Recent content by mark@mac

can't somebody just try to do something positve and mutually beneficial for the environment and the industry even though they may not be directly involved in the industry???

Jaime Baquero wrote: Jaime, There are some "caring, responsible people" in the commercial sector supporting "good" efforts and fair trade in the Philippines and Indonesia; it's just not "the norm"..... There is so much work to be done in these two countries especially! Respectfully, Mark

Dear Dr Rubec Having spent some time now in the Philippines it is obvious to me that that use of cyanide is still on going in both the MO and LRFF trades. One of the problems that MAC has is that most cyanide seems to enter the MO trade through the live reef food fish trade. In many cases the...

SciGuy2 wrote: Well, for one thing, MAC Indonesia is making some great changes in that country, and they do deserve the credit. I have seen this myself, and it is now being reported by Colin. There has been some success in the Philippines as well; however, only with regard to raising...

Vitz wrote: Vitz, I don't feel MAC is "in cahoots" with the USCRTF. I do know that the USCRTF really hopes MAC can be successful because they know that "enforcement" from "this side of the pond" is practically impossible. In fact, some of them have told me personally that they truely hope...

Thanks for posting this article! I had not seen this particular one. I did see another article on this though, it talked about the "discovery" of "walking sharks"..... Com'n! Haven't we all seen epaulette, and other sharks "walk?, as well as anglers and others too??? Funny how it sometimes...

Colin, I only criticize where I find the "certification body" doesn't comply with it's own standards.... As a MAC certified retailer, I worked very hard to comply with the standards to become certified. In my mind, that means everyone else who is "certified" should be held to the same...

I agree with Gresham 100%! In my understanding of this, the CDT test(s) do work, it's just that the longer the period between cyanide exposure/collection of the fish, and the actual testing, the less accurate the results will be. And as was stated, any fish thought or known to be collected...

Colin, thanks for you reply and pardon my posting this reply to Dr. Rubec here in your thread, but the questions were asked here and so I will answer them here. If the mods think this should become a new thread, that's fine with me. Peter Rubec wrote: Peter, yes I took my job very seriously...

ps, I don't know who trained Ding Dong. Mark

oops, it was supposed to read: (approximately 18 exporters) not 1 8) exporters....

Peter, I stated earlier that "technically" there should be no "certified" fish coming from Indonesia or the PHilippines for the following reasons: In 2005, I conducted pre-assessments on 5 collection areas between both countries. All but 1 collection area achieved certification, however there...

morepunkthanewe wrote: Good point, however, as you now know Ding Dong, you should also know that they have been collecting mandarin in the Philippines WITHOUT cyanide for years now. Still, they are usually difficult to maintain; sometimes even with the proper environment. I wonder if the...

Colin, I am happy to hear there may be no more cyanide used there, however, being "from the industry" yourself, what do you think about the aquarium fish market being flooded with "certified" mandarin"? Afterall, they are not really an appropriate fish for most aquarists.... For example, if...

Hi all, Once again, I would like to state for the record that I truly believe the concept of MAC is great; and, if implemented properly COULD achieve what we all want; I believe that is simply a sustainable supply of healthy, net caught MO. Unfortunately this is not happening. Supply of MAC...