We have confirmed the USFWS was incorrectly restricting some wholesalers regarding the20种珊瑚recently listed as threatened as illegal to import. Apparently the local offices in Los Angeles were interpreting things different than the folks back at the National Marine Fisheries (NMFS) who control the listings.
We spoke directly to Paul Mckinn, Assistant Director of External Affairs US fish and Wildlife Service and Walter Osborn who oversees the port of Los Angeles enforcement division. The Good catch blog is also reporting the new update and while today’s back-and-forth news might seem like a scare, this is a very real potential outcome for our beloved corals.
实际上，正如裁决和法律目前所持的那样，明年8月的某个时候，这正是珊瑚进口商对他们的货物的检查所能期望的。最困扰我们的是，并不是说少数珊瑚被禁止进口，而是可能陷入新限制中的无数紧密相关的物种。
There’s no practical way to identify a frogspawn coral from a single head of branchingEuphylillia paradivisa, nor is it possible to tell apart the skeletons of branching frogspawn and branching hammer coral. Furthermore, even coral experts argue about where疣suharsonoi, lokani,and A.carolinianaare clearly defined, if at all!
Today’s clerical misunderstanding is just a taste of what’s to come for the aquarium hobby if the current coral ESA ruling stands, not to mention theproposed listing of clownfishunder the ESA. Overreacting to the new laws and guidelines is not nearly as worrisome as under-reacting to the real, tangible changes that are coming down the pike. Stay tuned, stay informed and get yourself and your local aquarium clubinvolved any way you can.
