Petition to Ban Live Rock Collection in Fiji

[John_Brandt]

Dear friend of coral reefs,

NOW is the time for you to stand up for Fiji's coral habitats. Please take action on this website's Petition to Stop Live Rock Collection in Fiji http://www.reefguardian.org/RGIpetition.html . Support a ban on the collection of hard coral and live rock.

Right now, there's nothing to stop crowbars and chisels from ripping corals off the reefs in Fiji.

After 10 years of constant effort, the taking of live rock is now prohibited in practically all U.S. waters. But the aquarium trade has shifted its supply source to Fiji -- and now you can find Fiji live rock and coral in thousands upon thousands of U.S. aquarium shops.

This is wrong! We didn't spend a decade getting live rock collection banned throughout the U.S., just so that this terrible practice would be inflicted instead on Fiji's coral reefs.

We need you to actively stand up for coral habitats by signing on to the Petition to Stop Live Rock Collection in Fiji on this website.

Add you voice to the growing chorus demanding a stop to destructive coral and live rock collection in Fiji!

Why Corals And Live Rock Need Protection

It takes decades for countless generations of fragile dime-sized filter-feeding colonial coral polyps to build a single coral head -- and centuries to build coral reefs.

Live rock is coral rubble or reef outcroppings with attached marine life.

Live rock started to be used in marine aquariums 15 years ago at the rate of 2 pounds per gallon of water. A modest 60-gallon aquarium requires 120 pounds of this coral substrate to establish a reef profile on the bottom and rear of the aquarium.

But collected live rock cannot be replenished on a biological time scale, as can all other fishery resources. At best geologically renewable over very long periods of time, live rock is a resource that should be preserved from all harvest because its replenishment is not manageable or possible under standard fisheries management.

Coral and live rock formations provide essential habitat to countless marine creatures. Taking coral and live rock reduces the quality and quantity of habitat available to reef organisms. Continued collection seriously disrupts -- and even destroys -- entire reef microcommunities.

Coral and live rock are often collected with hammer and chisel. The physical integrity and ecological balance of sensitive coral reefs and hardbottoms is being disrupted more and more each time another chunk is torn away.

Take Action Now

For all these reasons, hard coral and live rock collection in Fiji MUST BE STOPPED! We need your help to see that it does stop.

Take action by signing onto the Petition to Stop Live Rock Collection in Fiji requesting a complete stop to the collection of reefbuilding corals and liverock in Fiji.

Thanks so much for caring!

Alexander Stone
Director
ReefGuardian International
http://www.reefguardian.org

http://www.reefguardian.org/WhyCare/FijiLiveRock.html

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Petition to Ban Live Rock Collection in Fiji


His Excellency, Ambassador Anare Jale
Embassy of Fiji / Washington, D.C.

Honorable Minister A. Konisi Yabaki
Fiji Ministry of Fisheries and Forests / Suva, Fiji

Honorable Ambassador Jale and Minister Yabaki,

We, the undersigned friends of coral reefs, respectfully yet strongly request that the Fiji government act to protect its coral reefs by immediately putting a halt to the collection of live coral rock on Fiji's coral reefs.

Live rock is coral rubble or reef outcroppings with attached marine life. Fifteen years ago, "reef" aquariums started using live rock to establish a "reef" profile on the bottom of the aquarium. A modest 60-gallon "reef" aquarium requires 120 pounds of this coral substrate. But collected live rock cannot be replenished, and its continued collection seriously disrupts -- and even destroys -- entire reef microcommunities.

This is why the taking of live rock is now prohibited in all U.S. coral reef waters. But the American aquarium trade has shifted its supply source to Fiji -- and now you can find Fiji live rock and coral in thousands upon thousands of U.S. aquarium shops.

This is wrong! American public opinion and conservation policy didn't get live rock collection banned throughout the U.S., just so that this terrible practice would be inflicted instead on Fiji's coral reefs.

Reef-building corals take decades to produce live rock and hundreds of years to create reefs. It is very unlikely that coral or live rock removed from the reef system will be replenished in our children's -- or even our grandchildren's -- lifetime. This makes coral and live rock collection a non-replenishable and unsustainable activity. It is far too damaging to reefs and destroys valuable habitat for many other reef creatures.

For all these reasons, we ask that the Fiji Government put a stop to the collection of hard coral and live rock on Fiji's coral reefs.

Respectfully submitted,
ReefGuardian International

 

[dizzy]

John,
What is your explanation for posting that here? Are you endorsing the petition? How do you obtain it?
Mitch

 

[Anonymous]

Does this also ban collection for any use or just aquarium?

And how many people have 60 gallon tanks?

 

[John_Brandt]

What is your explanation for posting that here?

I consistently post informative content concerning the trade and conservation in this forum.

Are you endorsing the petition?

Not a chance.

How do you obtain it?

I was informed of it by MAC Fiji.

 

[MaryHM]

LOL. What is this guy basing his information on? I assume that for someone to have such a strong opinion that he has seen the collection first hand. I have, and there wasn't a crow bar in sight. Miles and miles and miles of live rock laying in the shallows behind the reefs. The guys went out in little boats, dove down about 6', and picked it up off the bottom. After a storm, there are thousands of tons more ready for the pickings. Let me tell you a little bit about the village I went to in Fiji. It was a couple of hours out of Suva (the capitol city). These people had only had roads into their village for a little over a year. Before that, they had to take a several hours long boat ride to Suva for necessities. These people live in little shacks. They don't have electricity. They depend on the MO trade (and at that time raising seaweed) to live on. Yes, by all means Mr. Alexander Stone, tell these wonderful people that they can't utilize the reefs that THEY BY LAW OWN (each village owns its own reefs) to eek out a living. Sit in your fancy house with your fancy food and your fancy car and tell them what they can and can't do with their own resource to feed their families. Disgusting.

 

[John_Brandt]

Does this also ban collection for any use or just aquarium?

And how many people have 60 gallon tanks?

At this point you know as much about it as I do. There are factual errors as you can see.

 

[John_Brandt]

...there wasn't a crow bar in sight.

At least in some cases, crowbars and chisels are used to collect live rock in Fiji.

 

[MaryHM]

There's always an exception to the rule somewhere. I'm just sharing what I personally witnessed, and I'd love to know what Mr. Stone personally witnessed. I can guess...probably nothing.

All of these people with their "facts". God help us.

 

[John_Brandt]

There's always an exception to the rule somewhere. I'm just sharing what I personally witnessed, and I'd love to know what Mr. Stone personally witnessed. I can guess...probably nothing.

All of these people with their "facts". God help us.

I don't disagree with your sentiment. But are you in a position to say that LR collection in Fiji is done without crowbar & chisel as a rule? Or was it just what you observed where you were? You might be making a generalization as broad as what Stone is making.

 

[MaryHM]

Did I say "Live Rock is never collected with a crowbar"? No. I said here's my experience. That experience was in a village that worked for the largest exporter of live rock in Fiji. I think it was clear that this was my observation, as I laid out where I was, what I did, and what I saw. I am just willing to bet that this guy has never even been to Fiji to witness live rock collection and yet he is qualified to make a statement to ban it. That strikes me as funny. Did he use one single bit of scientific information to back up his petition? Or is it based purely on emotions?

MAC sent you this, what's their position?

 

[Rikko]

It takes decades for countless generations of fragile dime-sized filter-feeding colonial coral polyps to build a single coral head -- and centuries to build coral reefs.

Great, but how long does it take for a countable number of generations of fragile dime-size filter-feeding colonial coral polyps to build a single coral head? I honestly don't know, it's plainly obvious to me that all those jerks on the internet have used Photoshop to alter the photos of their reef tanks to make it look like their corals are growing. :roll:

But collected live rock cannot be replenished on a biological time scale, as can all other fishery resources. At best geologically renewable over very long periods of time, live rock is a resource that should be preserved from all harvest because its replenishment is not manageable or possible under standard fisheries management.

Having never observed LR collection firsthand, I can only go by what my reef books that cover the issue say... And they basically say what Mary said.
This stupid petition will break down into arguing semantics..
WHAT IS LIVE ROCK?
The definition I've always seen has been storm debris laying around the reef. Seems rather easy to collect if it's just laying there.
Is live rock chunks of the growing reef that are chiseled away by a man with shifty eyes dressed like the Hamburglar? Hell, maybe. Seems like an awful lot of effort to go to when it's all laying right there.

And regardless, I've seen more than one scientist report that the annual growth of the reefs (calcium carbonate production) in the Great Barrier Reef alone exceeds something like 50 million tons. With respect, I kind of doubt a few fish nerds around the world are really going to consume in excess of that annually.

 

[MaryHM]

I'll be giving Mr. Stone a call next week. It took some digging, but here's his phone number. I rarely trust any organization without a published phone number. (305) 358-4600

 

[John_Brandt]

Did I say "Live Rock is never collected with a crowbar"? No. I said here's my experience.

You used the expression "exception to the rule". That means something and carries assumptions about a bigger picture. Did your singular experience establish the "rule"? Why did you say it?

MAC sent you this, what's their position?

No position given. Only a link to the petition, wondering if I already knew about it and mentioning that it contains incorrect "facts".

 

[dizzy]

"This is why the taking of live rock is now prohibited in all U.S. coral reef waters. But the American aquarium trade has shifted its supply source to Fiji -- and now you can find Fiji live rock and coral in thousands upon thousands of U.S. aquarium shops."

I didn't realize thousands upon thousands of lfs sold Fiji rock. If Reef Guardian International got the Florida rock shutdown I guess they are a serious threat to the industry. I remember Peter R stating that IMAC concluded the harvest in Fiji was not sustainable. Walt was calling for a voluntary reduction of 20% per year for the next 5 until it is completely phased out.
Mitch

 

[John_Brandt]

The definition I've always seen has been storm debris laying around the reef. Seems rather easy to collect if it's just laying there. Is live rock chunks of the growing reef that are chiseled away by a man with shifty eyes dressed like the Hamburglar? Hell, maybe. Seems like an awful lot of effort to go to when it's all laying right there.

Nope, just friendly Fijians earning a living.

LR collection in Fiji is not done anywhere and everywhere. When the loose rock has all been harvested from a given location out comes the crowbars & chisels to remove embedded strata. This is true in at least some cases. My statements are not meant to be supportive of a ban on Fiji LR, I'm only presenting the facts as I know them.

 

[John_Brandt]

If Reef Guardian International got the Florida rock shutdown I guess they are a serious threat to the industry.

Is this true? Or are you stating speculation as fact?

 

[naesco]

I have sent an email to His Excellency supporting the ban on the harvesting of live rock.

Until the whole issue of sustainability is dealt with by MAC in that region we would be doing our hobby a disservice by continuing as we have been.

I would urge all members of this board, particularly the industry members to do the same. This is one small step towards reeform.

Until the sustainability issue and rules on collection are in force, hobbyists and industry can obtain aquacultured live rock or make their own.

 

[MaryHM]

My experience was with a village that collected for the largest (by far) exporter of live rock in Fiji. We had numerous conversations with the people who are involved in day to day collection activities. They collect from several sites in and around Suva and do not use crowbars. We were at their facility and saw them go out to collect on several occasions. No crowbars in the boats. Bill2 (admin here) was with them for a month. He never mentioned crowbars to me. I have personally spoken to a few exporters over there over the years and had frank discussions about various topics. They all told me how they go out and "pick up" the rock. There may be some areas where crowbars are used, but frankly it seems too labor intensive to me. It takes a lot of gas, time, and energy to actually get out to the real reef in Fiji. There are breaking waves and all kind of aggravations out there. Why do that when it's just laying there waiting to be picked up in the shallows? It doesn't make sense. Can it happen? Sure. Maybe in some areas. But overall it just doesn't make sense. If you've seen the layout of the Fijian reefs, I think you'd agree.

Walt was calling for a voluntary reduction of 20% per year for the next 5 until it is completely phased out.

Well, Walt has reason to gain financially if live rock collection is phased out. Consider the source.

 

[MaryHM]

Well, if we're going to play "What exactly did you mean?", I'm game. Here's one:

I'm only presenting the facts as I know them.

Facts based on???

If Reef Guardian International got the Florida rock shutdown I guess they are a serious threat to the industry.

Is this true? Or are you stating speculation as fact?

Sheesh, John. He said "IF" and "I GUESS". No where in that sentence is Mitch even trying to state speculation as fact. He clearly stated it as conjecture.

 

[dizzy]

Dear friend of coral reefs,

NOW is the time for you to stand up for Fiji's coral habitats. Please take action on this website's Petition to Stop Live Rock Collection in Fiji http://www.reefguardian.org/RGIpetition.html . Support a ban on the collection of hard coral and live rock.


This is wrong! We didn't spend a decade getting live rock collection banned throughout the U.S., just so that this terrible practice would be inflicted instead on Fiji's coral reefs.

ReefGuardian International

John,
What do you think he means by we?