Welcome to the fray ! As in all friendly discussions you are entitled to
your viewpoint and I to mine. As "the Silver Budgie" says "never let the
truth get in the way of a good story !" It makes for a more animated
discussion. No one person has a monopoly on the truth.
Red-finned Blue-eyes are not difficult to breed initially but tell the
listmembers how many generations you were able to maintain and how many you
have now. We all ( with very few exceptions) who have had them have a
collection of hard-luck stories but to me it seems that there is something
missing in the diet, water conditions etc that they need to keep the strain
going - that's why they are only found there and haven't colonised the
surrounding areas despite the fact that a recent arrival out there
(Gambusis) has had no trouble doing the reverse.
The story of illegal imports is an on-going saga and the variations on
the"origin of the species", with apologies to Charles Darwin, are legion.I
am sure it would occupy a sizeable novel just to chronicle them without
even trying to verify them.
As your application to ANCA inches it's way through the "quicksand" of the
system I would like to say in my own defence that I have supported it as
the only "bite" likely at this apple for a long time. I supplied you with a
copy of the edited version of the discussion on this forum and if my memory
is correct you forwarded it to ANCA in support of your application.
<<I was dismayed at the avoidance of, or ignorance of, the facts that was
displayed in the President's Report in the latest A.N.G.F.A bulletin.
Some of these facts are
• Fisheries license fees - $200 first year and then $92 p.a.>>
What I said in my report was " One of the solutions recently proposed by
state authorities in Queensland was to license all breeders who sell more
than a handful of fish a year and classify them as Licensed commercial
Breders. Naturally a substantial annual fee would pertain as well as an
inspection and there was apparently variation in the fee whether the size
of the breeding establishment was 6 aquaria or 6 acres of water etc etc ".
I fail to see that I was avoiding or ignoring the facts. I believe that to
most hobbyists that is a substantial impediment to their enjoyment of the
hobby and an unwelcome intrusion of Bureaucracy into that pastime.
It is well-known that the NT Government has listed a range of species that
may be wild harvested for dale both locally there and interstate and this
loop-hole is being used to allow others to offer wild-caught fish from
other areas. I don't see how that will stop if hobbyists pay an annual fee.
<< It is not only A.N.G.F.A auctions. There are auctions all over
Australia,
some of them advertised to the general public, not just club members,
selling fish for a few cents each. Fish auctions set the market price
just as
motor auctions and real estate auctions set the market price.>>
I guess we all know how closely the price the average person pays for a
second-hand car approximates the auction price. I personally feel that a
floor price for locally bred fish could have some merit. For example it
probably costs the average hobbyist about a dollar to provide the
equipment, maintain it and breed and raise a fish to sexable size ( I am
sure i will get arguments on that too) so to sell them to the local pet
shop for a dollar each would really only be getting his money back for
costs accrued along the way. The shop can add their 100% and still sell for
$2 and most of us are happy to pay that for a fish. The same could apply at
auctions there could be a minimum placed on each item - many items offered
at ANGFA.Q auctions have reserves on them and that is the value the breeder
places on them with every right to do so.
Can the commercial breeder with his/her expertise and economies of scale
make a profit at that price ? Are there some species that will never be
commercial as they don't sell well enough? Do we need hobbyists to buy the
fish that the commercial breeders produce?
Should the commercial breeders concentrate on guppies and zebras i.e.
commercial aquarium fish ?
Please reply and give us your thoughts as this is a current and very REAL
threat to our hobby and to Gordon's "admittedly uncommercial " income.
<<I have found D.P.I. Fisheries and Q.F.M.A. helpful and co-operative>>
I have found them to be the same also but not necessarily for the same
reasons :-)
Bruce Hansen
President, ANGFA.N