Re: [Killietalk] Species conservation (was N&RSC - a differentperspective)

[Brian Watters <bwatters at shaw_ca>]

Bob,

My view on this matter is, perhaps, not as extreme as my initial post might
seem to indicate. And, yes, I was referring specifically to killifish.

Of course, in order to broaden our experience, and to avoid becoming bored,
we need to maintain and breed a variety of species. I do it myself. Most
people know me as a Notho person but I have in the past kept a very wide
range of different killies and continue to maintain various Aphyosemions,
Epiplatys, Fundulopanchax, lampeyes, So. American annuals, etc. on the side
(in small numbers). Because of my frequent collecting trips and the many
species and populations that I bring back, there is a fairly large turn-over
of species/populations in my fish-room. I breed what I bring back,
distribute eggs and/or fish and keep what is important to my research and my
personal likes. The rest eventually have to make room for the next batch.
However, by then, most have been distributed in the hobby to some degree and
they either survive there or they don't. That is not up to me.

In spite of that turn-over, I have quite a few species/populations that I
have maintained for more than 10-15 years, and two that I have had for 22
years. I know for a fact that if I had not kept these two going they would
have disappeared from the hobby more than 12 years ago and one of them
probably no longer even exists in its natural habitat.

Hobbyists don't have to narrow their interests to the point where all they
are doing is long-term maintenance. That is not at all what I would
advocate. However, if everyone just made the effort to maintain one or two
species over the (very ?) long term think what that would do for the AKAs
conservation efforts.

I was simply pointing out that, in the extreme case, breeders award programs
do not encourage this sort of long-term effort. Also, I was trying to make
the point that the AKA presently has no program that rewards such long-term
efforts. And that is, in my opinion, very unfortunate.
___________________________
Brian Watters
6141 Parkwood Drive
Nanaimo, BC, V9T 6A2
Canada
Ph: (250) 760-0564
E-mail: bwatters at shaw_ca

> -----Original Message-----
> From: killietalk-bounces at aka_org [mailto:killietalk-bounces at aka_org]On
> Behalf Of Robert Goldstein
> Sent: April 20, 2007 12:33 PM
> To: killifish discussion list
> Subject: Re: [Killietalk] Species conservation (was N&RSC - a
> differentperspective)
>
>
> I have to disagree with Brian Watters about Breeders Award Programs, in
> certain circumstances. If applied to killifish only, Brian is likely
> correct. But applied to fish clubs in general, it can be a great
> program or
> a terrible one. For example, the original idea behind the program was to
> limit the number of species in a fish family for which one could earn
> points. The purpose was to get people to expand their horizons and force
> them to try fishes of many families and breeding modes, so they
> would aim to
> become widely experienced like Rosario LaCorte or Sallie Boggs. The
> association of aquarium societies (when it existed or was active)
> encourage
> that kind of BAP, and many people vied to become the top breeder
> of the year
> among all the clubs. Usually the Canadians won hands down.  Some clubs
> continue to do that and generate fine aquarists. But many other
> clubs allow
> points for any species without regard to limits, and so we have people
> getting points for 35 kinds of livebearers or 100 kinds of
> cichlids. Instead
> of making them better aquarists, those programs aggravate narrow
> specialization. I think that's what Brian was referring to, and
> in that case
> I agree. As much as I enjoy killies, doing the same thing over and over
> isn't my bag with any fish group. Doing something new is always more
> .    - Bob Goldstein
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Brian Watters" <bwatters at shaw_ca>
> To: "killifish discussion list" <killietalk at aka_org>
> Sent: Friday, April 20, 2007 2:48 PM
> Subject: Re: [Killietalk] Species conservation (was N&RSC - a different
> perspective)
>
>
> > Lee Harper wrote:
> >
> >>
> >> Hear, hear. We probably should divert the effort wasted on trying
> >> to import
> >> more fish to maintaining what we already have. How do we do that,
> >> you may ask?
> >> Well, we have several programs that are already in place - KCC,
> >> KAP, KEY, KHY,
> >> Publications, etc. All these programs are designed to encourage
> >> breeding fish either by recognition, organization or information.
> >>
> >
> > I agree, but simply breeding fish will not necessarily preserve
> species in
> > the hobby. There is presently no program in the AKA that recognizes
> > long-term maintenance of a species or a particular population
> and that is
> > what is really important.
> >
> > Breeders award type programs actually work counter to one of the main
> > stated
> > aims of the AKA, i.e. conservation. Such programs encourage hobbyists to
> > breed a species as quickly as possible, garner the points for that
> > "achievement", and then quickly move on to another species. In
> many cases,
> > the previously bred species falls by the wayside to make room
> for the next
> > one. And so on.....
> >
> > In my opinion, maintaining a species for 20 years (or even 10 years)
> > constitutes a far more worthy effort than breeding 30 species
> in 2 years,
> > in
> > order to accumulate breeders award points, and then having few,
> if any, of
> > those species in one's fish room at the end of the two years. One could
> > argue that the off-spring would have been passed on to other
> hobbyists but
> > we all know how that goes, especially if the recipients are
> also acquiring
> > them for short-term maintenance. Again in my opinion, the mark
> of a truly
> > accomplished and capable breeder is not someone who can breed a
> gazillion
> > different species but, rather, someone who can maintain a particular
> > species, especially a rare and difficult one, through many generations
> > over
> > a relatively long period of time.
> >
> > The KCC program is, obviously, designed to encourage long-term
> maintenance
> > and is one of the most valuable programs in the AKA. However,
> it does not
> > provide the sort of recognition that many hobbyists seem to crave.
> > ___________________________
> > Brian Watters
> > 6141 Parkwood Drive
> > Nanaimo, BC, V9T 6A2
> > Canada
> > Ph: (250) 760-0564
> > E-mail: bwatters at shaw_ca
> >
> > Join the AKA at http://www.aka.org/aka/modules/content/index.php?id=9.
> > Archives are at http://fins.actwin.com/killietalk/
> > Modify your subscription at
> > http://www.actwin.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/killietalk
> >
>
> Join the AKA at http://www.aka.org/aka/modules/content/index.php?id=9.
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