Exotics Australia: Whats legal and whats not?

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thats cool about the leichardti's! the thing is, Yeah you guys can't keep the same fish that we can... but I can tell you after keeping cichlids for 10 years I can't stand them now. I could happily never keep them again, its not so much that you guys don't have the any fish to keep, its that you have DIFFERENT fish to keep. I imagine stocking a tank in Australia would be awesome just because of how different it would be... the amount of tanks I see on here with the same basic stock (oscar, JD, a green terror and a jag) or the most common (pbass, dats, a silver aro) its nice to have something different
 
Yeah you really can't get away from the P bass on here, they are nice, probably awesome to keep and legal here, just very expensive. And they're not aggressive enough for my tastes either!! I love aussie natives and like everyones been saying, they're almost impossible to get in other countries. Makes us special!!! :nilly:
 
Elbling0 said:
Yeah you really can't get away from the P bass on here, they are nice, probably awesome to keep and legal here, just very expensive. And they're not aggressive enough for my tastes either!! I love aussie natives and like everyones been saying, they're almost impossible to get in other countries. Makes us special!!! :nilly:
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To me Pbass are big ugly boring fish. They do have nice colours but they just don't appeal to me in the slightest.
People like to say how Australia are too strict on importation export etc, but you guys have biodiversity that is seen nowhere else on earth. What's wrong with protecting it? Don't want to end up like USA where Florida is practically a seaworld aquarium of different species. Sure its good for catching cichlids for free and stuff, but think of how many awesome oz natives would die never to be replaced?
 
Exactly, if we had heaps of fish getting imported here some idiot would end up releasing it into the river and we would end up hahving something like the Asian Carp infestation in America. A lot of our species are disappearing quickly, Mangrove Jack numbers are at an all time low, Murray Cod are on the brink of extinction. Australia has lost so many beautiful animals we can't afford to loose.
 
Mattehx said:
Even some of our natives are still expensive, I think its just the nature of the industry. With the level of demand not as great percentage wise as compared to other places, prices are higher. I know here in WA, LFS's have a hard time competing with online stores and chain stores since there aren't very many and we've had a number of great ones close down. For example, our jardinis are $150-$180 at the moment for 7-10 cm and from what I've seen, guys in the States are able to get them cheaper. That's despite jardinis being available up north here in WA. But your argument about higher minimum pay and price scaling would also be a variable in the higher pricing. Not to mention stricter import laws would also contribute. In general, a combination of all these factors don't reflect favourably on price and it sucks, its harder for people to get into the hobby because of the costs involved in setting up an aquarium.
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150-180 for a juvenile jar is more expensive than here in sydney (lfs prices). I always thought they were far more readily available in WA. In regards to things like price scaling... when was the last time you paid two or three weeks income for an exotic? Because here it's quite normal to pay 500-1200 fr a privately sold silver aro. Whereas prices like this would be gawked at in the US.
 
Elbling0 said:
Exactly, if we had heaps of fish getting imported here some idiot would end up releasing it into the river and we would end up hahving something like the Asian Carp infestation in America. A lot of our species are disappearing quickly, Mangrove Jack numbers are at an all time low, Murray Cod are on the brink of extinction. Australia has lost so many beautiful animals we can't afford to loose.
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Spot on. I dunno about the situation in QLD, but here in NSW there are many feral populations of cichlids (african and american) which derived from irresponsible morons releasing them into the waterways. Because of turds like these, many animals are prohibited from entering aus. However, it does have its advantages for the greater good.
 
The allowable import list is only a list for what is allowed to be imported. It does not mean a fish can not be owned because it is not on that list. Many fish are already here and are allowed to be kept at present though this will change as the restrictions tighten more and more.
Basically for now, you need to go by the Noxious Species list that is relevant to your state for what you can't keep.
Here is the current noxious species lists for QLD. ;)http://www.daff.qld.gov.au/28_13605.htm
and the new additionshttp://www.daff.qld.gov.au/28_21142.htm

As much as I hate to say it. The restrictions will and need to tighten. For each responsible fish keeper, there are many more that are totally ignorant of releasing fish (native or not) into our natural waterways. It would be a total disaster to have our waterways go the way of many overseas systems that are now over run by introduced species.
 
greenterra said:
The allowable import list is only a list for what is allowed to be imported. It does not mean a fish can not be owned because it is not on that list. Many fish are already here and are allowed to be kept at present though this will change as the restrictions tighten more and more.
Basically for now, you need to go by the Noxious Species list that is relevant to your state for what you can't keep.
Here is the current noxious species lists for QLD. ;)http://www.daff.qld.gov.au/28_13605.htm
and the new additionshttp://www.daff.qld.gov.au/28_21142.htm

As much as I hate to say it. The restrictions will and need to tighten. For each responsible fish keeper, there are many more that are totally ignorant of releasing fish (native or not) into our natural waterways. It would be a total disaster to have our waterways go the way of many overseas systems that are now over run by introduced species.
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Arowanas dont show up on either list. Does that mean it's legal to own a silver/black/asian aro in qld (i looked at nsw too same story). Even checked for their latin names
 
Technically any fish not native to our state is non-indigenous and going by the Fisheries Act 1994,Current as at 22 November 2012 Section 90(1)(a) A person must not unlawfully—possess, rear, sell or buy non-indigenous fisheries
resources. Also note Section 92(1)(a)

Extract below...

90 Non-indigenous fisheries resources not to be possessed,
released etc.
(1) A person must not unlawfully—
(a) bring non-indigenous fisheries resources, or cause
non-indigenous fisheries resources to be brought, into
Queensland; or
(b) possess, rear, sell or buy non-indigenous fisheries
resources; or
(c) release non-indigenous fisheries resources, or cause
non-indigenous fisheries resources to be placed or
released, into Queensland waters; or
(d) release non-indigenous fisheries resources, or cause
non-indigenous fisheries resources to be placed or
released, in a waterway or lake in a wild river area.
Maximum penalty—2000 penalty units.
(2) Subsections (1)(a) and (b) do not apply to non-indigenous
fisheries resources prescribed under a regulation or
management plan.
(3) In this section—
lake see the Water Act 2000, schedule 4.
91 Aquaculture fisheries resources not to be released
A person must not unlawfully release aquaculture fisheries
resources, or cause aquaculture fisheries resources to be
released, into Queensland waters.
Maximum penalty—2000 penalty units.
92 Duty of person who takes or possesses noxious or
non-indigenous fisheries resources
(1) A person who unlawfully takes or possesses noxious or
non-indigenous fisheries resources must immediately—
(a) if the fisheries resource is a fish—kill it; or
(b) if the fisheries resource is a plant—destroy it.
Maximum penalty—2000 penalty units.

Many fish species are already here and being bred and sold by hobbyist and stores alike though. The problem is that to police or enforce the wording as in the Fisheries Act 1994,Current as at 22 November 2012 at present would just be impractical. At this stage, if it is not on the noxious list you pretty much wont be done for keeping said fish hence why even the stores still sell any fish not found on the noxious lists(Including exotics). It's a grey area. One would however expect this to change over time though as species are one by one evaluated for environmental impact and directly added to the noxious list. The difference being that the noxious list is enforced and policed. I hope that makes sense.;)
 
Many fish species are already here and being bred and sold by hobbyist and stores alike though. The problem is that to police or enforce the wording as in the Fisheries Act 1994,Current as at 22 November 2012 at present would just be impractical. At this stage, if it is not on the noxious list you pretty much wont be done for keeping said fish hence why even the stores still sell any fish not found on the noxious lists(Including exotics). It's a grey area. One would however expect this to change over time though as species are one by one evaluated for environmental impact and directly added to the noxious list. The difference being that the noxious list is enforced and policed. I hope that makes sense.;)[/QUOTE]

It actually does answer alot of questions. What I think the problem is, is the fact that bringing in exotic fish (noxious or not) is controlled by multiple departments DPI, AQIS, Customs, etc. If you read over alot of their information regarding such species, it's difficult to get a straight answer. I've actually heard of stores in my area being severely penalised for displaying fish like asian aros. Don't know how true it is, but some places have given me funny looks when I asked questions regarding them.

It's like reading a whole bunch of articles about catching a particular fish. If you followed all the information provided, you'd never find a suitable time to go fishing.
 
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