Aquarium Trade causing problems in Mozambique

See this article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/world/ 2002/disposabl...

Make sure you know the provenance of your stock, and don't buy from people that do this.

Didn't know fish came complete with immigration papers. How would one know where and how it was captured?

Buying from a responsible fish store who buys from a responsible distributor? Distributors should know where they're getting their stock from, and in turn, your retail can ask. Not many do, but I've had some look into the likely origins of fish I've got from them for species identification. I'm sure one could easily do it for other reasons, including responsible aquarium keeping. I'm also sure that many stores would look at you like you're on crack, but the more people that ask, the more likely the lightbulb is going to go on in someones head 'hey, these people are concerned and if I want to sell this stuff, I aught to know.'

None of the LFS's I know of either know or care. And no, I don't go to a select few. I frequent most of the decent ones in So Cal (I long ago learned to recognize the really bad ones, and don't bother with them anymore), and the main concern they have is not where the fish or corals came from or how it was captured, but which ones survive and sell. Goniopora is a perfect example. It is found in almost every SW store. Why? Because it sells and provides cash flow to the store which it badly needs. Although the concerns regarding the way corals and fish are harvested, and the areas from which they are taken, are both well founded, to expect it translate into regular business practices at the LFS level is fantasy. There simply isn't enough margin to let you make 'noble' business decisions. Perhaps years from now if we teach our children right, this might change. But to believe otherwise today is living in a fantasy world.