This whole argument boils down to accountability and it starts with the collectors, right on down to the hobbyist. Being a hobbyist, I'm at the tail end of the trade, so I don't know the intricate details of what goes on from collection, to arrival at the LFS. There comes a time when common sense and doing the right thing, need to take precedence over profit. LFS owners should take the time to educate potential hobbyists, on proper husbandry techniques, instead of just trying to sell them everything under the sun. Collectors need to be cognizant of what they catch. Fish that are commonly known to have very high mortality rates in captivity, should perhaps be left out of the aquarium trade. If the secret to keeping them alive is revealed by professional aquariums, biologists, etc., then it would seem more prudent to release them to hobbyists. Same goes with corals. If more leases were given to make LR farms, the need to collect from natural reefs would decrease dramatically. Crop farmers get government subsidies, so why not give them to coral farmers (if they're not already). We need to be our own watch dogs. As consumers, we let people know which LFSs maintain quality livestock, take the time to educate customers and really seem to care. The same needs to be passed up the line. LFS owners need to keep an eye on distributors and distributors on collectors. If we police ourselves accordingly, we won't need anyone else to. The less ammo we give others to fire at us, the safer this hobby will be. If we don't act accordingly, everyone loses. We lose the hobby and everyone in the trade loses their job.
