Suunto Dive Computers: buy at Amazon.com

divehappy   Scuba Diving In Thailand and South East Asia: A Personal Guide
Whale Shark

Stargazer
Manta Ray

Great White Shark
Turtle

Clown Triggerfish

It’s Not A Lot Of Fun Being A Clownfish

Posted on January 3rd, 2006.

Thailand’s marine-life breeding centre in Krabi has been countering marine poachers by releasing nearly 2000 clownfish - made famous by the film Finding Nemo - into the wild. Unfortunately only eight survived the first 24 hours.

Snip from The Nation newspaper:

“The problem with the aquarium-bred fish, said Kasetsart University marine scientist Thorn Thamrongnawasawadi, was that they’re not very “worldly”.

Thorn is an adviser to the breeding centre, which is partially funded by Krabi’s Pimalai Resort.

“Once being released into the sea, they don’t know what to do, where to go, which of the other marine critters are their friends and which are the enemy.

And so, after 24 hours loose in the ocean, only eight remained of 1,800

“It costs about Bt200,000 to release one Nemo into the sea,” said Thorn.

“Think about this before buying any clown fish taken from the sea illegally.”

He lamented the fact you could buy the fish commercially for as little as Bt5 each.

“It’s cheap and easy to take them from the sea, but expensive and difficult to put them back,” he said.

This tragi-comic story has also taught me something new - up to now I thought I had seen lots of clownfish while diving in Thailand, but clearly they are not the proper “Nemo” clownfish, just similar-looking cousins. The article even namechecks Koh Haa, one of the great dive sites off Koh Lanta,and notes the predominance of “Indian fish, a close relative of the clown fish”.

If you are thinking about populating an aquarium with exotic fish, please don’t. The aquarium trade just encourages widespread poaching and ultimately destroys both ecosystems and livelihoods because if there’s no fish left, divers will stop going there. Please leave the fish alone in the water. Let them stay in the sea where they belong, just like the Nemo movie said. Otherwise I’m going to come round your house and drop a stonefish in your lap.

The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss
by: Claire Nouvian
,

Ocean
by: Robert Dinwiddie, Louise Thomas
,

Marine Biology, 6th Edition
by: Peter Castro, Michael E. Huber
,

The Marine Biology Coloring Book, Second Edition
by: Thomas M. Niesen
,

The Log from the Sea of Cortez (Penguin Classics)
by: John Steinbeck
,

Art Forms From The Ocean: The Radiolarian Atlas Of 1862
by: Ernst Haeckel
,

Oceanography: An Invitation to Marine Science (with OceanographyNow, InfoTrac®)
by: Tom S. Garrison
,

Animals of the Ocean, in Particular the Giant Squid (HOW)
by: Doris Haggis-on-Whey, Benny Haggis-on-Whey
,

The Edge of the Sea
by: Rachel Carson
,

Underwater Eden: 365 Days (365 Series)
by: Jeff Rotman
,


Other Divehappy posts of interest:




Latest Ebay Underwater Camera Auctions:
waterproof-underwater-case-camera-canon-nikon-sony-p400 Waterproof Underwater Case Camera Canon Nikon Sony P400
US $22.15
End Date: Thursday Jul-24-2008 17:43:55 PDT
Buy it now | Add to watch list
waterproof-underwater-case-camera-canon-nikon-sony-wp20 Waterproof Underwater Case Camera Canon Nikon Sony WP20
US $22.15
End Date: Thursday Jul-24-2008 17:43:57 PDT
Buy it now | Add to watch list
new-1-3mp-waterproof-3-in-1-underwater-digital-camera New 1.3MP WATERPROOF 3 IN 1 Underwater Digital Camera
US $26.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Thursday Jul-24-2008 17:47:11 PDT
Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list
-fuji-underwater-disposable-camera!-special-price!!! FUJI UNDERWATER DISPOSABLE CAMERA! SPECIAL PRICE!!!
US $3.49
End Date: Thursday Jul-24-2008 17:49:36 PDT
Buy it now | Add to watch list
new!-12mp-underwater-digital-camera-w-video-waterproof NEW! 12MP Underwater Digital Camera w/ Video Waterproof
US $69.95 (0 Bid)
End Date: Thursday Jul-24-2008 18:03:21 PDT
Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list
nikon-action-touch-underwater-camera Nikon Action Touch Underwater Camera
US $49.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Thursday Jul-24-2008 18:03:24 PDT
Bid now | Add to watch list
new-12mp-waterproof-digital-camera+camcorder+underwater NEW 12MP Waterproof Digital Camera+Camcorder+Underwater
US $50.00 (10 Bids)
End Date: Thursday Jul-24-2008 18:14:54 PDT
Bid now | Add to watch list
underwater-digital-camera-waterproof-video-camcorder Underwater DIGITAL CAMERA Waterproof Video CAMCORDER
US $99.99
End Date: Thursday Jul-24-2008 18:22:56 PDT
Buy it now | Add to watch list
sealife-eco-shot-underwater-digital-camera-new!-usa! Sealife Eco Shot Underwater Digital Camera NEW! USA!
US $184.80
End Date: Thursday Jul-24-2008 18:25:17 PDT
Buy it now | Add to watch list
sealife-sl321-ecoshot-6mp-digital-camera-underwater-cam SeaLife SL321 ECOshot 6MP Digital Camera UNDERWATER CAM
US $189.00 (0 Bid)
End Date: Thursday Jul-24-2008 18:34:58 PDT
Bid now | Add to watch list

Make A Comment: ( None so far )

blockquote and a tags work here.

Google Search

Find Thailand Flights And Hotels

Cheap Flights To Thailand - Kayak.com
Book Thailand Hotels - Up To 70% Off!

Buy from Amazon
Lonely Planet Thailand

Buy from Amazon.co.uk
Buy from Amazon.com


About Divehappy

Divehappy is edited by me, Chris M. I'm a British scuba journalist based in Bangkok, Thailand.[more info]

Thailand Diving

Koh Lanta Diving

Buy Scuba Gear


Scuba Diving Tshirts
Scuba Diving Tshirts

Liked it here?
Why not try sites on the blogroll...