Kerala: Curb on aquarium fish irks traders

KOCHI: Close on the heels of imposing restrictions on the sale of cattle for slaughtering the Union Government’s decision to issue curbs on aquarium fish trade has created apprehensions amongst people involved in the business. The new set of guidelines issued in a notification on May 23 under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is likely to hit the livelihood of hundreds of small traders engaged in the sector.

The most contentious provisions of the notification included the stipulation that each aquarium should employ a veterinary doctor with an assistant, ban on exhibition of aquarium fishes and restrictions on growing aquarium fishes in bowls having the capacity of less than 60 gallons of water. “The small scale traders are unable to afford the cost of a veterinary doctor with an assistant”, said Charles George president of Kerala Matsyathozhilali Aikyavedi. The measure will only help the big monopolies in the sector and the small scale traders and self-employed in the sector will be eliminated in few years”, he said. George however welcomed the decision to ban the upkeep and trading of species listed in the list of endangered species by the UN.

But there is no justification on imposing restrictions on trading and growing the species belonging to schedule two, he added. “The majority of 158 fishes belonging to the second schedule are traded in the country”, he added. The government has imposed restrictions without initiating discussions with the stakeholders in the sector, said an ornamental fish trader in Kochi. He also expressed concern over the restriction on using tanks less than 60 gallons of water as an impractical step. “A person with an affinity for a domestic aquarium will invariably look for a smaller size”, he said.