LOL. that aro was a prototype. Wait til you see the actual final product! I actuall make those. Like my signature says "I like fish". I'm a fish nut. I've done taxidermy, wood carving, sculptures, paintings, and all manors of art for about 15 years now. The sculptures that will be available are extremely realistic. They look like a mounted fish, maybe better. Conservation International will be marketing them abroad as well as from the savethearowana site. There are plans for bronze models too.
Asian arowana Conservation
- Thread starter wizzin
- Start date
Oh, and there will be an MFK promo code worth $50-100 off the sculptures. Other promos on t-shirts, hats etc.
Phil
Phil
If theres ever a promo and I have enough cash at the time, I'll get one of those sculptures. Are they carved wood or fiberglass molds that you have made? I saw an interestinb bit about taxidermy were you take a picture of the fish you caught, send it to the special place and they make a mold to the dimensions you sent with the picture.
Wich is really cool because it helps keep dwindling fish poluations from getting worse.
I like the shirts aswell, I just wish the logo went all the wat across the front of the shirt instead of just the corner, still cool though!
Wich is really cool because it helps keep dwindling fish poluations from getting worse.
I like the shirts aswell, I just wish the logo went all the wat across the front of the shirt instead of just the corner, still cool though!
AttackFish;844399; said:
The sculptures are cast polyurethane from an original wood carving. They can be carved directly from polyurethane also. It's the same thing as the reproduction fish you see made for game fish. Yes, it's great. You don't have to kill the fish to get a mount. From doing taxidermy, you only get the skin and sometimes the head depending on the species. Trout for example, if you get a trout mounted, the head is actually bondo (auto body filler) and fiberglass resin. So all you get is the skin and fins. I've even done the fins in hot glue. secrets of taxidermy
I used wood for the original because it's a little easier to work with and the dust isn't as bad for your lungs 
I should have the first run available in June or July. They'll be much more realistic than the photo that's on the site. That was just testing some concepts and scale creation techniques. thanks for the interest. I'll post here when they're available.
Only thing bad about the pic of it in the site is that it doesnt have any visible barbels. Other then that, I think its very cool and awesome craftsmen ship!
The exotic pet trade: The USFWS wants to allow the import of captive-bred but highly endangered freshwater fish, the Asian bonytongue, which is native to Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia. The agency acknowledges that the species continues to face threats to its existence, but rather than find ways to work with foreign countries to conserve and protect the fish from human threats, USFWS proposes to allow imports so that foreign breeders can take advantage of the vast U.S. exotic pet market.
"Since the greatest single threat to the species is illegal collection for the pet trade, captive propagation that results in a controlled legal supply of specimens could significantly reduce the pressure on wild populations," USFWS argues in the draft proposals
from http://www.hsus.org/wildlife/wildli...ility_not_survival_of_endangered_species.html
"Since the greatest single threat to the species is illegal collection for the pet trade, captive propagation that results in a controlled legal supply of specimens could significantly reduce the pressure on wild populations," USFWS argues in the draft proposals
from http://www.hsus.org/wildlife/wildli...ility_not_survival_of_endangered_species.html
johnptc;974309; said:
I've seen that before. Unfortuneatly, it's from October, 2003. The content is still valid. Just a matter of getting things moving. Need more people involved. EDIT> that policy was actually approved, however, which means that it is possible under current legislation to import CB aros, but there needs to be a benefit to the enhancement of wild stocks, which is what CI is doing, and the foundation of the proposed import program. If the FWS agreed tomorrow that what CI is doing would fall under enhancement of survival, then you could import an Asian aro. It's not quite that simple though. I think before the draft policy was written, not much thought was given to interstate and intrastate commerce laws. It's a bit of a mess how the fish would be handled once in the US.
Theres also a large group in FWS (i think) who think that the passive transponder tags are a joke. I somewhat agree. You can implant a chip in a WC fish. DUH. It's a matter of time at the moment.
http://www.savethearowana.com
wizzin;974386; said:
yeah, it'll be interesting to see how interstate/intrastate works out. thinking ahead, it would un-realistic to expect an end receiptant to import a fish at a time. not impossible, but really hard.......
i'm not sure how much of an issue WC fish would be. WC looks nothing like the fish we see in thru selective breeding (ie colors, shape, ...). so only a few people would prefer wild caught. plus the cites farms would be risking their cites status should they decide to risk it.
b-man;974914; said:
I agree. First, I don't think you could import one at a time from any farms in Asia. It's most likely going to be like it's done in Canada. Panda will sell 10 at a time I think. I've seen some farms with minimum orders as low as 2 though. Ideally, the importer would pay the import "tax" on each fish imported. Then each person buying one from the importer would also pay the "tax" to get a permit. Double taxation, I guess, but it's not technically a tax, and the point of the program is to help save the fish in the wild, not run a business.
The reason for each person paying the "tax" is that in order to "take" (which includes import and possess) you would need a permit. You couldn't import a fish without a permit, and you couldn't keep a fish without a permit, so both parties would need to pay for a permit.
There isn't anything else like this. You have to think of it as a donation to aid in conservation, not your typical tropical fish import operation. After all, these aren't your average tropical fish, and they ARE endangered in the wild. We shouldn't expect to be able to trade them like there is nothing wrong in the wild.
Personally, I agree that they should be taxed every time they change hands. it's feasible that one fish could generate thousands of dollars in conservation funds if it goes from importer to consumer, then from the original consumer to another consumer and so on. I actually think it should be like this throughout the world!
I know from a "profitability" standpoint all of this sounds rediculous, but again, you have to think of this as a conservation effort, not a tropical fish business.
Forgetting that we're talking about a rare species of fish that is very limited in geographic distribution is partially why they're endangered.
