Shedd Aquarium hosting Seahorse Symposium this week

Over 20 million seahorses are taken from the wild each year for medicinal or commercial use, coupled with overfishing and damage to their natural habitat — seahorse populations are in trouble. Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium is looking to address these issues…

The responsibility of being a reefer

They say that great minds think alike, and with that thought, Rich wrote a piece this morning which is a perfect segway into this discussion that Scott had in mind. Both of these great reef guys had the same independent…

EcoAquariums PNG Ltd is the new exclusive exporter for Papua New Guinea livestock

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…

Chrysiptera cymatilis among a thousand new species from New Guinea in the last decade

The Island of New Guinea is an absolute treasure trove of new marine fish species not the least of which are cool Chrysiptera damselfishes and unique Pseudochromis dottybacks. To the untrained eye the Chromis cymatilis above may appear like just…

EcoEZ PNG Seasmart Update

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…

EcoEZ PNG SEASMART Operations Hamstrung by Premature Funding Loss

We were starting to wonder what happened to the forecast December 2010 release of maricultured corals from SEASMART program in Papua New Guinea. Today it was announced that the loss of PNG government funding during the last quarter of 2010…

The biggest marine aquarium stories of 2010

Being involved with Reef Builders gives us a front-row seat to the latest news, advancements and stories in the hobby. We have the privilege to bring you new and exciting stories, products and livestock every day. With so many interesting things coming…

Have Your Say: Comment on Proposed United States Banggai Ban   

In August, the National Marine Fisheries Service proposed a rule under section 4d of the Endangered Species Act that would criminalize the import and export of Banggai Cardinalfish, Pterapogon kauderni, in the United States. While the applicable legal and regulatory…

The Need for Sustainably Aquacultured Cleanup Crew

Cleanup crew, whether they be gastropods, crustaceans, fish, echinoderms, or polychaete worms, are an integral part of the contemporary reef aquarium. Just like in wild ecosystems, various species of snails or sea urchins provide keystone ecological services by regulating the…

Low Tide Exposes 40yr old Giant Clam Project on Great Barrier Reef

Sea Women Great Barrier Reef has posted some breathtaking pictures of over 100 Giant Clams, Tridacna gigas, that were recently exposed in a low tide caused by the New Moon. The clams are situated at Goolboddi on Orpheus Island, Queensland,…