Respectfully, Dr. Foster - where's there *any* benefit in being MAC certified?
There's another thread here and there has been quite a bit of email discussion concerning recertifications, or lack thereof, of facilities that were previously certified.
The absence of certified fish notwithstanding, several of the "certified" facilities opted not to renew their certifications because of the cost and other factors, versus the return on their "investment". Since there aren't any MAC certified fish to be had, what's the point of being a certified facility?
Once that all happened, MAC decided to renew those certifications, gratis - interesting way to attempt to save face, but most of us are clever enough to see through that.
Initially I was in favour of what the MAC stood for, but over the last several years I've seen and heard a lot of hype but no substance. Glad I didn't spend all that time and money on a certification that isn't worth the paper it's printed on. About 3 years ago David Vosseler spent a ton of time on the MAC's dime, on the phone to me trying to convince me of its virtues - to no avail - by then the writing was already on the wall - MAC is useless IMO and until it proves itself otherwise, IMO it's not worth a tinker's damn to anybody.
To say that MAC's progress is slow is one of the bigger understatements I've heard in recent years
As for this forum, the Industry Forum in particular - I think it's best for all readers if we tell it like it is. There's plenty of good AND bad posted here. Things like the cyanide issue and smuggled livestock have been the industry's dirty little secret for too long. Similarly, etailers who drop-ship versus etailers who actually keep everything they sell in their own holding facility is something that most hobbyists weren't aware of. I personally think the consumer has a right to know if what they are getting has been turned and burned out of a wholesaler, or if the vendor has kept the creature in his/her holding facility for a time before reselling it.
It's amazing how few hobbyists really give any thought to how the livestock comes to be in our tanks. All they know is that they come to the store and the fish are there - they have little or no idea how the fish got there, where they came from or how they were collected. I try to enlighten all who will listen about the origins of the specific animals, and the issues that stem from their collection. Many are shocked to hear about cyanide - they thought that problem was "over" in the 70s and many more never knew the problem existed in the first place, let alone that it still exists today.
In the long run, exposure and discussion of these very real issues does a service to the reefs, the livestock, the industry players and the hobbyist. Many hobbyists are still blissfully unaware of some of these issues, and if somebody comes away enlightened by some of the "outings" here, then I think that's a good thing.
We do plenty to help each other here too - Goodness knows I've learned a ton of stuff in this forum, made good contacts, figured out who to avoid, and yes, even who to boycott
I've shared my little snippets of knowledge too.
It's just like anything else - got to take the good and the bad. There are many wonderful aspects to this hobby and this industry, but unfortunately there is also a good pile of dirty laundry too. The best way to help the situation is not to be part of the problem.
Jenn
