MAC in the news...kinda.

[Rascal]

An article appears in the latest (Apr/May '06) issue of CORAL magazine in the Reef News section. Entitled MAC Certification: Healthy Reefs, Healthy Fish and a Healthy Aquarium Hobby, it is authored by Paul Holthus, Executive Director Marine Aquarium Council. The article outlines the MAC standards (including a "new" fourth standard - Mariculture and Aquaculture Management), mentions some of the progress made in 2005, speaks briefly to the future, and finally invites the reader to their website.

I (as a retail store owner) don't know if this is newsworthy to anyone but myself. I did manage to get to their website...if that means anything. An observation made once their was that they only list four stores in the U.S. as MAC certified retailers. Leaves me kinda wondering where all these great fish are going if there are only a literal handful of stores selling them.

 

[pyrrhus]

We get 2-3 MAC certified fish at least once a week into our store here. Unfortunately the mortality rate seems higher than other fish, but the sampling is smaller so it may be statistically insignificant.

The only real difference I have been able to tell between MAC certified fish and non-MAC fish is the MAC fish are more expensive and require MAC certification and a seperate system just for MAC certified fish.

Overall, from what I have seen there are too many hassles for a minor return (if any) with MAC.

 

[Rascal]

Just to be fair, who re "we"?

 

[pyrrhus]

Sorry, I do not own the LFS that I manage, so I tend to use "we" instead of "I" to reflect that.

Skip McMahan

Manager
About The Reef
Tempe, AZ

 

[Rascal]

Thanks Skip. I'm curious though. Your store isn't on the list (of MAC certified retailers). Are you MAC certified?

 

[pyrrhus]

We are not MAC certified, but we do however recieve MAC certified fish just about each week for the last month or two. At the bottom of the invoice it says something about not being able to sell them as MAC fish unless we are certified as well. Of course we dont list them as MAC fish, but they are.

FWIW, Most of the MAC fish I have seen are Wrasses.