Off-Topic

liquidg

Member
Jul 16, 2011
320
109
Brisbane
Some winter collecting pics from the aandtsociety.
This is the regular thread type i put around the place at a rate of one or two a month.

There have been roughly three trips since the last time we promoted the south east Queensland aquarium society on here and it’s been very cold on the trips.

One trip in the water was absolutely freezing, first ice cream headache from free diving in years.

Reminded me of a youthful past at Ceduna scallop hunting and Esperance scuba diving, very cold spots, not unlike one of our more recent collecting trips that was the first one of our trips that we show our legal coral collecting.

One of the trips was in the freezing rain and wind getting into unseasonably warm water and very clear, the other two were on beautiful sunny days and the water was absolutely freezing.

With the links we have at hand on satellite ocean currents and their temps we finally found a day watching the satellite feed when the warmer and clearer current had bent into the shore via satellite from Frazer isl to the tweed river, it was raining and windy, but you don’t waste that kind of info from the links, we had a ball.

The species collected on the trips are for clubbies there on the day and requested species from clubbies who are not able to go.

These are just a couple of the pics from those three trips.

An olivaceus out of the two, this one was for me, than I changed my mind and gave it another club member.

ai562.photobucket.com_albums_ss69_SEQdivespots_2011_20sat_2016_07_20trip_tabg_2_.jpg


Always lots of istiblennius lawn mower blennies where we go to get some.

[Broken External Image]:http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss69/SEQdivespots/2011 saturday 09-07/blennie-2-.jpg

Purple acropora stag before it was collected, kitiara, the one that wanted it says it is booming, when corals do not come from pristine conditions, they do far better!

[Broken External Image]:http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss69/SEQdivespots/2011 saturday 09-07/purple-stag-.jpg

Some acanthella sponge collected, one of the few local common sponges that do very well in an aquarium and multiply helping with waste management of your water.

[Broken External Image]:http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/...d july low tide collecting/orange-sponge-.jpg

That’s all for this bit of aandtsociety promotional pics ,hopefully you enjoyed seeing these few of many as much as we enjoy exploring the wonderful Q south east coastline.
 
You talk about responsible collection, and doing it in a sustainable way, then you post a picture of that purple coral and say that you took it.

It is the ONLY coral in that picture, and from it's size, it has been there for quite a while. How many people have seen and enjoyed it while it has been there? How many will see and enjoy it now? There is no chance it can reproduce and start new colonies in that area now that you have taken it. Soon, the places you go will be barren.

You tell your members to keep what they collect hidden, because "average mugs have no idea about anything marine".

Personally, I think you are morally bankrupt. You take sea life from popular snorkelling spots, leaving nothing for other visitors to see. It may be "legal" to do what you do, but that doesn't make it right. It is a selfish act, done to save a bit of money on a purchase, but at what cost? By taking what you do, you rob others of the joy of seeing it.
 

Dr. Schell

The Fuckin' Doc
Jul 12, 2011
1,972
1,228
Brisbane
Jimmy, whilst I would have chosen my wording a lot more carefully, in principal, I tend to agree with you. Whilst legally, you may have the right to collect, this does not equate to a moral justification to do so.

I gues that it is up to the individual to chose their own stance on this one. After all, we all keep marine species, 98% of which have been harvested from the ocean. By keeping the animals we are all guilty of supporting the collection of livestock from the wild. However, with the exception of some species, most marine organisms are highly fecund and have the mechanisms to recover from such collection pressures in the long term provided that the harvesting is regulated. This is where the collecting regulation step in
 
Emotion aside, I would just like to know (as you promote collection in a sustainable and responsible way) why you would take that purple coral. I'm not interested in arguing, I just want to hear your point of view.

As far as that photograph shows, it appears that the area has relatively few stony corals. How does it promote sustainability to take what little corals there are?

I rest my case!!!!
What case?