The Politics of Aquariculture

In 1973, the Nixon administration, working through the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) attempted to stop the importation of more than 95% of the fishes then being imported into the United States. This was done by proposing a “clean list” approach to control the numbers and species of fishes imported into the US. That is, any fishes not on an arbitrarily derived list of acceptable species would automatically be banned from importation. The proposed clean list contained only twenty-three species of freshwater fishes. Many of the species on the list were those that were readily available from domestic sources. The rest were those that accounted for the majority of the species then imported into the country. The common guppy (Poecilia reticulata), neon tetra (Paracheridon innesi), the angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare), etc. were on the list.

There were no marine (saltwater) species on the list, and there were no invertebrates, either freshwater or marine, on the list. It was assumed by the USFWS that the U.S. aquarium hobby would survive just fine on such a slim list of legal species. There was an immediate and loud out cry from aquarists, both amateur and professional. After a handful of public meetings, at which the USFWS sought reaction to the proposed rules, there was finally a reversal, and the idea of a clean list was dropped.

The author (JFK), working with local aquarists as well as with industry and hobby leaders throughout the U.S. petitioned for and got a public meeting called for Kansas City, Missouri. According to those who had attended one or more of the other meetings, this one meeting was the only one at which the majority of those who spoke favored the abandonment of the clean list approach. There were those in the hobby and industry who actually believed that the USFWS would put an end to the aquarium hobby in the U.S.

The coming together of hobby and industry leaders in Kansas City resulted in the formation of the Federation of American Aquarium Societies (FAAS). FAAS still exists, but its focus has shifted, somewhat, away from the necessity of defending the existence of the hobby to one of promoting aquarium societies around the country (http://www.tomgriffin.com/FAAS/). The pet industry, with the guidance of the movers and shakers in the aquarium industry formed the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC), another organization that exists today, and which still defends the existence of the pet industry while working with government and non-governmental agencies in improving the industry.

It was at this time that the odious term “ornamental fish” came into use. It was obvious that if a hobby and, especially, an industry can be thought of as ornamental, that it is not important. After all, an ornament is something usually seen as frivolous. The aquarium industry certainly is not frivolous.

The correct approach for the prevention of the importation of environmentally undesirable species is to let the individual states make the determinations and to issue dirty list of prohibited species. This is the situation now in the U.S. For instance, the importation of pike cichlids (Crenicichla species) is prohibited into Texas. Florida and California prohibit the importation of species of piranhas (Serrasalminae), while New York has no such prohibition.

In the 1970s, the big concern was the walking catfish, Clarius batrachus, and its relatives. Many states in the U.S. discovered this fish within their native waters. Many, including northern states, banned these fish from being further imported. It turned out that this species did not become the environmental scourge it was feared it would be. During this time, of course, species that were not commonly kept in aquariums but which were prized by food fish farmers and sport fisherpersons have become real environmental nightmares. Fishes such as the grass carp (Ctenopharygeodon idella) was busy crossing state borders and causing serious environmental damage in the 1980s. The grass carp was not an aquarium species; instead it was imported, spawned, and stocked in ponds to control unwanted vegetation. I have warned scores of bass fishing groups that to install grass carps in their favorite lakes and ponds would be a disaster. Mary later reported that these bodies of water became mud holes and the bass stopped growing and spawning due to loss of suitable submerges vegetation. The stocking was done with the goal of improving recreational use of lakes and ponds. I the past few years the bighead carp, Hypophthalmichthys nobilis (Richardson, 1845), has become such a problem that boaters on the rivers (e.g. Missouri and Mississippi) where they are now well established are sometimes smacked in the head by bighead carp shoals startled by the noise of a boat motor.

Recently the importation of snakeheads (family, Channidae) from Asia and Africa for both food and aquarium purposes has been banned. These fishes are considered desirable food fish, and are heavily exploited for this purpose in Asian countries. A few species such as the redline snakehead, Channa micropeltes, are imported in modest numbers for the aquarium hobby. Recent headlines have referred to this fish as the “Frankenfish”, and at the 2002 meeting of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, the bulletin boards outside the meeting rooms had headlines from at least three different newspapers. The snakeheads, of course, were a topic of discussion at the session where exotic species were discussed. The newspaper articles sparked all kinds of comments from radio personalities and comedians. One concerned Missourian called a wholesaler of marine fishes in Kansas City (Musgrave, 2002) to ask, “If an alligator gar and a snakehead were put together, which would kick which one’s ass?”

Meanwhile, tilapia (Oreochromis and Sarotherodon species) are being cultured in the U.S. as food fishes. These same animals are a definite problem where they have become established in non-native waters (e.g. Florida and Texas). Aquarium species have become established in various waters in the southern states (e.g. Florida and Texas) and their presences are a major problem for the environment. The singling out of aquarium species for importation control is easy and because they are considered to be “ornamental” rather than useful there is little political sympathy, by state and federal governments, for easing off on their control.

Environmental responsibility, by aquarium and pond keepers, will be stressed throughout this book. Any person who thinks that it would be a good idea to release their aquarium fishes into a nearby stream, pond or lake is misguided. Some people think it is more humane to release an unwanted fish into a nearby body of water rather than destroying it. The fact is, once a fish has been purchased, it is now and forever the responsibility of that person who acquired it. This will often mean that a cute little pacu (Colosoma nigripinnis) that becomes a three-foot long monster must be maintained for the two or more decades it will live in captivity.

(an exerpt from the MS of Aquariculture: a Hacker's Guide to Aquarium and Pond Keeping)