[HN Gopher] Asian Arowana: The most expensive pet fish
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Asian Arowana: The most expensive pet fish
        
       Author : rmason
       Score  : 19 points
       Date   : 2024-01-03 21:01 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (thehustle.co)
 (TXT) w3m dump (thehustle.co)
        
       | ChuckMcM wrote:
       | I'm surprised by stories like these that don't allow for the
       | sale/ownership of sustainably farmed fish.
        
         | pimlottc wrote:
         | I would guess because verification/enforcement would be
         | difficult. How can you tell a legally farmed fish from an
         | illegal captured one? You'd have to implement some sort of
         | documentation scheme. Easier just to make them all illegal.
        
           | ChuckMcM wrote:
           | Chip them? I mean it wouldn't be that hard. You could also
           | use genome tracing (registered genome lines with the Fish and
           | Game department) That test would take a bit longer but with
           | spot enforcement you'd probably keep compliance acceptably
           | high.
        
             | wtracy wrote:
             | Microchipped arrowana are actually common these days, so
             | you're on the right track.
             | 
             | I don't know the full story, but the US has a blanket ban
             | on any CITES-listed species.
        
       | dabluecaboose wrote:
       | I guessed this was the Arowana before the page loaded. Always
       | thought those were incredible fish, didn't know they were illegal
       | in the US.
       | 
       | I've definitely seen a lot of them online in aquarist circles.
       | One wonders if the US prohibition might be counterproductive
       | given how much of the population is probably now in
       | farms/aquariums.
       | 
       | I wonder why axolotls aren't illegal? From what I understand,
       | they're even more critically endangered, existing only in one
       | small lake outside Mexico City.
        
         | justrealist wrote:
         | I don't like being cynical but bureaucratic inertia is the
         | simple answer. There's no good reason for the distinction other
         | than one got grandfathered in before it got banned.
        
         | cjensen wrote:
         | Non-Asian arowana are legal and common aquarium fish.
        
           | dabluecaboose wrote:
           | That explains my confusion, thanks!
        
         | wtracy wrote:
         | Axolotls are now illegal to trade in California, but that's
         | only at the state level.
         | 
         | Axolotls have a much longer history of being bred in captivity
         | than arowana. They're actually regularly used as lab animals.
        
       | wtracy wrote:
       | I'm pretty sure I saw an Asian arrowana in a pet store in east
       | San Jose about ten years ago. It had a back kink, so it wouldn't
       | have been a very valuable animal, but I was still shocked to see
       | it openly on display.
       | 
       | The South American and Australian species are legal to own, and I
       | see them in the hobby all the time.
        
       ___________________________________________________________________
       (page generated 2024-01-03 23:00 UTC)