Talk on the Ornamental fish trade - London, Monday 7th

[Simhall]

Hi

I'm a London based catfish keeper who's also involved in commercial fishery issues, and I thought it might be interesting to draw your attention to a talk on Monday about one of the background subjects of the hobby that I for one know little about - the economics and mechanics of the commercial collection of wild fish.

This is to be held by the Institute of Fisheries Management (London Branch) - and I'll declare an interest in the sense that I am a comittee member of this branch.

We hold a varied set of lectures each year on a broad range of fish and fishery related issues, alongside visits to sites and institutions of with a fishy angle (Billingsgate, ZSL, NHM, aquariums and environmental engineering projects)

On Monday we have our Annual General Meeting followed by a talk by Ian Watson - who some of you might know from his work with the BCA.

It's at 19:30 in Fishmonger's hall right next to London Bridge (North bank) - getting a chance to look inside this venue is worth the price of admission alone.

The title of the talk is: “The Ornamental Fish Trade – Friend or Foe?”
Ian will speak about current issues in the ornamental industry, giving examples from his extensive and varied experience.

Each year millions of fish are caught, bred and transported around the world to satisfy the demand for ornamental fish.

If you’ve ever pondered questions like: “Where do aquarium fish come from?”, “Who benefits from this industry?”, “Is it sustainable?”, or why is biopiracy suddenly is a major issue in this seemingly benign trade - then come along for more information!

In what promises to be a fascinating talk Ian will outline his involvement in the Iwokrama project in Guyana, where the conservation interests and the needs of local communities are, at times, in conflict.

Admission is £10, which may seem rather steep but gives you a year's membership of the branch, and free entry to all other talks and outings.

I hope to see some of you there!

Lars

[Richard B]

Thanks for bringing this to our attention Lars - it sounds interesting indeed.

On a personal note i cannot make it as i'm on one of my pre-determined asphresis donations at half five in Birmingham

[WILDPERU]

Hello,

Will there be a transcript of these talks available sometime? Is anyone videotaping it?

Thanks,

Brian Perkins
WildPERU
http://www.wildperu.blogspot.com
http://www.wildperu.net

[Simhall]

Hi

The IFM is a pretty low tech organisation, I'm afraid! I'll be pleased if I can arrange a projector at this stage... but I am confident that there won't be video, sorry.

So - at this stage I can't guarantee that there'll be any kind of transcripts available, but I can discuss it with the speaker on the night.

Thanks for the interest, however!

Lars