Why does the reeftank of the month contain restricted corals?

[MickAv8r]

How come this board is promoting a tank that contains corals that are restricted from collection in the Caribbean.

It is a beautiful tank but if I am not mistaken all of the stoney corals are illegal to collect.

Should this board really be promoting the collection of restricted species???

[Anemone]

Originally posted by MickAv8r
It is a beautiful tank but if I am not mistaken all of the stoney corals are illegal to collect.


Nothing personal Mick, but identifying corals from a photo is extremely hard, and you say all of the stoney corals in this tank are illegal to collect? Gosh, I didn't know that many stoneys were illegal - perhaps you'd care to elaborate?

Kevin

[Elendil]

While a lot of scleractinians from the Atlantic are illegal to collect, it is not illegal to possess them. Some institutions hold collecting permits for these corals to use for scientific or educational purposes. The mere presence of restricted animals does not indicate they had illegal origins.

Now, if the tank owner had proclaimed that he collected the stuff illegally and suggested we could all do the same... :eek1:

[Doug]

Hi Tom,

Here is a quote from one of Jerel's replies in the following thread about Reef Tank of the Month.

http://archive.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=49684&perpage=25&pagenumber=2


Geez,
>I was wondering how one goes about "legally" obtaining hard coral species from the Caribbean area. I thought this was strictly off limits. Just curious...<

Geez, does the blue circle give you a clue Thank you for the great compliment!

The "blue circle" that he is referencing is his signature picture which is for NOAA and I would assume by his occupation (Dr. Marine Biology/Dr. Marine Pathobiology) that he studies these corals for a living.

I wish I could get a job like that myself.;)

HTH

Doug

[MickAv8r]

That is NOT IMO a satisfactory answer. I'd like to see a bit more than just hiding behind a NOAA title. The mere fact that he did that leaves me doubts that he did nothing more than abuse his connections.

As for them not being illegal to possess I guess they just teleported themselves into his tank or appeared after a water change?

[Anemone]

Originally posted by MickAv8r
As for them not being illegal to possess I guess they just teleported themselves into his tank or appeared after a water change?

Since most of those corals can be propagated by fragmenting, and since he seems to have legal access to these corals through his work, why do you assume to worst?

Kevin

[hcs3]

thanks for the heads up call mick

boomber holds one of the few remaining permits to collect in the caribbean. you may not like it, or may even be jealous, but it is 100% legal.

if that is not a satisfactoy answer, you not gonna get one.

HTH

henry

[MickAv8r]

I seriously doubt his permit was issued so that he could stock a personal aquarium. It is one thing to collect for research, it is quite another to collect for own personal enjoyment.

While he may be in total compliance with the letter of the law, it certainly seems like the spirit of the law has been violated. There is a certain thing called ethics, I find it unfortunate that Reef Central has chosen to celebrate at least what certainly appears to be a very unethical aquarium.

[gregt]

As someone who has spent many hours discussing the plight of the carribean reefs with Jerel. I find the thought that he is being unethical to be laughable.

[galleon]

Let's see, you want him to post his full name, title, postition, address - so you can check him out??

Mick, you don't know what his permits were issued for. Permits don't necessarily specify research, especially if we are talking about older permits. You really shouldn't jump to conclusions. Nobody's purposely promoting anything.

[JohnL]

Originally posted by MickAv8r
There is a certain thing called ethics, I find it unfortunate that Reef Central has chosen to celebrate at least what certainly appears to be a very unethical aquarium.

I find it unfortunate that you decide that you are the ethics police and go off half cocked without having (or even trying to get) the facts.

[chimp]

[billsreef]

Originally posted by gregt
As someone who has spent many hours discussing the plight of the carribean reefs with Jerel. I find the thought that he is being unethical to be laughable.

Well said Greg!!!

I've also had a number of online and email discussions with Jerel and can't even fathom the idea that he's being "unethical".

Tom,

Before you trash someone you really should take the time to find out about them first ;)