so than what might become wiped out in the wild.

Just my thought on the matter...

 

[Flute]

FreedomFighter, that is true of course, and it had crossed my mind and is probably the main reason why I've never seriously considered breeding them.

 

[Uriel]

In some areas if the wild fish weren't gathered for profit the areas would need to earn money other ways like forestry ect. So although in some ways i do have issues with wild caught fish they also do in some ways protect the enviroment the fish live in as they are more profitable that way. I do wish more was done to monitor the levels of these fish in the wild though and protect them at sustainable levels.

 

[FreedomFighter]

FreedomFighter, that is true of course, and it had crossed my mind and is probably the main reason why I've never seriously considered breeding them.

Just to put this into some perspective.

People taking the fish from the wild and domesticating them, this is exactly what happened with Dogs and Cats. Wild species taken and kept in the confines of a camp/building.

And I presume you have no quarrel over the purchase of a dog or cat?

Not trying to start anything, I just think it's a valid point worth saying, but at the same time I completely understand your side of the discussion and to some extent, agree with it.

 

[electropunk06]

I feel that wild fish should not be sold to anyone only those who are breeding fish to help increase the gene-pool.

 

[star4]

Red tailed black shark is extinct in the wild, only the aquarium trade is keeping it going.
Taken from the net.

"The species was endemic to Thailand, and was formerly found in the Chao Phraya basin, but is now extinct in the wild.[1] There is no evidence that collection for the aquarium trade is responsible for the species' decline, and it is more likely that construction of dams and draining of swamps that took place during the 1970s are to blame."

 

[mattlee]

apparently denisonni barbs/red line torpedo barbs were close to extinction in the wild but there was a closed season introduced for the capture of them and only small specimins were allowed to be caught when the ban was lifted for a short period every year to try and keep the adults reproducing. this is why they are so expensive and usually very small when shipped in to the lfs.
they are not a fish that readilly spawns in captivity so hormones are used at breeding sites to help..... again another reason they are expensive.

my opinion on wild caught fish coming into our tanks is as a few have said. if they are in abundance in the wild then there is no issue but if the are near to extinction and are collected to replenish the stocks then again thats fine. like star mentioned about the RTBS its the trade that keeps this fish available for all to see as without it it would be totally wiped out. a similar thing may be going on in Brazil on the river Xingu soon by making dams etc and destroying natural habitats for many species of fish and other wildlife also the local villages etc. many locals rely on the fish trade to make some kind of living too.

 

[Mikaila31]

I have some wild caught fish. For me it entirely depends on the fish. BGK fish are mostly wild caught which bothers me because most don't find good homes in the hobby, yet are a popular fish. This hobby would not exist without wild caught fish, it has also allowed the survival of some species that have become extinct in the wild. It has done the opposite as well, one good case was the galaxy rasbora/CPD which suffered significant habitat damage as a result of over collecting. For me there is no single answer, except depends on the fish. I have no problem keeping my wild panda garras I do intend to breed them eventually . They were setup in a species tank for over 8 months before I moved them to a community. This specific species has apparently a wide range and is plentiful, also likes to hid between the rocks making it not very easy to collect. I personally have collected and kept native darters from the wild and I was fine with that. I kayak and doubt 6 fish would be missed out of the hundreds I see every time I paddle. One thing I've noticed is it seems a lot of wild caught fish have flukes, which are not life threatening, but I doubt they are pleasant to deal with either.

Also a F1 fish is not inbred unless you know the F0 fish were from the same spawn, which F0 meaning wild caught it is highly unlikely they are. You can not simply say any specific generation is inbred. If you start with a single pair generations become imbred quickly, but you can always breed F1 with tank bred fish. If you start with 3, 4, or more pairs/individuals in F0 you can breed quite a few generations before you have to start worrying about inbreeding.