"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this aquarium!"
Yellow Tang, Zebrasoma flavescens, poster child for anti-aquarium activist,
Robert Wintner, from his book, "Some Fishes I Have Known, A Reef Rescue Odyssey."
An anti-whaling activist asks: "Can We Stop the Devastating Impact of Home Aquaria on Reefs Worldwide?"
A financial advisory board member for the Sea Shepherd Society, best known for their high seas interventions to thwart Japanese whaling vessels, on August 21, 2010 called for a ban on "aquarium hunters" and the end of the keeping of marine animals in captive systems.
In a commentary entitled, The Dark Hobby, Maui entrepreneur and anti-whaling activist Robert Wintner used the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society website to announce the beginning of a media tour to promote his new book and a crusade against the aquarium trade. Mr. Wintner said he was setting out "to reach millions" with his message.
"The tentative hobbyist with a ten-gallon tank and one anemone clownfish as seen in Finding Nemo stays in briefly, because anemone clownfish die soon in a small tank.
"When aquarium fish die (99% within a year), tanks need more fish. The fishious circle is relentless: flush & plunk a new fish. Most fish run $50 to $150 retail, with 15¢ to $15 to the collector. The Hawaii average is $4 per fish. Hobbyists may up the ante on a bandit angelfish for $400, or a masked angel for $5,000."
Mr. Wintner, right, who bills himself as "Snorkel Bob," says he is the "largest reef outfitter in the Hawaiian Islands" and is a well-known opponent of livestock collection for the aquarium trade. He is a financial advisor to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and has helped gain them national and international media recognition for their anti-whaling crusades, including an exposé of whale killing in St. Lucia in the Caribbean. His financial support for Sea Shepherd comes from the sale of Snorkle Bob-brand masks, dive fins and other gear, large snorkle group excursions, Hawaiian action sports trips, and luaus.
He is especially critical of collectors, politicians, and state natural resources policies in Hawaii:
"The Kona coast is 135 miles of continuous reef. Once called the Gold Coast for its Yellow Tangs in the surf, now its the gold coast because Charles Schwab and Michael Dell plunked down $50 million on lots there. The new gold rush is for easy pickins on aquarium fish with no catch limits. Grossly mismanaged on data spun politically, those reefs are now minus 8 species. 'Nobody knows where they went or why....'
"The Humane Society of the U.S. and Humane Society International (HSUS/HSI) state that reef fish have complex needs and are not suited for captivity," he says. "Reef animals in confinement live far short of their natural potential. Yellow Tangs can live 40 years on a reef, but tank stress most often kills them in a yearif capture and transport doesnt kill them first. Yellow Tangs are herbivores who graze on algae dawn to dusk. Algae suffocation is a primary threat to Hawaii reefs. Millions of yellow tangs ship out annually."
He concludes the long commentary with a plug for his new book, "Some Fishes I Have Known," which has this call to action: "A few aquarium hobbyists may see the light and hear our beloved 41st President of the United States of America, Ronald W. Reagan, who cried out, Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this aquarium!"What can you do? If you see an aquarium, ask that it be taken down for the sake of the reefs, the fish and us."
why would he waste his time trying to ban marine aquariums? lmao its never gonna happen
