clarionreef
Advanced Reefer
- Location
- San Francisco
Hello folks,
Goodness me, I didn't know there were that many stores out there that would actually buy net caught only fish. I don't mean net caught until you need a blue tang by any means neccessary.I mean net caught only period. As a net caught only wholesaler I never had the luxury to casually buy some cyanide fish to fill in the gaps in the inventory. Supporting net caught only exporters from the Philippines ment supporting them to get strong enough to fill in the gaps properly...with net caught only fish. This included many trips to the Philippines.
The stress of doing without the clown triggers and blue tangs etc. is exactly what propelled me to keep on pushing for net training. I want those fish and must earn them by promoting the reforms and changes needed to get them. After years of supporting all reform movements and still not being able to get the right fish variety, I can see it will not get done unless we can engineer and support honest, knowledgeable reforms. Only fish people can make the real reforms required because only fish people relize that only the right mix of fishes will result in market receptability.
All the outsider reform groups who do not understand this have been happy to reform already reformed divers and push net caught fishes that were already netcaught.... reform already reformed, yet tiny exporters and settle for limited results. Limited results with the proper P.R. machine [infrastructure] can be parlayed into the perception of major results to the uninitiated. Then funding continues and the search for more mediocre results continues for another fiscal year.
We still can't get net caught blue tangs and other essential fishes because their importance to the credibility of netcaught business was never and is still not understood.
My understanding of this has lead me into predictable tension with all the groups who insist on minimal results and the irrelevance of these fundamental points. When I trained clown triggerfish collectors in Polilio Island in Quezon Province Philippiones back in 1992 I came under fire for just wanting to train them so I could have net caught clown triggers! Since I resigned in protest over that groups embezzling of training funds, there was of course never follow up there because it was far away and inconvenient to city based, office type "reformers". I'm not being snide here. Who do you think your reform businesses today are comprised of?
The dumb and dumber type thinking that led to the exclusion of meaningful reform strategies brings us to the year 2002 where millions of dollars have been raised and spent on NGO infrastructures and we still can't get some kosher blue tangs!
I stopped bringing in Philippine fish in April of this year because of the near total lack of support among the nations 5,000 retailers. I had a customer base of 7or 8 who cared and the rest who just cherry picked me for specials or the few cool fish that the mediocre reforms inadvertantly produced. I was also held to the cyanide standard in pricing and could rarely get 10 -15% above cyanide prices for fish.
Still, I have to sell fish today to pay the rent because I know I can never get a job as a trainer of collectors with MAC or the IMA. By refusing to "sell out" and go along with the program as incompetently run, I've marked myself as not a 'team player'.
I'M GLAD TO HEAR SO MUCH TALK OF REFORM ON THIS THREAD.
If something happens soon and we can hold you all to it!
Sincerely, Steve
PS. A cyanide test that will hold up in a court of law on this end is much futher away then you think. Lets just focus on the pro-active training of fisherman and be done with it. Beside, ifthe test really worked, all you'd do is close down 90% of the trade cause its not the specific dealers you need to target but the system that distributes to all at the same time!
Saying that your LA. big time importer is net caught for example is like saying that YOUR cocaine is free of corruption and murder. The system of supply is full of cross over, sharing of fishes, mixing, trading, fibbing and fooling easily fooled people.
Isolating a few net caught divers to document a chain of custody and support a few netcaught exporters without mixing in cyanide fish is barely happening and the limited supply of the right kind of fishes is not nearly enough to please even one wholesaler.
Four quick trainings in the right collecting areas could fix this...but alas, such a solution would never find favor among the NGOs that refuse advice from real fish people.
Goodness me, I didn't know there were that many stores out there that would actually buy net caught only fish. I don't mean net caught until you need a blue tang by any means neccessary.I mean net caught only period. As a net caught only wholesaler I never had the luxury to casually buy some cyanide fish to fill in the gaps in the inventory. Supporting net caught only exporters from the Philippines ment supporting them to get strong enough to fill in the gaps properly...with net caught only fish. This included many trips to the Philippines.
The stress of doing without the clown triggers and blue tangs etc. is exactly what propelled me to keep on pushing for net training. I want those fish and must earn them by promoting the reforms and changes needed to get them. After years of supporting all reform movements and still not being able to get the right fish variety, I can see it will not get done unless we can engineer and support honest, knowledgeable reforms. Only fish people can make the real reforms required because only fish people relize that only the right mix of fishes will result in market receptability.
All the outsider reform groups who do not understand this have been happy to reform already reformed divers and push net caught fishes that were already netcaught.... reform already reformed, yet tiny exporters and settle for limited results. Limited results with the proper P.R. machine [infrastructure] can be parlayed into the perception of major results to the uninitiated. Then funding continues and the search for more mediocre results continues for another fiscal year.
We still can't get net caught blue tangs and other essential fishes because their importance to the credibility of netcaught business was never and is still not understood.
My understanding of this has lead me into predictable tension with all the groups who insist on minimal results and the irrelevance of these fundamental points. When I trained clown triggerfish collectors in Polilio Island in Quezon Province Philippiones back in 1992 I came under fire for just wanting to train them so I could have net caught clown triggers! Since I resigned in protest over that groups embezzling of training funds, there was of course never follow up there because it was far away and inconvenient to city based, office type "reformers". I'm not being snide here. Who do you think your reform businesses today are comprised of?
The dumb and dumber type thinking that led to the exclusion of meaningful reform strategies brings us to the year 2002 where millions of dollars have been raised and spent on NGO infrastructures and we still can't get some kosher blue tangs!
I stopped bringing in Philippine fish in April of this year because of the near total lack of support among the nations 5,000 retailers. I had a customer base of 7or 8 who cared and the rest who just cherry picked me for specials or the few cool fish that the mediocre reforms inadvertantly produced. I was also held to the cyanide standard in pricing and could rarely get 10 -15% above cyanide prices for fish.
Still, I have to sell fish today to pay the rent because I know I can never get a job as a trainer of collectors with MAC or the IMA. By refusing to "sell out" and go along with the program as incompetently run, I've marked myself as not a 'team player'.
I'M GLAD TO HEAR SO MUCH TALK OF REFORM ON THIS THREAD.
If something happens soon and we can hold you all to it!
Sincerely, Steve
PS. A cyanide test that will hold up in a court of law on this end is much futher away then you think. Lets just focus on the pro-active training of fisherman and be done with it. Beside, ifthe test really worked, all you'd do is close down 90% of the trade cause its not the specific dealers you need to target but the system that distributes to all at the same time!
Saying that your LA. big time importer is net caught for example is like saying that YOUR cocaine is free of corruption and murder. The system of supply is full of cross over, sharing of fishes, mixing, trading, fibbing and fooling easily fooled people.
Isolating a few net caught divers to document a chain of custody and support a few netcaught exporters without mixing in cyanide fish is barely happening and the limited supply of the right kind of fishes is not nearly enough to please even one wholesaler.
Four quick trainings in the right collecting areas could fix this...but alas, such a solution would never find favor among the NGOs that refuse advice from real fish people.
