Again, WHO is going to release them? There is no agency administering any kind of release program. Every farm could be holding thousands of aros waiting to be released. But, there's no gov't agency standing by to pick up, transport, catalog, and release any aros back to wild habitats.
how can we make asian arowanas legal?
- Thread starter philhawk
- Start date
over the last ten years the pet industry in america has more than doubled and if this trend contiunes or becomes large enough im sure that policy will eventualy change. once they asian fish farmers realize the potential market in america they themselves will try and get the wheels turning. as to whether or not their governments do anything about their pressure i dont know. and nothing may change for many years to come but if we keep pushing for proper conservation and regulation eventualy something will break.
It is unrealistic to expect the farms to restock the wild population for several reasons. Firstly, Singapore is a major producer of Asian aros, however it is not a natural home range for such fish. Secondly, all the variants are produced in places like Malaysia but only species like the gold are natural to those waters so the rest of them ie. red etc. cannot be released into the wild there. Selective breeding had rendered most of the breed as such that it would be difficult to survive in the wild. Also to patrol a area like Kalimantan against poaching would be an effort not for the faint hearted. There are many many more reasons why it will be difficult at best to restock. It is difficult to accept but unfortunately it's the fact of life in this region.
i would have to say that im against hybridization. it is really hard to reverse and could have long lasting repercusions that i dont want to think about.
I highly doubt that the US will allow any asian aro's in for the hobbyist. Its a sad fact, but US doesn't care about the issue one way or another.
As odd pointed out, no one asian gov't wants to take that task to set up a agency that will release the captive bred aro's. Also no count has been done over 20 years, but one would believe that the wild aro's should be increased or at least the same level. Since asian aro's have been bred in captivity for over 20 years itself, the wild aro's "should not" be affected negatively. I'm sure there are still plenty of poachers out there that will catch wild one's, but why bother when asian aro's are available with different color variations/strains created by the breeders.
Which is another reason why the captive bred aro's will not be released as they are a varied strain from the wild.
The policy set here is outdated without a doubt. Just look at our Northern neighbors. They allow the import of the captive bred aro's, although they are more liberal than USA, but they had the foresight that its captive bred not wild caught and have documentation with it.
If the asian breeding farms can produce 100 million aro's a year, do you think the US would allow the importation? I don't think so. I doubt its so much about it being an endangered species, but the reckless consumer that will buy the aro and figure its too big or don't want it anymore and dump the aro's into our lakes/rivers . Just look at the snakeheads, which is why its not allowed anymore.
It sucks, but there will always be idiots out there that will release these aro's into the wild and US doesn't want that. Can you blame them?
Besides the pet industry here has boomed doesn't make a difference to the asian breeders. They are already making their money by exporting to other countries and selling within its own asian market. I don't see them pushing for it to be exported to US nor spending their own money to try to make it happen.
Will the asian aro's ever be in the US market legally? Who knows, anything can happen, but since its been about 30 years and nothing has changed, don't hold your breath.
As odd pointed out, no one asian gov't wants to take that task to set up a agency that will release the captive bred aro's. Also no count has been done over 20 years, but one would believe that the wild aro's should be increased or at least the same level. Since asian aro's have been bred in captivity for over 20 years itself, the wild aro's "should not" be affected negatively. I'm sure there are still plenty of poachers out there that will catch wild one's, but why bother when asian aro's are available with different color variations/strains created by the breeders.
Which is another reason why the captive bred aro's will not be released as they are a varied strain from the wild.
The policy set here is outdated without a doubt. Just look at our Northern neighbors. They allow the import of the captive bred aro's, although they are more liberal than USA, but they had the foresight that its captive bred not wild caught and have documentation with it.
If the asian breeding farms can produce 100 million aro's a year, do you think the US would allow the importation? I don't think so. I doubt its so much about it being an endangered species, but the reckless consumer that will buy the aro and figure its too big or don't want it anymore and dump the aro's into our lakes/rivers . Just look at the snakeheads, which is why its not allowed anymore.
It sucks, but there will always be idiots out there that will release these aro's into the wild and US doesn't want that. Can you blame them?Besides the pet industry here has boomed doesn't make a difference to the asian breeders. They are already making their money by exporting to other countries and selling within its own asian market. I don't see them pushing for it to be exported to US nor spending their own money to try to make it happen.
Will the asian aro's ever be in the US market legally? Who knows, anything can happen, but since its been about 30 years and nothing has changed, don't hold your breath.
Sadly due to reliable sources, the wild population has not improved unfortunately. For one, wild aros are still very much in demand & command top dollar since it's a matter of bragging rights for many hobbyist. Also some parties acquire wild stock to further strengthen the gene line. Certain species ie. Nami green are a 100% from the wild since this particular variant doesn't exist in the breeding programs till last year. However like some have said & I have commented in the past, a census needs to be conducted before anything else.
