While most of the Super Bowl commercials were centered around beer, Doritos, and career building, one of them had our oceans in mind. Airing to viewers in the San Francisco Bay area predominantly, the “SeaWeb Commercial” runs a little more than 30 seconds but includes vivid imagery of various ocean animals, including a whale, a great white shark, and a stunning jellyfish to name a few. The ad, which didn’t show off any logos or branding until the very end, goes from the amazing sea life footage to a brief period of darkness and silence, which was designed to get people thinking about what would happen if the oceans were lost. It truly is amazing how many people rely on the oceans on a daily basis and don’t even realize it, so we’re excited to see companies spending money trying to raise awareness about our environment.

From the video’s YouTube description:

Billions of people rely on the oceans on a daily basis for food, recreation, and jobs, and this SeaWeb commercial aims to inspire people to connect with this life-giving resource and to take greater responsibility for ocean health. Beautiful ocean imagery followed by several seconds of darkness and silence are aimed to spark them to think about what they have lost.

The video was produced by Bob Talbot of Talbot Productions for a partnership between SeaWeb and NBC Bay Area. The video footage was all shot by Talbot himself with support coming from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. Overall, the clip is very moving, but we doubt many people will couple the vivid images and the darkness to come to the conclusion that we could lose the oceans if they continue to be over worked. Regardless, it’s refreshing to see someone inject a conservation based commercial into the biggest single-day media platform here in the US.

We’ve already introduced this petition to stop the ban on Hawaiian aquarium collection once before, but given its recent resurgence in popularity on social media websites like Facebook, we decided to write about it again to help keep the momentum going in any way we could. The petition is a simple one. It asks for nothing more than the State of Hawaii to not ban any form of fishing within its legally recognized waters. It further goes on to say that “we”, the aquarium community collective, support fisheries that have been deemed sustainable by scientific data.

We highly suggest that you read the petition (link in the above text) and sign it if you are in support of the aquarium industry. The aquarium industry is under constant attack from activists in Hawaii and other parts of the world, and anything we can do to help will help preserve our hobby for future generations.

According to a recent article in West Hawaii Today, animal expert and television personality Jeff Corwin recently visited the reefs of Kona to gather footage for three upcoming episodes of his popular show “Ocean Mysteries”. Each episode will focus on monk seals, green sea turtles, and the vast amount of ocean life respectively, and the visit gave Jeff the opportunity to assess the health of Hawaii’s reefs. His opinion: the reefs were “teeming with life”. Corwin described what he saw as a kaleidoscope of life, as he witnessed surgeonfish, parrotfish, and many others thriving in Kona. He indicated that his overall impressions were of hope and encouragement, but that people need to continue to be stewards of the reef.

This assessment of Hawaiian reefs stands in sharp contrast to the picture painted by anti-aquarium activists, who keep beating their drums to the rhythm that the aquarium industry is decimating their fish populations. We realize that reefs all over the world are threatened by many human factors such as global warming, pollution, ocean acidification, overfishing, what have you, but the aquarium industry is not doing the kind of damage many people would lead you to believe. In fact, the term overfishing more often refers to the commercial and recreational fishing industries than aquarium collection. Regardless, it’s nice to have an outsider’s perspective on the reefs of Hawaii, and even more so because Jeff Corwin is concerned about the environment and not completely disinterested in its health.

Story via MASNA.

A short time back, I was privileged enough to sit in on a wonderful MASNA Live discussion centered around the aquarium trade’s battles in Hawaii against anti-aquarium pro-tourism activists. In that talk, someone pointed out that we, the aquarium community, needed to do a better job of fighting the misinformation and moral arguments proposed by those seeking a full dismantling of our wonderful hobby. While I agree wholeheartedly, it was also discussed as to what organization or individual would best be suited to lead such a monumental task. Who would the burden fall on? What individual or group would take on the task of taking on the anti-aquarium activists and the nice little foothold they’ve managed to get in the Hawaiian legal circles?

As I sat and pondered that thought, one name very quickly came to mind, Ret Talbot. For those of you who don’t know about Ret’s work, he’s been doing amazing research and writing great articles about the aquarium trade in Hawaii for organizations like CORAL Magazine and MASNA. He has been pretty much the sole source, or at least the most recognizable source, of knowledge about aquarium-related legislation and high impact issues that plague message boards and blog sites such as this one. On a personal level, Ret has been a huge inspiration. He has been the epitome of what it means to be a one man army and his works have given me hope that the message here on AquaNerd is also making an impact, albeit one with a bit less weight than his.

As I talked to Ret briefly via email, the idea that singular efforts by many different individuals is the key to fighting our anti-aquarium foes slowly dawned on me. More often than not, aquarium keepers ask themselves, “What can I do? I’m only one person.” To answer that question, and others like it, all I have to do is point at Ret’s work. He is just one person, but he has done more for protecting this hobby and informing aquarium keepers about vastly important issues than any aquarium blog or forum website could ever dream of conjuring up. He has taken it upon himself to make an impact. To further get my point across, just look at all of the individual efforts of aquarium breeders and what those have led to. Small strides by basement fish breeders have allowed this hobby to grow tremendously and has given us commercially available aquacultured species that were thought impossible only a few years prior.  We don’t need an organization to fight our battles. Aquarium keepers need to tackle the issues themselves.

Maybe this article is coming off as too much of a man-crush on an aquarium industry giant, but the take home message behind it is: you can make a difference. Your contributions don’t have to come in the form of brilliant articles or fish breeding. You can make a difference just by talking to fellow hobbyists, sharing your experiences, and passing on sound knowledge to the next generation.

Image from iWatch News

If any activists want to point their fingers at a particular fishery for causing vast amounts of nearly irreparable damage, they need to look no further than the commercial fishing industry. Case in point, a recent story in iWatch News describes the massive decline of the jack mackeral due to severe commercial overfishing off the Pacific coast of South America. According to the lengthy article, jack mackeral, which represent a third of the world’s total fish catch and are a highly valuable food source to many countries, have dropped from stock levels of 30 million metric tons to less than 3 million, and all within the last two decades. On top of that, the populations have dropped by 63% from 2006 to 2011. Despite this disgusting decline, the fishery is still overharvested, as large trawlers simply expand their operating territory to pick of whatever is left of the dwindling mackeral.

So how is this issue being fixed? Delegates from at least 20 countries will convene as the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization (SPRFMO) on January 30 to discuss just how to fix the fishery and cut back on the harvest. In the meantime, the fishing vessels will only be limited in their catch by how much their boat can hold/process or if they put catch limits on themselves. The fishery is essentially a free-for-all since vessels can freely fish in areas not goverened by ratified records. The SPRFMO had already decided to impose future quotas on participating countries, which has caused super trawlers from Asia, Europe and Latin America to rush to South America to put their own claim in on the waters.

One of the big reasons for the massive harvest of this particular species is being given to government subsidies. This money was given to companies to help pay for fuel and increase and upgrade equipment, and has allowed thes big fishing companies to expand their territories and take in more fish. Further adding to the problems in the fishery are politics. Since eight groups essentially control the fishery, they’ve been able to influence local governments into setting quotas above what scientists have advised.

So how are they really going to fix this fishery? It is realistically being considered that a total ban on the catch of jack mackeral should be put into place. Others are calling for massive cutbacks up to and exceeding 70%. With the global population continually on the rise, it’s going to be harder and harder to make these cutbacks, as governments will continue to crack under the pressure of the power players who want to make money and the voting populations want to continue eating. Either way, it’s a terrible situation that is likely going to have a domino effect on nearby fisheries, causing even more long term damage.

Over on CORAL Magazine’s website, Ret Talbot recently updated aquarium hobbyists about the continuing and future legal battles the industry is facing in Hawaii, centering on the upcoming 2012 legislative session. While we’re still reading over and digesting his lengthy article and the associated ramifications we’ll likely see from anti-aquarium legislation, we’ve decided to highlight some differences between the aquarium industry and the recreational fishery found in Hawaii. Our hopes are to cast off some of the negative press the aquarium industry has received, as well as show how banning the trade but not attacking the far more destructive recreational fishing industry makes absolutely zero sense.

To start our comparison, we have to first look at the overall size of each fishery. In terms of boots on the ground, or fins in the water if it were, the aquarium fishery in Hawaii is rather small when compared to the amount of sport fishermen that enter the waters surrounding the islands annually. Sure, the limited number of aquarium collectors pull more fish per individual than the recreational fisherman typically does, but with thousands upon thousands of sportsmen hitting the oceans every year, their catch quickly outpaces that of the aquarium industry with ease. On top of that, the recreational fishing industry hosts big annual fishing tournaments that haul in many top predatory fish each year.

In terms of the catch, the aquarium industry actually targets individuals with lower reproductive value. Fish collectors look for juvenile fish as they are typically easier to transport within the supply chain and have a longer survivability in captivity. These smaller fish aren’t usually sexually mature and have therefore not even entered into, or can be taken away from, the contributing gene pool. The sport and commercial fisherman, on the other hand, target the largest individuals they can find. Larger fish, especially females, are more reproductively valuable than any other fish. Larger female fish have what’s called a higher fecundity, which is nerd talk for being able to produce the largest, most abundant, and most viable eggs. So, the sport fishing industry is taking more valuable individuals out of the local gene pool, which has a greater impact on the overall diversity and health fishery. Additionally, the fish often sought out by recreational fisherman are top-tier predators. In the diverse food web of any reef ecosystem, predatory fish are crucial. They keep prey in check and even help control some reef destroying invertebrates.

The third major difference between the two fisheries is the destination and overall future of the catch. The aquarium industry catches their target fish alive with the plans of keeping them alive as long as possible. On top of that, certain species are actively bred in captivity as hobbyists try to decrease the industry’s dependence on wild-caught fish. Going back to the recreational fishery, the fish are caught for one of various reasons. Some fisherman catch for sport, then release the fish. While this seems the most noble and least destructive thing to do, it isn’t without its drawbacks. Catch-and-release fish are often physically harmed or even fatally injured on accident. The second reason people fish is for food. While we have no problem with this, it should be noted that the fish are being removed from the ocean and killed shortly thereafter. They are not held long-term with the possibility of understanding their life cycle and attempting to breed them. The last major reason for recreational fishing is the trophy hunt. Instead of catch-and-release or catching for food, these anglers seek out the biggest fish they can find only as a means to decorate their home with the small accomplishment. The fish is not eaten, but everything is merely removed to make way for cotton stuffing and a little paint to give the fish a favorable appearance. So while the aquarium industry is taking fish with the goal of keeping them alive, the sport fishing industry has quite the opposite approach.

Despite their differences, there are some close similarities between the aquarium fishery and that of a more recreational nature. Both are taking fish from the ocean, both are pumping money back into the local economy, and both can be sustainably maintained. So why is the aquarium industry being picked on? What sets our industry apart from others? Our thoughts center around one major caveat…money.

The aquarium industry, as we stated before, is quite small in comparison to other industries operating in Hawaii. And because so few people are actually aquarium hobbyists, the small industry is an easy target by outsiders who don’t have a full understanding of what is actually going on. Additionally, the aquarium trade targets fish in shallow waters where collectors might bump into SCUBA diving tourists. That’s why people like Snorkel Bob, who make their money off tourism, get so worked up about the aquarium industry. They fear that their industry will suffer with the presence of fish collectors. Obviously the fish are there and their numbers are on the rise, but the Snorkel Bob folks ignore data and common sense to make arguments to get the aquarium industry out of Hawaii. They are concerned about their own pocket books and can’t argue fact for fact so they try to take the moral low ground.

As we’ve been saying, the anti-aquarium folks cannot stand up and preach about the environment and only target one industry. If you have an issue with aquarium collection, then you should naturally also have a problem with tourism and recreational fishing. But you ignore the data, swallow the hypocrisies and blindly attack an industry that has done more good than others.

As for my personal stance on recreational fishing, if you take a peak at the image above you’ll find the answer. Being from the Texas Gulf Coast region, I love to fish and have been doing so my entire life. I have fish for food, I have fish for sport, and every time I go out I make sure to adhere to size limits and catch limits. That being said, most of my fishing is catch and release these days.

Image taken from Local 10

According to a recent story by Local 10, a Florida based news organization, a man and his son were arrested by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for poaching corals out of the protected waters of the Florida Keys. The two men were found in a small boat with an ice chest full of “corals and marine life”, as well as some coral removing hardware like chisels and hammers. FWC officers also found a bag full of corals hidden underwater nearby. So why were the father and son duo collecting corals? According to their story, they were gathering livestock for their aquarium back home, which is in Tennessee apparently. FWC officials obviously saw through this very unlikely story, arresting both individuals and charging them with possession of hard and stony corals, possession of marine life without a circulating live well, and possession of over the recreational bag limit of marine life. Both men are still currently being detained and each of the crimes they are being accused of are misdemeanors.

Obviously events such as this continue to damage the aquarium hobby and most would rather seen them swept under the rug instead of spread across the net. The reasons we feel reporting these stories is important is to show potential coral poachers that the aquarium industry does not look lightly on their actions and hopefully show them that law enforcement will find them, if not now, eventually. Permits aren’t hard to obtain. They aren’t insanely priced either. So if you want to collect oceanic livestock, please follow the law and mind catch limits. They are all put in place for a reason.

You know that lightheaded feeling you get when you hold your breath for too long or hyperventilate? Well, those dizzying feelings are a side effect of excess carbon dioxide building up in the blood, and it apparently causes fish to get funny feelings as well. According to a recent story on NewScientist, scientists at James Cook University in Australia have discovered that higher levels of CO2 can cause fish, such as damselfish and clownfish, to behave rather oddly. The CO2 in the ocean has an alcohol-like effect on the fish, which also causes them to think they’re 10-feet tall, an effect commonly seen in humans who become inebriated. At this point, most of you are probably thinking: how could a clownfish in the ocean find a bottle of CO2 to huff? Well, given the current trends of human activity and the insane amounts of greenhouse gases being pumped into the atmosphere, scientists fear that the oceans could become so concentrated with CO2 that fish will start to act strangely.

In the study, the scientists placed reef fish into aquariums that had seawater with higher levels of CO2 than what is normally encountered in the ocean. But they didn’t just pick an arbitrary number. Instead, the researchers chose CO2 conctrations that the oceans are predicted to contain by the end of this century. The effects on the fish? Besides the analogy to acting drunk, the fish became bolder and were attracted to waters that they would normally avoid. In the ocean, the sense of smell is a very strong tool. Fish use this tool to sniff out predators and poor habitats. Under CO2 enriched conditions, the fish would swim into these waters containing predator and unfavorable habitat odors.

To make the situation even more dire, the researchers bred clownfish in both high and low CO2 concentrations to see how fish offspring were affected. The fish were raised to maturity, and at that point were given two choices…either swim toward predator-like odors or swim toward favorable conditions for survival. The clownfish bred in higher CO2 conditions chose the unfavorable smells and astounding 90% of the time, choosing the better environment the remaining 10% of the time.

The researchers also went on to discover the reasons behind this seemingly riskier behavior by the fish. Apparently, CO2 interferes with a neurotransmitter receptor called GABA-A. Fortunately, after discovering why the fish were being affected, the scientists were able to restore sobriety, as it were, by introducing them to a chemical that blocks the GABA-A receptor, which is called gabazine. The treated clownfish would only swim toward predatory oders 12% of the time, as opposed to 90%.

During a second test, researchers discovered that juvenile damselfish lost their ability to turn the proper direction in certain instances, which obviously makes it difficult to stay with the group when avoiding predators. However, the fish were cured of their ailments when treated with gabazine.

Image Links to Video on KITV Website

A few days ago, we suggested a handful of Ways to Improve the Saltwater Aquarium Industry in response to some of the criticisms the industry has been facing. In that article, one of our recommendations was to impose a quota system and catch limits on certain species collected from specific areas. Little did we know, but some of the aquarium collectors in Hawaii were thinking the same thing. According to a recent KITV news story, a group of Hawaiian aquarium collectors have proposed bag limits on Hawaiian endemic fish, like yellow tangs, during a hearing of the Board of Land and Natural Resources hearing this past Friday. The limits are apparently only aimed at fish taken from Oahu, and besides limiting certain types of fish, the resolution would also ban the use of larger nets. Full details on the proposed bag limits are scarce at this point, but we do know that a suggested limit of 100 yellow tangs and 10 Achilles tangs has been suggested. During Friday’s hearing, the board voted with the concerned collectors and will hold more hearings on the proposed limits. Also in attendance at the hearing was famed anti-aquarium activist Robert “Snorkel Bob” Wintner. Surprisingly, he was apparently outspoken against the limits (more on that below).

So why are the collectors imposing limits on themselves? According to the video and story posted by KITV, they are doing it for a couple of reasons. For starters, fisherman realize the fish are a resource and how they make their money. If the fish go away due to over-collecting or for some other reason, then they are out of a job. So, they feel that by putting limits on themselves they are protecting those precious natural resources. A second claimed that the limits are to control the bad collecting habits of new fish collectors entering into the fishery for the first time.

Getting back to Snorkel Bob’s appearance, according to a Hawaiian fisherman, who asked to remain unnamed:

… Snorkel Bob showed up with his friends from Maui and opposed the regulations – apparently he’d rather have no regulations at all (so it’s easier to impose a ban) than reasonable limits.

I have to say that I’m a little surprised that Snorkel Bob would oppose reducing the impact the aquarium industry has on the Oahu fishery. But, we know these wingnuts aren’t looking at the situation logically, but are instead viewing things through a very emotional and moral scope.

As for our thoughts on the proposed limits by the collectors, we applaud the efforts by the collectors and love the fact that they are willing to limit themselves in order to sustain the aquarium industry. We strongly feel that whatever regulations that are imposed on the industry should come from within the industry, as aquarium collectors, wholesalers, and even hobbyists have a more reasonable understanding of what’s going on. Anti-aquarium activists, on the other hand, aren’t willing to look at data or listen to logic, as they just want to shut down the industry altogether.

By now, most of you have been made aware of the lionfish invasion that currently has a stranglehold on both the Caribbean and the Atlantic. For the most part, the only information that has been posted on the net has been centered around how the invasion started and what people are doing to stop it. But this latest video, a Boyd Enterprises sponsored Fincast, examines more than just those two bullet points. The crew also looks at what the lionfish are eating and how their presence is affecting the reef ecosystems. With the help of Jeff Turner and Dr. Matt Wittenrich, the lionfish are hunted down and carved up so that their gut contents can be analyzed. To no surprise, the analysis revealed that the lionfish, which continue their conquest of the Florida Keys unabated, are eating small fish. While this may not seem like a big deal, the lionfish have an insatiable appetite and are gobbling up small fish at an alarming rate. This takes food out of the mouths of native predatory fish, which throws off the balance of the ecosystem.