Make your voice heard! 20 Corals being put on the endangered species list...

[sethsolomon]

Hey everyone,

They have opened up the docket on the 20 endangered species of corals proposed to be added to the endangered species list to public comment.

So make sure your voice is heard.

http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2014-0158-0001

I personally wrote that we need to add a new classification that allows the aquaculture industry to continue working and give the wild colonies the protection they need.

 

[ReeferMatt]

Thanks for the post

 

[zombie]

Commented. My response

Listing these species as endangered will unnecessarily hurt the aquarium industry and will limit our ability to adequately conserve these species. The vast majority of these species available in the aquarium trade are grown in either coral farms or propagated in a tank. This type of propagation has no affect on the wild populations of these species, but would become illegal if these species are listed as endangered without an exception allowing the sale or trade of "captively propagated" species. Without that exception, large aquarium businesses such as liveaquaria, petco, etc. will experience a severe loss in revenue streams, which will impact our ability to assist in conservation efforts as many of these businesses are major supporters of reef conservation and recovery efforts. While I do beleive wholeheartedly that wild collection of these species should be stopped, this legislation will ineviteably cause more harm than good if an exception for captively propagated species is not added