Tonga Rock Ban?

[bbehring]

Just received an email from a live rock supplier. Interesting? Wondering if anyone else can confirm this?

Hello All,

It has just came down that August 4th, 2008 will be the last time Tonga is able to export Tonga Live Rock.

Currently the suppliers in Tonga are trying to negotiate a 2-year phase. We have no idea if the Tongan suppliers will be able to make any advances in negotiating this deal but it is for certain, any way you look at it Tonga Live Rock will be banned in the near future.

For now, August 4th is the ban date and if the 2-year phase out is granted we will let you know.

It appears this will be the last month you'll ever see Tonga Rock of any kind available again such as Tonga Branch, Deep Purple, Kaelini, Deep Water, and many others from the tonga islands

 

[BIGBIRD123]

I guess I need to start trying to come up with a way to make branch aggrocrete...lol but it's possible.

Steve

 

[onebadman]

It's true.As I heard it some collectors were harvesting rock at low tide within sight of the high school at Nuku'alofa with pry bars and axes as opposed to diving in the rubble zone.Students saw it, raised a fuss that went straight to the top.The result is a complete and permanent ban on all live rock collection in Tonga.

 

[NealNano]

Yep it is true. The distributer in the Tonga Islands got shut down due to harmful collecting methods. No more tonga branch, kallini, or fusion live rock. It is hard to get some types of fish due to this also.

 

[chrissreef]

good... maybe better collection techniques can happen now =)

 

[BIGBIRD123]

This is just another black eye for us hobbiest. It's hard to show we are trying to help the reef by propagation and all with these guys doing this.

Steve

 

[onebadman]

How does a ban promote better collection practices?By definition a ban prohibits all collection,"good" or "bad".

 

[chrissreef]

by banning someone because of poor practices, it causes the collectors to work with government for a way to stay in business - usually through developing a plan that isn't destructive - or whatever caused them to be banned in the first place.


it's happened in other parts of the world. The logging industry also had to change their practices for survival. i suspect the commercial fishing industry will also be changing more in the future (they've already changed from where they were 1-2 decades ago - fishing nets/dolphins, blowing up reefs or trolling near reefs... many still do though =/

heck, look at lead paint and how different products are made. prohibiting "unsafe" practices changes products/industries.

 

[billsreef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12955423#post12955423 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by onebadman
How does a ban promote better collection practices?By definition a ban prohibits all collection,"good" or "bad".

Last I knew the vast majority of LR came through 1 distributor, with only a few other small operations. So in this case a ban is probably the best way to get the attention of the offender. This is of course assuming the story is true, as there has also been the long standing possibility of Tonga exports being halted as they are not a member of CITES.

 

[onebadman]

And what about the families of the tiny minority?

 

[chrissreef]

huh? like the people out of work? this should help them... it will change the practices for maybe safer and more renewable or at least whatever the offense was to be corrected. they can also get another job - the sky didn't "fall"

remember sweat shops? yea, banned... "poor families" - nah, new practices now... those kids shouldn't be worked like that.

 

[Sabreman0001]

I think everyone on this board would be very suprised if it was public knowledge of which company got caught doing this...and ruined it for everyone....I will give you a hint....W**t S***H.....figure it out for yourself......this person then went to the Tongan Government and they literally threw him out of the meeting......Everyone should call him and thank him personally.

 

[onebadman]

I think we should all get behind Tonga on this and let's stop buying Tonga live rock before the ban even goes into effect.And we should take it a step further and not buy any livestock originating in Tonga.The more we can do to help Tonga protect its reefs the better.

 

[Walt Smith]

sabreman,
Your reply is not based on any reality or fact and this is a true example of how vicious rumors can poison a mind.
If you would like me to weigh in on this issue please request it but be prepared to be embarrassed and have the time to do some amount of reading.
I have never been thrown out of any meeting and rock is not collected anywhere near the shore because of the simple fact that it is not found there. No school kids have ever complained and this it a completely made up theory far from the actual truth of the matter which is more complicated and corrupt than you will ever imagine.
Walt

 

[cdness]

Hi Walt,

Glad to hear from both sides of the issue at hand. Since we are not in the area not everyone can understand the restrictions and governmental issues that are dealt with on a daily basis.

To all,

If there is a bad practice for collection of this rock it should be stopped. If there is no environmental harm in the way the rock is collected then let it continue. I know we all have opinions but pointing fingers isn't good. There has to be a way for the collector to work things out with the government and keep on supplying this rock. It is only a matter of time...

 

[timnnell]

This same sort of thing has happened here as well. My father and I used to be commercial mullet fishermen, as well as most of my family and the government shut gill netting out totally. They went around publicizing that the gill netters were out killing sea turtles and dolphins, harming the delicate ecosystem. And that is bull crap I've never once seen anyone catch or harm any of these animals. But when it came time to vote on the bill everyone bought in to the publicity and voted to put a stop to it. If people only knew just how corrupt that their government really was they would start a riot. Just my $.02.

 

[chrissreef]

Walt - tank tour tank tour tank tour!!

seriously, I'm just curious how everything gets from ocean to hobbyist =) your company has always amazed me. It could probably dispell some myths too.

oh, if you have a personal tank, I'd love to see it too! I bet it has some nice show pieces! =)

 

[Walt Smith]

Hi Chris,
Sorry but I do not have a tank in my home. I do not believe in the things, too much trouble and environmental damage!
Actually I do not know what came over me ... the devil made me write it!! Please do not ever quote that out of context, I was just in a goofy response mood.
I do not have a tank in either of my homes because I am never in one place long enough to give it the proper care it deserves. However, I do have three really nice tanks in my office in Fiji (my staff looks after them) with never seen before corals out of Fiji such as some huge Cataphilia's, Ecno's and Acanths ..... Even though we have discovered large populations of them down there we do not have them on our quota (which takes over two years to get new species introduced) so we do not export them. I will have Chris down there try to PM you an image.
Regarding reef to hobbyist movement I would need a lot more time than I have now to put that all into print. You can get some of this information on my web site which is very old and in much need of an update. http//www.waltsmith.com good luck!
Walt

 

[GTR]

Looking past the accusations, is there any truth to the halt of rock exports?

SteveU

 

[chrissreef]

Thanks - would love to see a picture of the office tanks... invincible569 (just got out of the hobby for personal reasons) has always featured tanks from other countries on his site which have been inspirational to many.

I know you're busy, but I'm sure at least some of the hobbyists that have been around over the years would love to hear your story and perspective - esp. since many only see one side of the industry or understand collection, process, governments, populations, locatinos in a limited fashion. Anyway, thanks for the reply! and yes... the site needs to be updated! lol (I do that sort of thing if you ever need =)