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NFC: Re: : Exotics and Ft Lauderdale collecting

Tilapia are a fine eatin fish.  Considering their introduced status, you
should have no moral dilemma (not sure of the legal dilemma, after all we're
talking about the same kind of government beauracrats who thought it would
be a good idea to fine people for owning raptor feathers) having a huge Fish
Fry event at your house.  You can use almost any generic white fish recipe
using tilapia with excellent results.  The flavor is quite delicate so take
it easy with the spices.

----- Original Message -----
From: "robert a rice" <robertrice at juno_com>
To: <nfc at actwin_com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2001 12:03 AM
Subject: NFC: : Exotics and Ft Lauderdale collecting


> help
>
> Robert Rice
> NFC president
> www.nativefish.org
>
> --------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: CougarJet9 at aol_com
> To: Nativefishconservancy at yahoogroups_com
> Date: Wed, 01 Aug 2001 03:56:14 -0000
> Subject: [Nativefishconservancy] Re: Exotics and Ft Lauderdale collecting
> Message-ID: <9k7uku+pljp at egroups_com>
>
>     Tilapia have to be the worst. Everytime I go to a local canal to
> go netting I see spawning circles of Tilapia and always are catching
> Tilapia in my net. You had mentioned that the Tilapia and Red Oscar
> were introduced purposly, who's lousy hypothosis was this?, because
> the conclusion really sucked. Another fish that I believe has ruined
> south Florida waters is the Walking Catfish.
>     I did some netting today, I kept some Sailfin Mollies, a Swamp
> Darter, a very small Bluespot Sunfish, a couple Goldenears, some
> grass shrimp, and a small crayfish. The Bluespot probly isn't gonna
> do too well, since there is already a much larger Green Sunfish in
> the tank--he'll upset the Bluespot too much. I did see some midsized
> Bluespots while I was netting. These have to be one of the pretties
> fish when they are subjected to a dark surrounding. Unfortunately, in
> my tank the fishes colors fade out because of a lighter backround.
>     Where do you live Robert? Do you know of anyone else in the Fort
> Lauderdale area that collects frshwater fish for aquariums?
>
>    Thanks,
>   Mark Piechowski
>
>
> --- In Nativefishconservancy@y..., robert a rice <robertrice@j...>
> wrote:
> >
> > Once Caught, Once Bought, Never Returned!
> > Aquarists take on the problem of exotic introductions
> > Robert Rice thismessage:/robertrice@j...
> > The invaders are here. Scores of them out-hustling, out-numbering
> and
> > dining on the weaker rightful owners. Pushing them out of their
> homes on
> > onto the fringes of their former homelands. Sounds terrible,
> doesn't it?
> > It sounds like a case for Amnesty International. It's not though.
> It's a
> > case for the Exotic Removal Team. You see, the invaders are the many
> > types of escaped aquarium species living and reproducing in the Deep
> > South. It's easy to pass the blame on who let em lose. Some say it
> was
> > the aquaculture industry, others say it was individual aquarists,
> sick
> > and tired of feeding their now too large pets, others blame it on
> > misguided fisheries managers. At this point it really does not
> matter any
> > more because they are out there in the hundreds of thousands. They
> are
> > choking out native species and causing chaos in the food chain.
> It's a
> > mess. In the Deep South we have Jewel Cichlids, Oscars, Mayan
> Cichlids,
> > Pacus, Plecos, and countless other African and South American
> species
> > calling the USA home. We aquarists have this environmental mess
> properly
> > laid at our feet. In an ironic twist aquarists are giving those same
> > native species they put in peril a helping hand. We at the Native
> Fish
> > Conservancy have come up with a unique twist to further fund
> conservation
> > projects and fight back against the exotic hordes. Our solution,
> Exotic
> > Removal Teams. Teams of people who like to collect and who have an
> > environmental passion about the whole exotics issue. It's a very
> simple
> > concept. Let's collect exotics, auction the small ones to northern
> fish
> > clubs and terminate the rest. Everyone wins, exotics are removed,
> folks
> > have fun and the NFC literally gets paid by aquarists to do
> conservation
> > work (exotic species removal). A great idea, the money goes into a
> > separate account and will accumulate until it is a suitable amount
> to do
> > a special conservation project like buying land and easement rights
> on
> > environmentally sensitive waterways or funding an endangered species
> > breeding project.
> > What better way to fund the Native fish Conservation than off the
> backs
> > of the introduced exotics? This is a great example of how aquarists
> can
> > do a little something extra and make a big conservation difference.
> It
> > all started with a simple sentence in a note I wrote to our email
> list at
> > NFC@a... I asked the rhetorical question "Wouldn't it be nice if
> > we could ship some of those cichlids up north to fund NFC's
> projects?"
> > Suddenly it was like a switch was thrown, members and non-members
> from
> > Southern Florida suddenly chimed in "I'd be willing to collect XYZ
> > cichlids every month if it would help." Other folks up north
> volunteered
> > to contact their aquarium societies and arrange shipping dates to
> > coincide with upcoming events and auctions. In just a few days the
> > program was fully fleshed out with an Administrator to handle email
> > auctions and a volunteer team to handle the project from beginning
> to
> > end. Just like that, an idea became a reality. Aquarists were now
> part of
> > the solution. Granted this little program won't change the world
> but it
> > is a start; a very good start.
> > It was decided early on to follow a good science approach to the
> whole
> > issue. So the "Once caught, Once Bought, Never returned" concept
> became
> > policy. Here's what "Once Caught, Never Returned" means. When an
> exotic
> > is caught by a NFC Exotic Removal Team Member it will never be
> returned
> > to any watershed in this country period. That means every collected
> large
> > cichlid is humanly destroyed and sometimes eaten. The large
> cichlids are
> > just about impossible to economically ship due to their spiked
> dorsal
> > fins. The smaller ones are kept in quarantine ponds awaiting the
> next
> > auction. If no acceptable offer is tendered they are terminated.
> > Sometimes literally hundreds of cichlids, plecos and the like are
> caught
> > in a day. More than we could reasonably sell. They are humanely
> destroyed
> > without exception. The same goes for all of us in the NFC ERP when
> it
> > comes to sport fishing, any exotics caught are never returned,
> period.
> > The only exceptions are for species regulated by fishing agencies as
> > sport fish, such as Peacock bass. "Once Bought, Never Returned"
> applies
> > to all the buyers of these exotics. We require them to agree to
> never
> > release any of the fish or their progeny into any waterway, period.
> It's
> > obvious that aquarists should take responsibility for the many
> exotics
> > released out there. We should all take an aggressive approach to
> keeping
> > our fish where they belong, in our home aquariums.
> > This program is a good solid program for several reasons. First the
> law
> > is on our side, in most cases the collection of exotic fishes is
> > unregulated. You can collect as many as you want as often as you
> want.
> > The state agencies are as sick of them being there as we are. They
> are
> > all too happy to have someone remove them. Second aquarists are
> becoming
> > much more conservation minded and realize that if this rate of
> exotic
> > releases continues we risk serious legislation limiting or banning
> the
> > import of exotics. We have been sloppy stewards of our native flora
> and
> > fauna. The time is right for all of us to do better. This activism
> makes
> > all the difference in the world. So get involved. Let's talk irony
> for
> > moment. Aquarists often speak with disdain about the ecological
> fiasco
> > that is the Rift Lakes. The wonderful Rift Lakes and their Cichlids
> are
> > in serious peril because of exotic introductions, pollution and bad
> lake
> > management. You name the problem the Rift Lakes have it. The Nile
> Perch
> > munches his way through one unique Rift species after another. In
> less
> > than ten years it may very well be beyond repair. It is very sad.
> > Aquarists rightly speak out against this unjustifiable ecological
> > tragedy. Now for the irony these same Aquarist intentionally
> released
> > Oscars and Mayan Cichlids into the Everglades. Today these Cichlids
> along
> > with government introduced Tilapia are the dominant fish species in
> the
> > Everglades. The Everglades, America's shining jewel of biological
> > diversity is now just a bit too diverse. We aquarists should be very
> > embarrassed for what we have done to the Everglades. I personally
> am. The
> > biblical adage about removing the log in your own eye comes to mind
> when
> > I think about the Everglades and the Rift Lakes.
> > Enough carping (Ugh carp now that is another long story) about the
> wrongs
> > that have been done. I'd rather talk about fixing the problem. If
> > aquarists on a greater scale got involved with Conservation
> organizations
> > we could make a huge difference. We Americans spend more money on
> our
> > fish hobby than most small countries' GNP. So I will ask you to do
> three
> > things. First VOW to never release an unwanted Aquarium fish to any
> > waterway period. Freeze 'em, smoke 'em, trade 'em, eat 'em but never
> > release them. Second cough up the 10-20 bucks and join the Native
> Fish
> > Conservancy , Nature Conservancy, Audubon Society or any other Not
> For
> > Profit conservation organization. Even if you get no more involved
> that
> > being a passive member your membership counts for a lot. Third take
> the
> > time to learn about your local flora and fauna. Take your kids, your
> > date, your dad, anyone you can find collecting and watching. The
> best way
> > to learn is to observe. There are also great books available on the
> wild
> > things where you live. Find them via the web (check out the NFC
> website
> > http://www.nativefish.org for links to most of them) or your state
> > fisheries department or your local bookstore. For example I just
> read the
> > new Fishes of Missouri by William Pflieger, loved it. Had a nice
> bit on
> > keeping natives in the home aquarium. BTW it's only 15 bucks 300
> plus
> > pages lotsa color photos.
> > As you can see this is a very worthwhile and practical project that
> could
> > use your help. If you live down south and would like to join or
> create an
> > Exotics Removal Team in your town. Or if you or your Aquarium
> Society is
> > interested in Florida wild-caught cichlids, plecos and the like for
> your
> > next Society Function Please contact the ERP administrator.
> >
> > Daryl is currently no longer the ERP administtrator but thought
> youd like
> > a local contact
> > Daryl Roche.........
> > email Phylesis@a...
> > SASE to 425 N.E. 12th Ave.
> > Ft. Lauderdale FL 33301
> > Until next time good luck and good fishing!
>
>
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