The problem with dire warnings from conservationists is that, well to put it simply we don’t know if they will come true or not. The recent Reefs Revisited report from the World Resources Institute warns that reefs as we know them may disappear by 2050. A devastating blow for wildlife and our hobby. The things is, we just don’t know if it will really happen and making any real change along the lines of the precautionary principle (lets do something just in case it might) requires governments to plough billions of dollars/rubles/euros/yen etc. into dealing with a problem that is outside of the short-term political cycle. Personally I’d like reefs in the wild to prosper for eternity, I rather like diving on them, photographing them and trying to recreate one in my dining room.

I’ve always felt that as aquarists we are some of the key people who should be making lots of noise about protecting the planet’s seas and oceans, it is incumbent upon us to make sound choices about the livestock we keep and to campaign, cajole and nag where we can. Not many years ago a keen aquarist proudly showed me a photo of himself holding up a dead shark (a juvenile black tip) that he’d caught on a fishing trip. He loved his fish at home, yet was happy, admittedly in a small way, to contribute to the wholesale slaughter of sharks that has seen some species decline by 95% since the 1950s. I find this hard to get my head round.

There are many conservation organisations out there, from Bite Back to Sea Shepherd, WWF to the Wildlife Trusts. All offer suggestions for how you can do your bit. Some are against our hobby, some recognise it as having a supporting role in conservation – either way, you can do your bit. You might help out at a beach clean or just buy a t-shirt, but you’ll be doing the seas, the reefs and our hobby a favour.

Richard Aspinall

Included in the Latest Issue:

• Getting the Basics Right: Maturing the Aquarium
• Simply Stunning! Paul Whitby's 2,200 Litre System
• Dottybacks - the Pseudochromis Genus
• Sponges in the Marine Aquarium
• Clowns in the Wild
• John Clipperton's Digital Reefs
• Richard Aspinall Chronicles His New System Build

And much, much more!

Click the cover to view the full contents page