In February 2022, Campaign Founder Paul Anderson traveled to Moody Gardens for the Regional Aquatics Workshop to highlight the Campaign's recent accomplishments and current projects in coral reef fish conservation. In addition, he presented the results of an assessment of Florida's regulations for marine aquarium fishes collected in the State for sale. He conducted this work alongside Campaign Member and Fisheries Economist Dr. Bob Pomeroy, discovering that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's policy framework is comprehensive, and fish catch trends for the vast majority of fish species are stable or improving. The marine aquarium fishery--in Florida and elsewhere around the globe--is important to the aquarium and zoo professionals at this Workshop, who tell the stories and conservation priorities of coral reefs to people from all over the U.S. Hats off to Allen’s Printing Company for the beautiful poster!
Meanwhile, a month later, and halfway around the world in Indonesia--the world's 2nd most important source of fish for the marine aquarium trade--our partners at LINI gathered ~70 members of the marine aquarium fishery and trade to discuss the sustainable development of the country's fishery. Presenters included esteemed representatives from the Indonesian Government's Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, INAFISH-Indonesia's marine aquarium fish exporters association, LINI, and the Campaign of course. Also in attendance were many marine aquarium fishers from throughout the nation. This is the first time these stakeholders have convened to advance sustainable marine aquarium fisheries since 2016. It is our hope that this virtual conference jumpstarts a sustained collaboration among these stakeholders to mold the country of Indonesia into a model fishery for the marine aquarium trade.
