The SEASMART program is taking to Indigogo — a crowdfunding website — to raise funds for its goal to transform the aquarium trade. You might remember EcoEZ SEASMART’s pilot program from Papua New Guinea that helped change the trade over there but became embroiled in legal issues with the PNG government. Now SEASMART is looking to continue Read More

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Run by well known names in the industry Scott Fellman and Joe Caparatta Unique Corals is a very interesting company, especially considering they have exclusive PNG distribution rights in the United States. A few glances at the website make this especially clear, with many sections featuring texts that read like manifestos, taking a strong stand Read More

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A controversial undersea mining venture has gained momentum as the Papua New Guinea government granted a 20-year license for copper and gold mining over 1.5 miles below the ocean surface to become the world’s first commercial deep sea mining venture. Nautilus Materials, a Canadian mining company, is planning on mining hydrothermal vents located off the coast of Read More

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Cirrhilabrus exquisitus is an ubiquitous species both in the wild and in the trade. The familiar fish is most often exported out of Africa but can be found in other parts of the world with a myriad of color forms. Like the ventralis anthias we covered the last time, the difference in these specimens from Read More

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Calumia is a genus of sleeper gobies comprising some pretty unique fishes. Not very much is known about them and very little pictures of live specimens are available. The live picture of C. profunda above clearly shows the unique angular fins, along with the trailing filaments on the dorsal and ventral fins which reminds us Read More

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Earlier this month Reef Builders brought you the news after a long wait, EcoAquarium PNG resurrected sustainably-collected marine fish from Papua New Guinea and is pushing to bring PNG-collected fish to the aquarium market.  Reef Builders went beyond EcoAquarium PNG’s initial press release to get answers to the questions that a market now “once bitten, Read More

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The purple-back nano goby, Eviota dorsopurpurea, is a stunning new species of Eviota that was recently described from specimens collected around Papua New Guinea. Eviota dorsopurpurea is closely related to the species in the Eviota nigriventris complex, including E. dorsogilva which was described in the same paper. As the name implies, the purple-back nano goby Read More

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Eight months after the official word that EcoEZ’s PNG SEASMART program had come to legal blows with the government of Papua New Guinea (PNG), you might have given up hope on seeing PNG fish anytime soon.  In fact, it has probably been a year since any fish left PNG destined for the US.  Time to Read More

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Lubricogobius dinah is a fantastically coloured goby that is found predominantly in the Ryuku islands off Japan, and Papua New Guinea. The little fish is painted in a striking highlighter yellow with a silvery stripe that runs from the head down the dorsal region to the caudal penducle. Many often make the mistake of comparing Read More

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The story of SEASMART and Papua New Guinea’s ornamental aquarium trade has been bittersweet.  Best known for collecting the Lightning Maroon Clownfish in early 2010 and a scientifically-based strict sustainable collections model, the SEASMART Program was the headliner at the 2010 MACNA convention.  During SEASMART’s MACNA attendence, the PNG government officially pulled the rug out Read More

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