After searching eBay and finding a http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=002&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=120065667565&rd=1&rd=1">coral </a>I really wanted to buy, I found myself at an ethical dilemma.
I'm about 99% sure this coral was collected in the wild off Tonga. Now, I know we should only buy aquacultured corals to preserve our reefs. But then I think, if a nation permits its coral reefs to be harvested, then why not buy it? Even if I didn't buy it, surely someone else will. However, in the end, the only reason I didn't bid on it was due to a conflict of scheduling of when the coral had to ship and when I was available to receive it.
So I'm just curious as to how everyone else feels. Would you buy wild collected fish/corals? Do you guys wonder where all your reef critters came from? There's a decent chance my maroon clownfish pair and one of my favia corals came from the wild.
I'm about 99% sure this coral was collected in the wild off Tonga. Now, I know we should only buy aquacultured corals to preserve our reefs. But then I think, if a nation permits its coral reefs to be harvested, then why not buy it? Even if I didn't buy it, surely someone else will. However, in the end, the only reason I didn't bid on it was due to a conflict of scheduling of when the coral had to ship and when I was available to receive it.
So I'm just curious as to how everyone else feels. Would you buy wild collected fish/corals? Do you guys wonder where all your reef critters came from? There's a decent chance my maroon clownfish pair and one of my favia corals came from the wild.