Post by davidtcb1 on Dec 31, 2011 11:44:36 GMT -6
Wow, if people protested every time a fish was found dead in a Petco, there'd be a lot of busy protesters!
Protesters Force Petco In Hawaii to Stop Sale of Some Species
By CORAL Editors - Posted on 31 December 2011
Snorkle Bob and other anti-aquarium activists rally over death of a "baby Yellow Tang"
December 30, 2011
Outside a Petco store in Maui, Petco Hawaii Marketing Manager Annette Groscup this week told reporters Petco would no longer be carrying two native Hawaiian species in stores throughout the state.
Groscup, who is based in Honolulu, was at the Maui store during a protest organized by For the Fishes, Snorkel Bob’s and the Pacific Whale Foundation, groups historically against the marine aquarium trade in Hawaii.
The Maui Petco, which opened in August 2010, started selling saltwater aquarium fishes in October 2011. According to protesters, a dead “baby Yellow Tang” was observed in one of the store’s tanks the previous week, and that is what motivated the protest.
Local media estimated roughly 30 protesters turned out for the event. Protestors carried “Boycott Petco,” “Petco Stop $elling Our Reefs” and “Petco Stop Killing Reef Fish” signs.
"Breaking Moral Laws" say Protesters
Petco, based in San Diego, California, is the second-largest pet and pet supply chain in the world, with more than 950 stores in all 50 U.S. states. Only PetSmart, with approximately 1,160 North American stores, is larger.
“We do always listen to our customers,” Groscup said. “We listen to their demands for product as well as the concerns they bring up, and we have recently decided, through our customer feedback, that we would no longer carry some native Hawaiian species, specifically Yellow Tang and Yellow-eye Kole Tangs, so that process is already in place, and within the next couple of weeks those fish will be gone completely from our stores.”
The Yellow Tang (Zebrasoma flavescens) and the Yellow-eye Kole Tang (Ctenochaetus strigosus) are the two most commonly collected species in the Hawaii marine aquarium fishery.
State fisheries managers say these two species make up 92 percent of the total aquarium fishery catch in Hawaii. The majority of these fishes are collected off the Kona Coast of Big Island in one of the most-studied marine aquarium fisheries in the world. The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) claims the data shows the fishery is being fished sustainably.
In the case of the two species mentioned, populations have increased along the Kona Coast despite increased harvest for the trade. Yellow Tang populations increased 337,050 between 1999 and 2010, and Yellow-eye Kole Tang populations increased by 1,019,700 during the same timeframe according to DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) data.
Opponents to the trade say the fishery is not sustainable, and they credit the marine aquarium trade with “reef devestation.” While they admit no laws are being broken by Petco in carrying Hawaiian fishes, they claim Petco is breaking “moral laws regarding using animals in an unethical way.”
Long Way Home
“We are very pleased with Petco’s initial decision to not sell fish captured on Hawaii’s reefs in their Hawaii stores,” says For the Fishes’ Rene Umberger, “but it doesn’t go nearly far enough. At least 30 fish species captured in Hawaii are still being sold at Petco online and at an unknown number of outlets nationwide.”
Umberger and other anti-trade activists have indicated they will continue to protest until Petco no longer carries wild-caught marine aquarium animals. “Petco knows selling captive bred animals is best for the reefs and best for the animals,” says Umberger. “We are asking Petco to align their actions with their values and sell only captive bred marine animals.”
Umberger maintains there are “more than enough captive-bred fishes available to fill hobbyist demand.” Despite recent advances in breeding marine ornamental fishes in captivity, more than 90 percent of the species commonly sold in the trade are not available as captive bred specimens.
Petco Corporate Communications was unavailable for comment after numerous requests, but individual employees and store managers who were reached by phone seem unclear on the direction of the new policy.
A manager at one Hawaii store said Petco would no longer be selling any marine aquarium animals sourced from Hawaii, while another staff member at a different store in Hawaii said Petco only sells captive-bred marine aquarium fishes. The decision to not sell Hawaiian fishes at Hawaii Petco stores is likely a good business decision, some observers believe.
As with most big-box chains, Petco does not buy from local suppliers, but purchases the Hawaiian reef fishes from large wholesalers on the mainland. This can make Hawaiian fishes at Petco more expensive and potentially less healthy owing to a longer supply chain than Hawaiian fishes sold at local fish stores that buy Hawaiian fishes direct.
"Petco's margins on Hawaiian fishes must be dismal," says a livestock insider, "and the quality of the fishes being sold, based on the Kona to LA and back to Maui/Oahu/Kona supply chain, by default worse." (The roundtrip between Maui and Los Angeles involves more than 5,000 miles [8,000 km] flying.)
Some in the industry who are familiar with supplying marine livestock to Hawaii say the decision to stop selling some Hawaiian species probably would have happened anyway.
Petco is one of the corporate sponsors of the Rising Tide Initiative, a consortium of public aquaria and research centers seeking to finding protocols for the successful captive breeding of marine species.
While some Petco managers commented off the record they thought the company’s recent decision to not sell fishes sourced from Hawaii at Petco stores in the state would “appease” those against the trade, anti-trade activists say another protest is planned for next week outside the Maui Petco. “Should be an even bigger crowd,” said Umberger.
SOURCES
Images Credit: Wendy Osher, www.MauiNow.com
Read more:
mauinow.com/2011/12/28/video-feathers-ruffled-in-maui-reef-fish-d...
Send feedback to Petco:
www.petco.com/content/contactsubtopic.aspx?PC=contactcompany#top
Post on the Petco Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/PETCO?sk=wall
Protesters Force Petco In Hawaii to Stop Sale of Some Species
By CORAL Editors - Posted on 31 December 2011
Snorkle Bob and other anti-aquarium activists rally over death of a "baby Yellow Tang"
December 30, 2011
Outside a Petco store in Maui, Petco Hawaii Marketing Manager Annette Groscup this week told reporters Petco would no longer be carrying two native Hawaiian species in stores throughout the state.
Groscup, who is based in Honolulu, was at the Maui store during a protest organized by For the Fishes, Snorkel Bob’s and the Pacific Whale Foundation, groups historically against the marine aquarium trade in Hawaii.
The Maui Petco, which opened in August 2010, started selling saltwater aquarium fishes in October 2011. According to protesters, a dead “baby Yellow Tang” was observed in one of the store’s tanks the previous week, and that is what motivated the protest.
Local media estimated roughly 30 protesters turned out for the event. Protestors carried “Boycott Petco,” “Petco Stop $elling Our Reefs” and “Petco Stop Killing Reef Fish” signs.
"Breaking Moral Laws" say Protesters
Petco, based in San Diego, California, is the second-largest pet and pet supply chain in the world, with more than 950 stores in all 50 U.S. states. Only PetSmart, with approximately 1,160 North American stores, is larger.
“We do always listen to our customers,” Groscup said. “We listen to their demands for product as well as the concerns they bring up, and we have recently decided, through our customer feedback, that we would no longer carry some native Hawaiian species, specifically Yellow Tang and Yellow-eye Kole Tangs, so that process is already in place, and within the next couple of weeks those fish will be gone completely from our stores.”
The Yellow Tang (Zebrasoma flavescens) and the Yellow-eye Kole Tang (Ctenochaetus strigosus) are the two most commonly collected species in the Hawaii marine aquarium fishery.
State fisheries managers say these two species make up 92 percent of the total aquarium fishery catch in Hawaii. The majority of these fishes are collected off the Kona Coast of Big Island in one of the most-studied marine aquarium fisheries in the world. The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) claims the data shows the fishery is being fished sustainably.
In the case of the two species mentioned, populations have increased along the Kona Coast despite increased harvest for the trade. Yellow Tang populations increased 337,050 between 1999 and 2010, and Yellow-eye Kole Tang populations increased by 1,019,700 during the same timeframe according to DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) data.
Opponents to the trade say the fishery is not sustainable, and they credit the marine aquarium trade with “reef devestation.” While they admit no laws are being broken by Petco in carrying Hawaiian fishes, they claim Petco is breaking “moral laws regarding using animals in an unethical way.”
Long Way Home
“We are very pleased with Petco’s initial decision to not sell fish captured on Hawaii’s reefs in their Hawaii stores,” says For the Fishes’ Rene Umberger, “but it doesn’t go nearly far enough. At least 30 fish species captured in Hawaii are still being sold at Petco online and at an unknown number of outlets nationwide.”
Umberger and other anti-trade activists have indicated they will continue to protest until Petco no longer carries wild-caught marine aquarium animals. “Petco knows selling captive bred animals is best for the reefs and best for the animals,” says Umberger. “We are asking Petco to align their actions with their values and sell only captive bred marine animals.”
Umberger maintains there are “more than enough captive-bred fishes available to fill hobbyist demand.” Despite recent advances in breeding marine ornamental fishes in captivity, more than 90 percent of the species commonly sold in the trade are not available as captive bred specimens.
Petco Corporate Communications was unavailable for comment after numerous requests, but individual employees and store managers who were reached by phone seem unclear on the direction of the new policy.
A manager at one Hawaii store said Petco would no longer be selling any marine aquarium animals sourced from Hawaii, while another staff member at a different store in Hawaii said Petco only sells captive-bred marine aquarium fishes. The decision to not sell Hawaiian fishes at Hawaii Petco stores is likely a good business decision, some observers believe.
As with most big-box chains, Petco does not buy from local suppliers, but purchases the Hawaiian reef fishes from large wholesalers on the mainland. This can make Hawaiian fishes at Petco more expensive and potentially less healthy owing to a longer supply chain than Hawaiian fishes sold at local fish stores that buy Hawaiian fishes direct.
"Petco's margins on Hawaiian fishes must be dismal," says a livestock insider, "and the quality of the fishes being sold, based on the Kona to LA and back to Maui/Oahu/Kona supply chain, by default worse." (The roundtrip between Maui and Los Angeles involves more than 5,000 miles [8,000 km] flying.)
Some in the industry who are familiar with supplying marine livestock to Hawaii say the decision to stop selling some Hawaiian species probably would have happened anyway.
Petco is one of the corporate sponsors of the Rising Tide Initiative, a consortium of public aquaria and research centers seeking to finding protocols for the successful captive breeding of marine species.
While some Petco managers commented off the record they thought the company’s recent decision to not sell fishes sourced from Hawaii at Petco stores in the state would “appease” those against the trade, anti-trade activists say another protest is planned for next week outside the Maui Petco. “Should be an even bigger crowd,” said Umberger.
SOURCES
Images Credit: Wendy Osher, www.MauiNow.com
Read more:
mauinow.com/2011/12/28/video-feathers-ruffled-in-maui-reef-fish-d...
Send feedback to Petco:
www.petco.com/content/contactsubtopic.aspx?PC=contactcompany#top
Post on the Petco Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/PETCO?sk=wall
