Guys,
And futhermore the utopian thread was a response to the 'collect to order notions'...not as Mike suggests them but as was suggested by the "larger ill informed reform program." There was a wholesalers conference in March of last year and it was summarily dismissed as a result of how strongly it was rebuked ..as silly, unworkable and impossible. The hard bitten and jaded importers do not tolerate such flippant and unexamined notions as a 'collect to order' list AS IF such orders could be sent back down thru the chain. It felt strange, but on this one I had to agree w/ them.
Are there any desireable species that some hobbyist wanted that dealers were not already aware of? And if such rare and coveted species were around do you not think that dealers already scramble for them? Hobbyists can request from retailers whatever, and they do. Retailers can request from wholesalers... and they do. Bringing in common fish that no one wants is a reality with remedy already. Often, it takes the form of sales and lower prices...which over the decades results in the cheaper fish...an issue the trade really gets excited about.
Why just this week I was offered reduced prices on lots of common netcaught fish because their oversupply threatened to result in their non sale and starvation. They were the extra supply the dealer had to buy to get the good stuff. This is exactly how the system keeps divers alive and functioning. A narrower, collect to order system would put the guys out of business in a month.
That non trade people entertain simplistic notions of limiting the collecting of checkered butterflies in Palauwig or firefish in Mindoro to fit some utopian notion of everything fitting perfectly into a chain of predictable order and supply ...well not only is that myopia in the extreme, it would be bad news for collectors in those areas. Of course, it has zero chance of becoming more than a notion of outsiders trying to figure out how to get more of a foothold into the trade.
Don't fall for and accept agendas from non involved, non fish oriented groups that say..." Tell me of your problems and issues so that we can inflate them, prescribe remedy, secure funding and make ourselves more important as your representatives.
'Collect to order' already happens in a way that has always made business sense and with its own checks and balances. There are many fishes that exist out there that you never see. Why...because they have already been selected out of the system in the trades own search for equilibrium.
Dry, myopic, uninvolved , non fish keeping utopians need to mix and immerse [ and not just conduct a few non representative and select interviews] before elevating false and lesser agendas above the more bonafide ones.
Several among you have recently had their baptisms... Hopefully more will follow.
Sincerely, Steve