Are there any farms in the US that could raise asian arowana? I'm not talking about illegal, I'm talking about if a permit to breed them were legal. Any farms that are equipt or could be equipt to breed/raise them? Post here or PM me with contact information.
any potential farms in the US?
- Thread starter wizzin
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Facilities would definitely not be a problem but the legalities of importing and acquiring and arowana would make it impossible.
I understand that competely. I'm asking for farms that could do it if they were given a permit. It's not impossible.
wizzin;578063; said:
Yes it is. Why would they be issued a permit when importation is illegal ?
Give me a legitimate reason why they would be issued a permit to import .
It is not impossible but there are very many hoops to jump through in order to do it... the facilities would not be hard to setup its getting the fish and the permits that is hard....
All of this is in the hands of the range countries. All that needs to happen is that they show some sort of conservation plan, and the ban of the fish will be lifted.
I do know that the US does have an interest in opening the trade back up, but it hinges on the range countries proposing a conservation plan for the wild animals.
I wanted to see if any farms have actually attempted to apply for a permit on the grounds of reducing pressure on wild populations by way of reducing their worth on the black market. i.e. creating a legal market here so that the wild illegal black market fish are less desireable.
I do know that the US does have an interest in opening the trade back up, but it hinges on the range countries proposing a conservation plan for the wild animals.
I wanted to see if any farms have actually attempted to apply for a permit on the grounds of reducing pressure on wild populations by way of reducing their worth on the black market. i.e. creating a legal market here so that the wild illegal black market fish are less desireable.
There has to be an end to justify the means. There simply is not enough of a market for investing in a large breeding operation for aros. US hatcheries close by at least one major operation a year. The hatcheries still open are making it through government subsidizing and fisheries contracts for stocking sport fish. And, like any other large business, there are many hands out for whatever money the hatchery makes (utilities, liens, foods, medications, insurance, operating maintenance, share holders, salaries, waste removal, recycling, etc.). Right now, there is alot more money to be made from raising tilapia for the food markets or Wal-Mart bread & butter fish (greater concentration in numbers per surface acre of growing pond) than there is for raising a more territorial carnivore species like aros. Adding to the costs the fact that having a US breeding facility for aros WILL cause a major drop in prices due to market competition with overseas operations. These drops will have a corresponding loss to the hatchery's profits. If the prices only drop to the pre-ban prices, the hobbyist's are looking at asian aros selling for $39.95 and the hatchery will be looking at going out of business.
I'm not talking about a government subsidized operation. I'm talking about a facility that is established with other species who could add an aro breeding pond. I'm also not talking about producing 500,000 fish a year. I fully understand that hatcheries are expensive to operate and maintain. That's why I asked for a farm/hatchery that "could" add aros to their hatching list. If the facility isn't financial stable enough to attempt it, then why would they?
I doubt very much that every hatchery in the US will shut down. It's a matter of how many hatcheries there are and the demand for their product.
I'm an optimist. I can appreciate your realistic points, but things never get done if everyone sits around saying. It'll never happen. That's why things don't happen. you have to believe in something for it to succeed.
I doubt very much that every hatchery in the US will shut down. It's a matter of how many hatcheries there are and the demand for their product.
I'm an optimist. I can appreciate your realistic points, but things never get done if everyone sits around saying. It'll never happen. That's why things don't happen. you have to believe in something for it to succeed.
The USFWS' position is that importation of Asian arowanas with CITES documentation still violates the Endangered Species Act because the Asian farms do not help wild populations of Asian arowanas. The only way the USFWS would permit the importation of Asian arowanas for a captive breeding program is if that a substantial portion of that captive breeding program's efforts were devoted to bolstering wild populations of Asian arowanas and only incidental sales went to aquarists in the U.S. Any such operation would be at a huge competitive disadvantage because Singapore and Malaysia based breeding operations would not operate under such a constraint, as they need only comply with CITES and not the U.S. Endangered Species Act. As a business venture, it simply would not make sense to have to export and release most of your stock.