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The
AMDA was founded in 1995 in response to a growing awareness that certain aspects of wild
harvest of marine fish, invertebrates and live rock for home aquariums might be having
detrimental effects on coral reef habitats. Believing as we do that conserving the
resources that provide over 90 percent of the live specimens from which we derive our
livelihood is essential to the future of our industry, our goal is to
identify, to reduce,
and eventually to eliminate, negative environmental impacts that could result from our
collective business activities.
Approximately one million
marine aquariums currently exist in the United States, constituting two-thirds of the
world total. The approximate retail value of annual sales of living marine organisms
totals US $200,000,000. Additional sales of non-living products for establishing and
maintaining home marine aquariums totals US $300,000,000. Thus, American hobbyists
spend half a billion dollars annually in pursuit of their interest in coral reef denizens.
Over 90 percent of all live
marine aquarium organisms are collected from coral reefs, with the remainder coming from
various types of captive propagation. While Florida and Hawaii are significant
sources of specimens, most, including all stony corals, come from Indonesia, the
Philippines, and elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific. A small percentage of the trade
originates in Africa and the Middle East.
Recent reports conclude that,
in some locations, illegal practices by collectors are damaging reefs and placing undue
pressure on populations of target species. Further, our collective experience
indicates that improper conditions of holding and handling of live inventories between
collection and eventual retail sale are probably responsible for excessive mortalities.
Avoidable delayed post-collection mortalities increase our costs of doing business.
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They also contribute to a high dropout rate among marine aquarium hobbyists our only
market whose morale is lowered when specimens perish despite their best
efforts. In
our view, making our industry more sustainable is both good for the reefs and good for
business.
This website is but one
example of AMDA efforts to make the hobby of marine aquarium keeping more enjoyable and a
continuing source of discovery for the whole family, as well as a sustainable source of
economic benefits to people in developing nations and here at home. In it you will
find tools like our Ecolist, a compilation of information
about fish species and their relative adaptability to aquarium living; and our Standards of Practice, which will not only help anyone
interested in maintaining a marine aquarium, but also help consumers know what to look for
in a well-run marine supplier holding system.
Most importantly, this site features a
directory of our members, a "Yellow Pages" for
businesses that care about conservation. Our members established their business
ventures because they have an abiding passion for the diversity and beauty of the sea and
its creatures. We believe wise and sustainable management of reef resources will
contribute to our own success.
To learn more about us, start
with our quarterly newsletter, and we're certain you'll want to explore
the rest. As the founder of AMDA, I am privileged to share great pride in the
efforts of the Board of Directors and members who have
contributed their time, resources, and enthusiasm to this organization and the achievement
of our goals. If you are reading this and agree that, together, we can do more, please join us! I look forward to welcoming you
as new members of the AMDA.
John Tullock |