July 2013 – Page 2 – ANGFA Queensland

Oil spill at Port of Brisbane

government, waterways/wetlands, wildlife

Jul 292013

Wildlife are affected by an oil spill in Brisbane Monday morning with up to 10 tonnes of oil leaking into the Port of Brisbane, as the culprits face fines of up to $11 million. Oil on the surface of the water at Port of Brisbane. Photo: Seven News

Original story by Kim Stephens at the Brisbane Times

It could take up to a week to clean up a five to 10 tonne oils spill at the Port of Brisbane, Queensland transport minister Scott Emerson said on Monday morning.

Some bird life, including pelicans, have been spotted coated in oil and Department of Environment officers were working to treat the animals, Mr Emerson said.

The Department of Environment and Heritage Protection has since confirmed that four pelicans and one cormorant have come into contact with oil at the site of the spill.

‘‘Plans are being made to attempt to capture the birds,’’ a spokeswoman said in a statement.

“Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service is assisting with marine parks vessels and officers experienced in oiled wildlife recovery.”

Mr Emerson said port authorities believed they had identified the vessel that leaked the oil into the port around midnight on Sunday and hefty fines could apply.

“In terms of the vessel that may be the culprit, they are facing, for individuals, fines of up to $550,000 and if a company, $11 million, as well as the cost cleaning it up,” he said.

One the pelicans that came into contact with the oil spill at Brisbane’s port. Photo: Steve Hoseck NPRSR

The slick is confined to a 1400 metre stretch along the wharf and marine and port authorities have put booms in place to contain it.

“It is heavy oil, we will see some evaporation as the sun comes out but because it is heavy oil, booms are containing the spill and skimmers will try to lift it up,” he said.

Mr Emerson said the scheduled arrival of the USS George Washington at the port today – visiting Brisbane as part of the joint Australian and US training Operation Talisman-Sabre – would not be interrupted.

“Given the oil is contained to the wharf, not the channel, that won’t be impacted,” he said.

However, there could be some minor delays to commercial wharf ships, a Maritime Safety Queensland spokesman said earlier.

Staff at the Port of Brisbane noticed the slick just after midnight, but were unable to determine the extent of its spread in the dark.

A photo of a pelican covered in oil that was tweeted by Transport Minister Scott Emerson.

Investigations by maritime authorities after sunrise determined the oil spill was relatively small.

“We are still assessing the extent of it but no-one is talking large quantities,” the Maritime Safety spokesman said.

“Obviously no-one is happy that any oil is in the water so Maritime Safety will investigate to find the source.”

He said both Port of Brisbane and Maritime Safety Queensland workers would work throughout the morning to contain and clean-up the spill.

He said the impact on port traffic was expected to be minimal.

“Obviously we wouldn’t want to put a vessel out there, so maybe we are looking at some of the shipping movements,” he said.

Water police are assisting with the investigation and clean-up.

There has been an oil spill at the Port of Brisbane. Photo: Michelle Smith

DAFF: Toe the line and avoid a fine

fisheries, government

Jul 292013

Press release from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol (QBFP) officer Coby Walker said the rules for freshwater fishing in Queensland are different to those for tidal waters, marine parks or other states.

Mary river cod (Maccullochella peelii mariensis). The Mary River cod is a No take species if captured outside of the stocked impoundments. Photo: DAFF

“A number of restrictions apply to freshwater fishing in Queensland to protect fish stocks from overfishing and to ensure the sustainability of Queensland’s waterways,” he said.

“There are limits to the amount, type and ways in which freshwater fishing gear can be used.

“No more than six fishing or set lines alone or in combination can be used per person at any one time. Only one hook, artificial fly or lure can be attached to each line.

“When using a set line, you must stay within 200m of the line at all times. You should also check the set line regularly to allow any undersized or non-target species to be released safely.

“All set lines and traps must be tagged clearly, ensuring the owner’s surname and address is visible,” he said.

Mr Walker said fishers should also be aware of the rules surrounding bait.

“Any bait caught must comply with size and possession limits,” he said.

“The use of freshwater fish and crustaceans, such as spangled perch, redclaw, freshwater prawns and yabbies as bait (dead or alive), is prohibited outside of their natural environment or range. No-take species are also not able to be used as bait.

“Fish caught that are not native to the area must not be returned to the water even as bait. This includes pest fish such as tilapia and carp, which affect native species and marine environments.”

Mr Walker said QBFP officers regularly patrol remote and less frequented areas to ensure fishers are complying with the rules.

“Breaching fishing laws is a serious offence and can attract on-the-spot fines ranging from $110 to $1100 or maximum penalties up to $220,000,” he said.

“We encourage people to report unlawful or suspicious fishing activities by calling the Fishwatch Hotline on 1800 017 116.”

For more information on Queensland’s recreational fishing rules visit www.fisheries.qld.gov.au or call 13 25 23.

Follow Fisheries Queensland on Facebook and Twitter (@FisheriesQld).

Media contact: Jodana Anglesey, 3087 8601

Whale Festival kicks off at the end of this week

threatened species, wildlife

Jul 292013

Original story at the Fraser Coast Chronicle

The fleet will be blessed again this year. Ohtot: Alistair Brightman

A TALK on how seaweed could be used as a possible treatment for obesity will precede the traditional start of the Hervey Bay Whale Festival on Saturday.

Professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Southern Queensland Lindsay Brown will present his research on seaweed at the Creating Waves short lectures at the University of Southern Queensland Fraser Coast Campus on Friday, August 2.

Other speakers include associate professor of climatology and head of USQ’s Department of Biological and Physical Sciences Joachim Ribbe who will talk about the marine environment and climate of south-east Queensland and USQ senior lecturer in ecology and sustainability Andrew Le Brocque who will speak about biodiversity.

After the lectures, people will be able to enjoy nibbles and drinks and have a chat with the speakers.

On Saturday, August 3, the traditional start of the month-long Whale Festival and the whale watch season, the Blessing of the Fleet, will be held at the Urangan Harbour from 5-8pm.

Whale Watch Operators and harbour businesses host the free evening of arts, water activities, markets and music which culminates in fireworks at 7.30pm.

Visitors can tour whale watch vessels from 6.15pm, talk with the crew and learn about humpback whales.

Enjoy wine tasting, beer and prawns from local businesses and jazz music for an enjoyable evening.

A highlight of the evening is the sail past and blessing of the whale watch fleet at 5.40pm to ensure the safe passage of the vessels, its crew, visitors and whales they come to see.

During the afternoon, the VMR headquarters will be open for tours and available to discuss how to navigate in local waterways.

Every dollar donation to the Whale Festival’s charity gives people a chance to win prizes such as whale watching passes, accommodation, a day away at Kingfisher.

Visitors to the Tasman Venture will go into the draw to win a piece of whale-inspired jewellery from Nick Thorpe’s A World Treasure Collection.

During the afternoon, the Tasman Venture will host talks by Sea Shepherd crew members Michael May and Alistair Alan outlining their experience aboard the Bob Barker in the Antarctic as part of efforts to disrupt the taking of whales for scientific research in the Southern Ocean.

Finish the weekend with the Sunday in the Park fun day on August 4.

The free event, at Scarness Park on the Esplanade, starts at 10am and showcases the best budding local musical talent thanks to the Hervey Bay Council for the Arts.

Fantastic tales of whales storytelling will run throughout the day with whale-themed activities and workshops.

Sunday in the Park is free, starts at 10am and finishes at 3pm.

Take a rug or chair and settle in for a relaxing day of music.

Food stalls will be operating.

For more information on the full list of events, visit herveybaywhalefestival.com.au or like the festival’s Facebook page and receive festival updates.

Pipeline plan puts protected wetlands in peril, say researchers

government, waterways/wetlands

Jul 292013

Original story by Ben Cubby, Sydney Morning Herald

At risk: Protected wetlands from the Macquarie River to Orange lie in the way of a proposed pipeline. Photo: Andrew Taylor

A pipeline that would pump more than 600 Olympic-sized swimming pools of drinking water a year to Orange, in the state’s central west, will rely on water that is essential to sustain an internationally protected wetland, new research says.

The federal and state governments have already committed $38 million to fund the project, which requires digging a 39-kilometre pipeline from the Macquarie River to Orange. The plans have been approved at state level, and a final federal decision on whether to build the pipe is expected within weeks.

But University of NSW researchers say modelling for the plan is wrong and underestimates the impact on the Macquarie Marshes, a waterbird refuge that is listed under the international Ramsar convention.

”The modelling they used assumes there is spare water in the system, when in fact there is none,” said Professor Richard Kingsford, director of the Australian Wetlands, Rivers and Landscapes Centre. ”It would add greatly to the pressure on environmental flows … which are being paid for by the public, which has invested through buyback of allocations.”

Map showing the proposed 39 km pipeline and the Macquarie Marshes Floodplain.

The dispute centres on tensions between human and environmental use of water, in a region where populations are expected to keep growing even as the climate grows hotter and drier.

The plan says the Macquarie River should be flowing at 108 million litres a day before pumping can start, but the University of NSW research found that the minimum threshold should be 118 million litres.

”We stand by the modelling we have, and it has been peer-reviewed by experts,” said an Orange council spokesman, Nick Redmond. ”Through the last drought, we were close to a critical level. We were at the point of getting very close to informing some businesses that they could no longer operate because we could no longer supply water.”

The pipeline has passed a review by the NSW Planning Assessment Commission, after some modifications, and the federal assessment is due by August 8.

”Even at the uptake point, we are talking about using 0.28 per cent of the flow of the river,” Mr Redmond said.

”The fact is we have listened to people who have had concerns about this project.”

The plan has been modified somewhat after the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage said in a submission that ”the sustainability and efficiency of the project is of serious concern”. Up to 70 per cent of the water extracted from the river could be lost to spills and evaporation before it passed through the taps of the people of Orange, it said.

Professor Kingsford’s co-author, Justin McCann, said the amendments meant the modified project had to be reviewed again.

“Our modelling identified the pumping thresholds were wrong, which was further supported by a government-commissioned assessment,” he said.

”What this means is that the approval is based on new thresholds, which have never been properly assessed. The original environmental assessment has underestimated the ecological impact of this development.”

Native turtles drowning in nets

threatened species, wildlife

Jul 292013

Dead oblong turtles found in Sherlock Park at Jane Brook.

Original story at The Western Australian

Native turtles are being trapped illegally in Perth lakes and rivers.

The Department of Parks and Wildlife is urging members of the public to help find the culprits.

Senior wildlife officer Rick Dawson said that in the past 12 months there had been at least 30 oblong or long-necked turtles found dead in nets.

The penalty is a maximum of $4000 per offence under the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950.

“Wildlife officers believe that turtles have been caught and stored in nets for collection at a later date, however, for some reason they have not been retrieved and have drowned,” Mr Dawson said. “This is a cruel and illegal practice.”

Suspicious activity at suburban lakes and rivers should be reported to DPaW’s Wildcare Helpline on 9474 9055.

Fish future-proofing ag

fisheries

Jul 282013

Original story by Matthew Cawood, The Land

A RECENT calculation that global fish farming now produces more tonnage than beef farming highlights a little-considered reality: when it comes to feeding the world’s growing population, the sea may be more important than the land.

A Queensland prawn farm. Photo: CSIRO

Nigel Preston certainly thinks so. The acting director of CSIRO’s Food Futures Flagship, Dr Preston observes that only a third of the planet is dry land; the remainder is water.

“Where are we going to meet the demand for animal protein? Do the sums,” Dr Preston said.

The US-based Earth Policy Institute recently did the sums on fish versus beef. Somewhere in 2011, the Institute said, the world began producing more farmed fish than beef.

In 2012, aquaculture produced 66 million tonnes of protein, and the beef industry 63 million tonnes.

Aquaculture is now the world’s fastest growing animal protein food. The Institute reported that production of farmed fish is growing by nearly six per cent a year, poultry by 4pc, and pork by 1.7pc — “fast outpacing beef, which barely increased at all”.

Dr Preston thinks the aquaculture industry’s growth will continue to climb, thanks to fundamentals no longer available to land-based agriculture.

To begin with, some of aquaculture’s livestock are among the world’s most efficient convertors of feedstuff to animal protein.

A Black Tiger Prawn, one of CSIRO’s ‘perfect’ prawns. Photo: CSIRO

To produce 100 grams of beef requires about 800 grams of feed, giving cattle a feed conversion ratio (FCR) of about 8.0. Pork has an FCR reported as between 3.5-5.0, poultry 1.9.

Farmed Atlantic salmon, the most efficient of aquaculture’s livestock, have an FCR of about 1.2 – meaning 120 grams of feed can produce 100 grams of salmon. In some cases, farmed salmon have reached an FCR of 1.0. On the other hand, farmed tuna can have an FCR of 10-20.

These figures aren’t set in stone: aquaculture has enormous scope to improve productivity through breeding alone.

Aquaculture’s livestock have barely been touched by selective breeding. It is akin to today’s wheat yields being obtained by a variety only a generation or two removed from the original wheat ancestor.

Agricultural livestock have been developed through millennia of intuitive selection based on appearance and fitness for a location. That long, arduous process is being bypassed by CSIRO, which is instead cashing in on the molecular DNA technologies recently developed for animals like cattle and goats – with phenomenal results.

Within eight generations, CSIRO researchers boosted yields of the black tiger prawn from the industry average of five tonnes per hectare to 17.5 t/ha. In prawn-time, eight generations is eight years.

For aquaculture producers, such rapid development sometimes outstrips their ability to handle it, Dr Preston said. A system with the technology to handle 5t/ha is severely stressed when a new prawn suddenly bulges capacity at 17t/ha.

In prawns, and salmon, Dr Preston reported that breeding is continuing to improve productivity by about 10 per cent each generation.

The ultimate testimony to fish productivity rests in Asian villages, where centuries of necessity have honed peasant productivity to a fine edge.

Here, herbivorous fish are grown in ponds “with much higher production efficiency than you can with chickens or pigs,” Dr Preston said.

“There are a number of reasons, for that, not least that a pond is three-dimensional. If you put chickens in it, they would just utilise the floor. Fill it up with water, and fish can utilise the whole production space.”

Australia is not constrained for production space, Dr Preston observes, at least in saltwater. Australia’s variable freshwater flows make freshwater aquaculture a dicier proposition.

In northern Australia, there are extensive tracts of coastline unsuitable for any other form of production, but highly suited to aquaculture.

“If you dig some ponds, you can have a very high value, high production protein system, and do it in a way that has no adverse impacts on the receiving environment,” Dr Preston said.

“It’s probably not something you can say about any terrestrial form of agriculture.”

“We’ve shown over the past 20 years that prawn farms adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef have absolutely no adverse impacts. If you were to stop growing prawns and released the water into the environment, and went back three months later, using the most sensitive detection techniques available, you couldn’t tell that there had been a discharge of water into the reef.”

At the moment, Australians export $7.5 billion of excess meat and dairy each year, but we import 60 per cent of our seafood. Dr Preston thinks there is something wrong with this equation.

“Will it change? Absolutely, it will.”

The conversation we need to have about carbon

environment

Jul 272013

Original story by Lesley Head at The Conversation

Recent conversations about carbon pricing are still framed within gentle themes of continuing growth and well-being, where no one has to pay more for anything without being compensated. The words that need to be in our conversations are transformation, rationing and shared sacrifice.

Emergency management would be severely stretched under future conditions: we need a serious conversation now. Photo: Alexander Kesselaar

Australian political leaders dance around the hard issues of climate change. There are no prizes for national leaders who bring bad news. The diabolical difficulty of turning around a fossil-fuel economy has contributed to five of them (Howard, Nelson, Turnbull, Rudd, Gillard) losing their jobs.

But there is no easy way to do this. The evidence is mounting that we are well past the point where climate change response can be a planned, gradual transition. It is much more likely that profound and unwanted change in the next few years will make a mockery of current policies on climate change and other issues (productivity, health, education).

It is time for both leaders and citizens to stop pretending that we can make the necessary changes without pain – for businesses, for households, for the economy. Yes it will cost jobs, but there will be a need for many different kinds of labour. We will have to do things for ourselves that fossil fuels have been doing for us. Yes it will cost money – it is the price to be paid for the free ecological ride we have been getting for several centuries. The changes needed are huge, and many of them will be forced on us before we are ready.

According to a recent report from Carbon Tracker and LSE, we need to keep 60-80% of the fossil fuel reserves already listed on world stock exchanges in the ground to have a chance of avoiding global warming of 2 degrees Celsius. Pricing in the risk to current investments of these “stranded assets” (coal, oil and gas) would lead to a new financial crisis. The report shows Australia as one of the world’s 12 most exposed stock exchanges, mainly due to our dependence on coal.

Put another way, we need to decarbonise at the rate of 9-10% per year for at least a decade to avoid 2 degrees of warming, compared with targets of a 5% lowering of 2000 levels by 2020 under current Government and Coalition commitments. There is no historical analogy for how to do this; the 2008 Global Financial Crisis led to only a 1.4% decrease, which was quickly reversed. Innovative ideas are needed.

And if you think keeping coal in the ground is not going to happen and business-as-usual is more likely, remember, many scholars think it is already too late to avoid 2 degrees of warming, due to the lag effects of emissions already in the atmosphere. Then we are on track for 4-6 degrees of warming with an increase in extreme events and fundamental changes in underlying conditions. (No it doesn’t sound much, but that’s the temperature difference between now and the last ice age, in the opposite direction.)

An open cut mine in the Hunter Valley near Newcastle. if you think keeping coal in the ground is not going to happen then we are on track for 4-6 degrees of warming with an increase in extreme events and fundamental changes in underlying conditions. Photo: Dean Lewins, AAP at ABC Newcastle

Either way neither the economy nor society will be able to operate as they do now.

Even adaptation research – long the poor cousin in climate change research because it was seen as giving up on mitigation – is evolving rapidly from a gradualist to a transformative framing. If climate change is incremental, many of Australia’s existing mechanisms are well placed to deal with the consequences of increasingly severe fires, floods and cyclones. We have good civil institutions of emergency management and a strong volunteer culture.

But these would be impossibly stretched under scenarios of sudden transitions and more extreme change. Many researchers are now pointing to the need for more “transformational adaptation”. In its submission to the recent Productivity Commission Inquiry into Barriers to Climate Change Adaptation, CSIRO gave examples of how it would be necessary to change governance under a 4 degree warmer world:

Significant changes to social policy to manage changing expectations of living standards and way of life.

Alternative governance arrangements in place as local governments become increasingly unable to cope, particularly in coastal areas.

Australia needs a much more honest conversation about what that pain is going to feel like for different groups in society (including those who will seek to come to our shores), how to share the necessary sacrifices with some semblance of justice and what our society might look like as it goes through a generation or two of transition. One word we’ll need to resurrect is rationing – we’ve shown we’re good at it during drought. People accepted limited water rationing if it was fairly applied and seen to be enforced. Can we start to imagine how society might operate once electricity and petrol need to be rationed?

The leaders for this conversation will be those who can strengthen the social contract between diverse parts of society, encouraging us all to tackle problems together and strengthen networks of support during times of rapid change.

Lesley Head receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

This article was originally published at The Conversation.
Read the original article.

Study explains Pacific equatorial cold water region

environment, waterways/wetlands

Jul 272013

Original press release from Oregon State University

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A new study published this week in the journal Nature reveals for the first time how the mixing of cold, deep waters from below can change sea surface temperatures on seasonal and longer timescales.

Because this occurs in a huge region of the ocean that takes up heat from the atmosphere, these changes can influence global climate patterns, particularly global warming.

Using a new measurement of mixing, Jim Moum and Jonathan Nash of the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University have obtained the first multi-year records of mixing that permit assessment of seasonal changes. This is a significant advance beyond traditional shipboard measurements that are limited to the time that a ship can be away from port. Small instruments fueled by lithium batteries were built to be easily deployed on deep-sea equatorial moorings.

Ocean buoy at sea. Photo: OSU

Moum employs a simple demonstration to show how mixing works.

He pours cold, white cream into a clear glass mug full of hot, black coffee, very carefully, using a straw to inject the heavier cream at the bottom of the mug, where it remains.

“Now we can wait until the cream diffuses into the coffee, and we’ll have a nice cuppa joe,” Moum says. “Unfortunately, the coffee will be cold by then. Or, we can introduce some external energy into the system, and mix it.”

A stirring spoon reveals motions in the mug outlined by the black/white contrasts of cream in coffee until the contrast completely disappears, and the color achieves that of café au lait.

“Mixing is obviously important in our normal lives, from the kitchen to the dispersal of pollutants in the atmosphere, reducing them to levels that are barely tolerable,” he said.

The new study shows how mixing, at the same small scales that appear in your morning coffee, is critical to the ocean. It outlines the processes that create the equatorial Pacific cold tongue, a broad expanse of ocean near the equator that is roughly the size of the continental United States, with sea surface temperatures substantially cooler than surrounding areas.

Because this is a huge expanse that takes up heat from the atmosphere, understanding how it does so is critical to seasonal weather patterns, El Nino, and to global climate change.

In temperate latitudes, the atmosphere heats the ocean in summer and cools it in winter. This causes a clear seasonal cycle in sea surface temperature, at least in the middle of the ocean. At low latitudes near the equator, the atmosphere heats the sea surface throughout the year. Yet a strong seasonal cycle in sea surface temperature is present here, as well. This has puzzled oceanographers for decades who have suspected mixing may be the cause but have not been able to prove this.

Moum, Nash and their colleagues began their effort in 2005 to document mixing at various depths on an annual basis, which previously had been a near-impossible task.

“This is a very important area scientifically, but it’s also quite remote,” Moum said. “From a ship it’s impossible to get the kinds of record lengths needed to resolve seasonal cycles, let alone processes with longer-term cycles like El Nino and La Nina. But for the first time in 2005, we were able to deploy instrumentation to measure mixing on a NOAA mooring and monitor the processes on a year-round basis.”

The researchers found clear evidence that mixing alone cools the sea surface in the cold tongue, and that the magnitude of mixing is influenced by equatorial currents that flow from east to west at the surface, and from west to east in deeper waters 100 meters beneath the surface.

“There is a hint – although it is too early to tell – that increased mixing may lead, or have a correlation to the development of La Niña,” Moum said. “Conversely, less mixing may be associated with El Niño. But we only have a six-year record – we’ll need 25 years or more to reach any conclusions on this question.”

Nash said the biggest uncertainty in climate change models is understanding some of the basic processes for the mixing of deep-ocean and surface waters and the impacts on sea surface temperatures. This work should make climate models more accurate in the future.

The research was funded by the National Science Foundation, and deployments have been supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Continued research will add instruments at the same equatorial mooring and an additional three locations in the equatorial Pacific cold tongue to gather further data.

Reference: James N. Moum, Alexander Perlin, Jonathan D. Nash, Michael J. McPhaden. Seasonal sea surface cooling in the equatorial Pacific cold tongue controlled by ocean mixing. Nature, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nature12363

Rare and threatened freshwater fish plundered for aquarium trade in India

aquarium, threatened species

Jul 272013

Original story by Jemma Smith at Mongabay.com

Carinotetraodon imitator – IUCN Red List Status – Vulnerable. Photo: Rajeev Raghavan.

Thirty percent of the fish exported from India in the past seven years were from dozens of threatened species including the endangered red-lined torpedo barb (Puntius denisonii) and the miss kerala look alike (Puntius chalakkudiensis) amongst others, according to a recently published paper in Biological Conservation. By documenting the extent and impact of the trade in rare and threatened freshwater fish species in India, scientists have uncovered the local scale of the aquarium pet trade.

India is home to a diverse range of freshwater fish, including a large number of endemic species, i.e. species found no-where else. But the report focuses on the fish trade from two biodiversity hotspots in India, Eastern Himalaya and Western Ghats, both of which are known for their biodiversity. To date the collections of freshwater fish is “open access, unregulated and even encouraged by certain governmental and semi-governmental agencies” according to the paper.

The aquarium pet trade is worth around $15-30 billion globally and is fueled by the increased demand from the hobbyists in countries like Europe and America. While it is reported that 90% of freshwater fish in the trade are captive bred, a large number of wild fish are being exported from India.

Garra surendranathanii – IUCN Red List Status – Endangered. Photo: Rajeev Raghavan

“More than 1.5 million freshwater fish belonging to 30 threatened species were exported from India during the last seven years,” explains Rajeev Raghavan, Neelesh Dahanukar and Sanjay Molur co-authors of the paper. Among these species include those “which local regulations on collection and export were in place (e.g., red-lined torpedo barb); species with small distribution range including being restricted to a single location (e.g., Orange-spotted SnakeheadChanna aurantimaculata); and species found only in protected areas (e.g., Devi’s LoachMesonoemacheilus remadevii)”

Species such as the red lined torpedo barbs have shown a dramatic decline in population numbers in the past two decades leading to being listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. The listing led authorities to put in place restrictions on collection and exportation. However, due to the lack of data and knowledge on the biology of the species it has made very little impact. This is often the case for many of the fish species within the trade in India, according to the researchers.

Globally threatened species such as Red Canarese Barb (Gonoproktopterus thomassi) (Critically Endangered), Glyptothorax housei (Endangered) and the Malabar Hatchet Chela (Laubuca fasciata) (Vulnerable) were also exported.

The shocking discovery of so many rare and threatened species is a clear indication that the trade is largely unregulated.

Horabagrus brachysoma – IUCN Red List Status – Vulnerable. Photo: Rajeev Raghavan

One major problem identified by the paper is the generic labeling of fish as “live aquarium fish” and not by specific species when exported. Four of the threatened species identified by the study did not show up on export data yet were identified in the study through import data. Species specific labeling is not a legal requirement in India.

The paper suggests using an organized coding system which should include “species name, capture locations, size of the specimens, and the names collector and exporter.” However, they add “mere collection of [this] data [is] not sufficient to assure the harvest of ornamental fish [is] conducted in a manner that does not lead to further decline in wild species abundance.”

Raghavan, Dahanukar and Molur identify a number of steps to help protect and prevent the extinctions of freshwater fish species including “strengthening the enforcement of inland fisheries laws and acts in various states of the country, developing and implementing freshwater protected areas and fish refugee, framing policies with regard to the collection and export of endemic and threatened freshwater fishes for the pet trade and recognizing fish as an important group of wildlife for conservation rather than just a commodity for exploitation.”

Channa diplogramma – IUCN Red List Status – Vulnerable. Photo: Rajeev Raghavan

If India wants to hold on to their freshwater fish biodiversity they should move towards a more sustainable trade and move away from using threatened species, according to the researchers. Educating the hobbyists and importers with information on the conservation status of fish species could help lower the demand and prevent the collection of threatened fish.

The trade in fish for aquariums is not likely to stop completely. However, the scientists argue that if the trade was well managed it could provide livelihood opportunities for local communities in rural and remote areas while protecting the diversity in freshwater fish in India.

Reference: Rajeev Raghavan, Neelesh Dahanukar, Michael F. Tlusty, Andrew L. Rhyne, K. Krishna Kumar, Sanjay Molur, Alison M. Rosser, Uncovering an obscure trade: Threatened freshwater fishes and the aquarium pet markets, Biological Conservation, Volume 164, August 2013, Pages 158-169

Ornamental Aquatics

aquarium

Jul 262013

Original story by Sandra Pearce, Pet Business World, UK

A 58g aquascape by Luis Navarro. Photo: Luis Navarro, WikiMedia Commons

A monthly snapshot and analysis of a different sector within the pet & aquatics trade

Trade sources estimate that the market value for the ornamental aquatics industry falls broadly into the RSP £300-400 million bracket. The figure incorporates livestock, aquariums, equipment, decoration, supplements, test kits and fish food, excluding pond fish food.

Although the market has largely remained static, some categories are demonstrating growth as demand spurs sales, these being nano/planted tanks and LED lighting.

Dan Lowndes, Tetra UK trade marketing manager, said that aquascaping has become a hobby in its own right with many retailers having dedicated display tanks, including nano tanks. “These work well at inspiring customers with new ideas for designing tanks, and help encourage new fishkeepers into the hobby or existing features to set up a second tank.”

Manufacturers and suppliers have focused on developing products for the nano tank sector, but some feel the market is saturated. Aqua Pacific UK MD Mark Winter said: “This market is, I believe, swamped with choice for the retailer and consumer alike. For us, our total sales of small tanks has increased a fair bit overall. But where in 2006 we could get our volume through three or four tanks, now we need about 20 different models to do 1.3-times the volume. I think there must be 50 or more small aquaria/nano/lifestyle tanks on the market now.

“But perhaps it is the different styles and designs that is helping grow this impulse segment of the market. It is the home maker – normally the lady of the house – looking for a stylish addition to the home, which is attractive and easy to look after, who is buying these small aquariums.”

He thinks the next 12 months will see further interest in marine and freshwater nanos, with possibly more interest in betta and shrimp set-ups.

LED lighting, which uses less electricity than T5/T8 lights, continues to gain enthusiasts and gain market share, with innovation driving sales.

Arcadia sales manager Ben Catley said: “LED lighting is at the forefront of the aquatic trade due to rising energy costs. I think this will continue and the technology is improving at a rapid pace. The end result is the consumer will start to see much better value-for-money-and more advanced products.”

This search for energy efficiency is not lighting specific. Cyril Geoffray, JBL key account manager, says JBL is seeing rising demand for its external filters and C02 systems. “This is due to more energy-efficient models being released, and us working hard with shops who use these products as working examples.”

The specialist marine sector also continues to maintain its foothold in the market. At Aqua Pacific UK, the marine category has been ‘a huge success’. Mark elaborates: “I put this down to the success of our AquaReef range of 200-500-litre tanks. Its success proves that the serious hobbyist is still, even in these times, willing to spend big money on an aquarium if the product is right.”

Industry figures agree that the divide between premium and value-end products has become more pronounced. Says Dan: “It’s those sitting in the middle who have suffered most, and will more clearly need to define their audience.”

Ben says that while the budget end of the hobby is growing, there is ‘a definite shift towards European-quality products’. “The end consumer wants great value,” he says, “but also the quality that is associated with European manufacturing.”

And despite consumers watching their budgets, retailers cannot afford to shy away from recommending new products and talking to customers about new innovation. JBL is developing more products with fewer energy demands, such as the Greenline external and internal filters. Its Air pump ProSilent and accessories are selling well, and it recently launched the JBL Solar Marin bulbs.

It is this innovation that drives sales. Aqua Pacific has a number of products in the pipeline, including two EcoStyle tanks, a 70-litre and a 127-litre version, which include built-in LED lighting into the hood, of which Mark says: “I believe this will be the first aquarium of its type in the market to be only LED.”

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