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Items by sriddick

Marine Aquariums of South Africa

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  ***Will they kill them all... Canthigaster Amboinensis?***

  Posted: September 19th, 2010, 8:54am CDT by sriddick

  Hi Guys,
  
  Firstly, apologies for being so scarce. I have not been around for a while, as I have been overseas to the UK and China, but I have been following everyone’s progress and systems.
  
  Listen, I have a really odd thing to raise here. I just feel that I need to do something about the savagery that is going on down the natal coast line. I have lived in Amanzimtoti / Durban for the last 11 years, and when I first moved here, I would walk along the rocks and watch all the fishermen. On many occasion, I would take buckets full of these little spotted toby fish from the rock pools and release them back into the ocean. These fishermen seem to feel that the Toby’s are a vermin and need to be killed. On more than one occasion, I witnessed guys reeling these little guys in, and then instead of taking it off the hook and just releasing it back into the ocean, they would literally just swing the rod around and smash the fish against the rocks to get it off the hook.
  
  Others would take them off the hook, and found pleasure in throwing them as hard as they can against the rock in order to hear the sound it makes when the puffer explodes. The large majority would just throw them in the infested and stench ridden rock pools to die a slow death in the hot natal sun. I have not seen many of these fish around for years, but strangely enough, their numbers seem to have increased again, and I have been noticing them around on the beaches. I went for a walk along the Amanzimtoti main beach yesterday, and took a walk on to the rocks, as I noticed a guy landing quite a nice size fish. When I got onto the rocks, my heart sank. Toby’s lay everywhere. All the rock pools were overflowing, and they had just been thrown around on the rocks. I counted more than 20 in one small rock pool, and could see the vast majority were already dying.
  
  When confronting one of the "fellows" on the rocks as to why they don’t just release them back into the ocean, they merely say that these fish are pests and eat there bait. Things have got heated on more than one occasion to the point that a full on physical brawl has almost ensued.
  
  Whilst this fish may seem insignificant to some, I for one have a problem with the inhumane way that these “locals” treat them. My son is 3 now, and I fear that if something is not done, by the time he reaches my age, you probably will not see them anymore.
  I am considering putting together an article for the local newspapers to highlight the wrongdoings of these barbarians who call themselves civilized, but more importantly, to try and put some constructive and educational information together to try and educate these guys about the species, and the importance it plays on our coast line. From what I have found online, I believe I have an ID of Canthigaster Amboinensis? Maybe some of the local and more knowledgeable guys could help me out with that one?
  
  For this reason, I ask, if any of you could assist with some facts and other information, I would greatly appreciate it. Sadly, I am off to the beach now with a bucket and a net to go try and catch a few more and release them back into the sea.
  
  Regards,
  Sheldon.