Soon, you may not be able to sell your pet fish! Why?
Posted: May 31st, 2009, 4:54 pm
Since Bonsai and koi tend to go together, I though it appropriate to post this information. If admin feels this post should not be here, please feel free to remove it. If this happens, it may very well restrict the ability of the koi hobby to continue.
Soon, you may not be able to sell your pet fish! Why?
What would you do if you were told, that in order to sell fish from your private collection of pets, that you needed to obtain an aquaculture permit? It does not matter that you are not an aquaculture business, merely the desire to sell some of your fish makes it necessary for you to.
It has recently come to my attention that the NSW Department of Primary Industries intends to make changes in the way a pet owner may sell or dispose of unwanted fish. Essentially, the average pet owner who may want to sell any of their koi will be required to obtain an aquaculture permit in order to do so. By sell, this includes, exchange, barter and auctions.
Here are a few of the most common examples of when you would need an aquaculture permit.
- You have a few fish that you bought when they were very small and now they have outgrown their pond so you try to sell them.
- You are leaving the hobby. So you want sell them.
- You want to sell some at a club auction. The club will need to be able confirm each seller holds an aquaculture permit. You do not want to sell koi at every auction, just occasionally, so obtaining a permit is perhaps not worth the effort and cost for one auction or so a year. Since Clubs rely considerably on some money earned from club auctions, without this financial support, it is possible that the club may no longer be financially viable, or may need to cut other costs, including the staging of shows, publishing their magazine and providing educational resources to its members.
There are bound to be many more examples, but these are probably the most common reasons a pet owner would wish to sell their koi.
I do not except that the average pet koi owner would be willing to pay the required fees, nor make the necessary changes to comply with the aquaculture permit requirements. Our ponds are filled with pet fish, not with aquaculture fish and we do not set up our ponds to undertake aquaculture.
When you first buy a koi, if you are aware that you cannot resell them at a later date, chances are you will think twice about joining the hobby.
When you want to dispose of any unwanted koi, rather than go to the trouble, many will opt for illegal trade or illegal dumping.
Please help stop the need for a fish pet owner to obtain an aquaculture permit by writing to the following people:
Address
The Hon. Ian Macdonald,
Minister for Primary Industries,
Parliament House,
Macquarie Street,
Sydney NSW 2000
Fax: (02) 9230 3032
Email: macdonald.office@macdonald.minister.nsw.gov.au
If you reside in NSW you should also write to your NSW member
Here is an example letter to get you started.
To The Hon. Ian Macdonald
Soon, I may not be able to sell any of my pet fish! Why?
I am an average koi keeper. It has come to my attention that the NSW Department of Primary Industries intends to require a koi pet owner to obtain an aquaculture permit should they wish to sell any of their pet fish. As a koi keeper I am not an aquaculture producer, nor am I an aquaculture business. I simply love our koi and wish to keep it that way.
My pond is filled with pet fish, not with aquaculture fish and I did not set up our pond to undertake aquaculture. Asking me to obtain an aquaculture permit is not in the spirit of the Australian "fair go", nor is it the spirit of our love for hobby and leisure time. I am simply asking that you will allow a koi pet owner to be able to sell, swap or trade between other koi keepers as we are now, as a pet owner, not as a commercial aquaculture business.
King Regards,
Soon, you may not be able to sell your pet fish! Why?
What would you do if you were told, that in order to sell fish from your private collection of pets, that you needed to obtain an aquaculture permit? It does not matter that you are not an aquaculture business, merely the desire to sell some of your fish makes it necessary for you to.
It has recently come to my attention that the NSW Department of Primary Industries intends to make changes in the way a pet owner may sell or dispose of unwanted fish. Essentially, the average pet owner who may want to sell any of their koi will be required to obtain an aquaculture permit in order to do so. By sell, this includes, exchange, barter and auctions.
Here are a few of the most common examples of when you would need an aquaculture permit.
- You have a few fish that you bought when they were very small and now they have outgrown their pond so you try to sell them.
- You are leaving the hobby. So you want sell them.
- You want to sell some at a club auction. The club will need to be able confirm each seller holds an aquaculture permit. You do not want to sell koi at every auction, just occasionally, so obtaining a permit is perhaps not worth the effort and cost for one auction or so a year. Since Clubs rely considerably on some money earned from club auctions, without this financial support, it is possible that the club may no longer be financially viable, or may need to cut other costs, including the staging of shows, publishing their magazine and providing educational resources to its members.
There are bound to be many more examples, but these are probably the most common reasons a pet owner would wish to sell their koi.
I do not except that the average pet koi owner would be willing to pay the required fees, nor make the necessary changes to comply with the aquaculture permit requirements. Our ponds are filled with pet fish, not with aquaculture fish and we do not set up our ponds to undertake aquaculture.
When you first buy a koi, if you are aware that you cannot resell them at a later date, chances are you will think twice about joining the hobby.
When you want to dispose of any unwanted koi, rather than go to the trouble, many will opt for illegal trade or illegal dumping.
Please help stop the need for a fish pet owner to obtain an aquaculture permit by writing to the following people:
Address
The Hon. Ian Macdonald,
Minister for Primary Industries,
Parliament House,
Macquarie Street,
Sydney NSW 2000
Fax: (02) 9230 3032
Email: macdonald.office@macdonald.minister.nsw.gov.au
If you reside in NSW you should also write to your NSW member
Here is an example letter to get you started.
To The Hon. Ian Macdonald
Soon, I may not be able to sell any of my pet fish! Why?
I am an average koi keeper. It has come to my attention that the NSW Department of Primary Industries intends to require a koi pet owner to obtain an aquaculture permit should they wish to sell any of their pet fish. As a koi keeper I am not an aquaculture producer, nor am I an aquaculture business. I simply love our koi and wish to keep it that way.
My pond is filled with pet fish, not with aquaculture fish and I did not set up our pond to undertake aquaculture. Asking me to obtain an aquaculture permit is not in the spirit of the Australian "fair go", nor is it the spirit of our love for hobby and leisure time. I am simply asking that you will allow a koi pet owner to be able to sell, swap or trade between other koi keepers as we are now, as a pet owner, not as a commercial aquaculture business.
King Regards,
