ReefBuddha
Member
I posted this rant in an ongoing thread on the Responsible Reefkeeping forum, but I would also be interested in responses from the masses who - for whatever reason - avoid that particular area of the site.
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let's be pragmatic...
The marine ornamental trade is - in essence - a for-profit exploitation of a priceless natural resource to feed the superficial whims of consumer masses. We should not fool ourselves into thinking there is anything 'good' about this trade from the perspective of natural habitats.
Education is not a justifiable excuse for supporting the trade. There are too many less destructive sources of awareness like public aquariums, documentaries on television, etc.
Businesses involved in the trade are there for profit, not ethics. At the end of the day, business owners will exploit reef life to pay the rent, period. Many of them have to live in denial because they might have difficulty looking in the mirror if they chose to face the inconvenient realities of their chosen profession. No amount of denial, deception, or misinformation changes this reality.
We are all hypocrites by merely participating and supporting the marine ornamental trade. Humans often claim to cherish or value things when in reality they wish to possess and consequently exploit. The very least we can do is stop kidding ourselves and show our peers and the businesses we frequent that trade reform and sustainability are a high priority.
If the number of animals killed by this trade was an instantly updated number on the internet(that's an idea) we would all have trouble looking in the mirror and talking about the next fish or coral we can't wait to consume.
I myself have killed countless animals since my first salt water tank was set up in 1983. In 2005 I experienced a shift in perspective that has lead me to step back. I have not bought any reef life in a few years now, and cannot see doing so until I find a way to do it more responsibly, and in a way that gives back to the natural habitats we claim to cherish but obviously exploit.
Conservation and sustainability should be much more prominent subjects on this board and in every LFS. Wouldn't it be better if your LFS and the rest of the trade was honest about its impact and maybe chose to devote a portion of profits directly towards reef conservation efforts?
Every time we hit that checkout counter at the LFS or the checkout page on the internet, we should remind ourselves of the uncomfortable realities of our behavior. If we choose to support the trade and exploit this resource, fine, but I think we should all stop kidding ourselves/eachother and pretending that we do it because we cherish/value reef life.
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We become reefkeepers because we claim to fall in love with reef life, but if we truly valued natural reef habitats, wouldn't we seek to preserve them rather than possess and exploit? What does this contradiction say about us? How many of us are honest enough to face the uncomfortable truths about the marine ornamental industry, and the growing list of animals we're responsible for destroying in our quest for an ideal captive reef?
More importantly how can we own up to our actions and make up for the inherent irony of our decision to support the trade?
---------------------------------------------------
let's be pragmatic...
The marine ornamental trade is - in essence - a for-profit exploitation of a priceless natural resource to feed the superficial whims of consumer masses. We should not fool ourselves into thinking there is anything 'good' about this trade from the perspective of natural habitats.
Education is not a justifiable excuse for supporting the trade. There are too many less destructive sources of awareness like public aquariums, documentaries on television, etc.
Businesses involved in the trade are there for profit, not ethics. At the end of the day, business owners will exploit reef life to pay the rent, period. Many of them have to live in denial because they might have difficulty looking in the mirror if they chose to face the inconvenient realities of their chosen profession. No amount of denial, deception, or misinformation changes this reality.
We are all hypocrites by merely participating and supporting the marine ornamental trade. Humans often claim to cherish or value things when in reality they wish to possess and consequently exploit. The very least we can do is stop kidding ourselves and show our peers and the businesses we frequent that trade reform and sustainability are a high priority.
If the number of animals killed by this trade was an instantly updated number on the internet(that's an idea) we would all have trouble looking in the mirror and talking about the next fish or coral we can't wait to consume.
I myself have killed countless animals since my first salt water tank was set up in 1983. In 2005 I experienced a shift in perspective that has lead me to step back. I have not bought any reef life in a few years now, and cannot see doing so until I find a way to do it more responsibly, and in a way that gives back to the natural habitats we claim to cherish but obviously exploit.
Conservation and sustainability should be much more prominent subjects on this board and in every LFS. Wouldn't it be better if your LFS and the rest of the trade was honest about its impact and maybe chose to devote a portion of profits directly towards reef conservation efforts?
Every time we hit that checkout counter at the LFS or the checkout page on the internet, we should remind ourselves of the uncomfortable realities of our behavior. If we choose to support the trade and exploit this resource, fine, but I think we should all stop kidding ourselves/eachother and pretending that we do it because we cherish/value reef life.
----------------------------------------
We become reefkeepers because we claim to fall in love with reef life, but if we truly valued natural reef habitats, wouldn't we seek to preserve them rather than possess and exploit? What does this contradiction say about us? How many of us are honest enough to face the uncomfortable truths about the marine ornamental industry, and the growing list of animals we're responsible for destroying in our quest for an ideal captive reef?
More importantly how can we own up to our actions and make up for the inherent irony of our decision to support the trade?
