For those of you looking for a bit of quality content to fill those iPods or give yourself a nice lengthy distraction while you sit at your desk at work, the MASNA Live podcast is a great place to start and the January 2012 episode just became available to download. Featuring some big names in the aquarium industry, this most recent discussion starts out with a brief chat about the infamous Dr. Gail Grabowsky video, but quickly moves on to a much broader view of the issues the aquarium industry is facing in Hawaii. Everything from fighting the moral arguments of anti-aquarium activists to imposing quotas on aquarium collection are discussed in detail, and it all makes for an interesting and educational talk that I highly suggest listening to. The back and forth chat isled by Kevin Erickson of MASNA, and features Tal Sweet, Richard Ross, Andrew Rhyne, Eric Cohen, Matt Pedersen and Jim Adelberg, who all chime in at one point or another. Despite being a widely varying group, this wily collection of aquarium enthusiasts spans virtually all aspects of the hobby and allows for a varying spectrum of opinions that all have the same underlying theme: sustainable aquarium collection. I was privileged enough to sit in on this conversation, and even though it was more of a “fly on the wall” role, I did offer up some opinions toward the end. In summary, my main points were in support of aquarium collection quotas and limiting the removal of certain species from the wild.
