do you mean captive raised?...otherwise, the vast majority of 'captive' coral for sale...was taken (legally or not) directly from the reef!If you want coral, just buy it! Also, captive specimens are hardier.
How many 'private collections' in SoFl contain only local (legally caught) 'stuff'?It sickens me to think of all the other stuff from Carib that goes through ours doors here in SoFl. Not to "our" LFS but to the private collections worldwide!! Same goes for the Indo-Pac countries.
I am not starting a political war here but i find it funny that u guys in the US are protecting your corals while buying stony corals from us. If you love to keep the environment why still buy a coral?
Why cast the first stone while we are all guilty for the global environment???
Stiffer penalties should be enacted
You guys are protecting your country's nature but lettng other destroying theirs by keep on buying these corals.
Why cast the first stone while we are all guilty for the global environment???
I am not starting a political war here but i find it funny that u guys in the US are protecting your corals while buying stony corals from us. If you love to keep the environment why still buy a coral?
I must admit coral business is really bad for the environment and I am doing this business and when I started it, i never thought about the ecological impact, all I had in mind was just money and money.
Thousands of stony corals are being shipped to US, europe or any other part of the world from Indonesia while the country or the government itself has no idea on their sustainability. We are destroying our marine life due to coral demand in your country. By saying this it seems that I am stabing myself and my business but my point is that lets not become hypocrites and admit that we love to look and care for them. You guys are protecting your country's nature but lettng other destroying theirs by keep on buying these corals. I've seen hundreds of welsos, trachys in our collection point in Sulawesi and Bali. I've seen thousands of elegance corals being collected, stored and shipped without water. It's cruel business practice for them, no such thing as humane collecting. When u take them out from their natural area, you have done a damage. Period.
My other point is...discussion like this should not be far commented. What is the purpose of cursing the father and the son? Why cast the first stone while we are all guilty for the global environment???
WHOAAAAA, :eek2: are you changing your name to Soap Box Dave?I live in Florida. I watched the coral reefs that we used to be able to swim out to in Vero Beach get covered with sand on the Atlantic coast in the 90's. At the time, people were whining about collectors while the hotel owners and municiple governments covered acres of reef to make new beaches for the tourists. Collecting is illegal now but we still cover miles of our shore with fake beaches for the rich property owners who own most of the beach side property in this state now. We do it on both coasts and now we have allowed those same rich property owners (BP) to destroy our Gulf and ruin it as a healthy food sourse for the next two or three generations. Yet, while all of this goes on, we stand around, wring our hands and try to keep from getting too political while we demand stricter penalties for a couple of guys who stole a couple of bags full of rocks that we hadnt gotten around to covering up or killing. People, until we all get too political these kind of forums are nothing more than a bad joke. They are a distraction to keep people mad about stupid stuff so they dont wake up and see the real picture.
anyone who is talking about bleaching events in south florida as a reply to someone talking about reef destruction in the south pacific needs to take a look at coral bleaching in the south pacific.
its happening there too.
The "protect our reefs while others are destroyed" position is a SHAMEFUL one to take. Protect all the reefs. period.
im 100% in favor of this hobby being forced to use only aquacultured corals.
Look at the beautiful corals for sale on this forum alone! there is no lack of diversity in captive systems! We wouldn't be missing out on ANYTHING.