October 15, 2008
Illegal imports of arowanas into Singapore? Not worth the hassle …
Hi all,
Another interesting article about alleged illegal imports of arowanas. Just proves the stringent checks that the authorities in Singapore goes through to ensure that the farms in Singapore are not doing anything illegal. That's the good thing about buying arowanas in Singapore… The chances are much higher that they are all legit and of the best quality..
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AVA investigates illegal import of arowana
Fish without the chips
Neo Chai Chin, Today Online 6 Oct 08;
THE Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) is investigating the illegal import of 50 arowana fish, an endangered species, into Singapore last Thursday.
The fish, worth about $1,000 each, were discovered by AVA officers at its Changi Animal and Plant Quarantine Station at the Changi Air Freight Centre. They had been flown in from Kalimantan in Indonesia by a local breeding farm, Imperial Arowana.
The farm, at Lim Chu Kang, is owned by award-winning breeder Vincent Chong, who is being questioned by the AVA, which said that investigations are ongoing.
When contacted, Mr Chong said: “There was an importing misunderstanding, that’s all. Basically, it’s not a big issue. There was some misunderstanding between Singapore and Indonesia.” He declined to provide further details.
The catching of wild arowana is prohibited under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites). Under the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act, illegal traders can be fined up to $50,000 per specimen (or up to $500,000), jailed up to two years, or both. Singapore became a party to Cites in 1986.
According to its website, Imperial Arowana specialises in the export of Asian Arowana species like the Super Red and Xback, which are sourced from Cites-registered farms in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
Recent advances have resulted in the breeding of the fish in captivity but they have to be micro-chipped as proof that they were not captured from the wild.
Asian arowana, prized for its brilliant gold and red-gold colours, are often kept by businessmen who believe that the fish brings good fortune. A top specimen can cost around $20,000, a breeder told Today.
There are over a dozen Cites-registered arowana breeding farms in the Lim Chu Kang area. Their operators inform the AVA when breeding pairs have spawned.
When each fish reaches six months of age, a microchip is embedded, in the presence of an AVA official.
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Do you have this problem in your respective countries? Do comment if you have any … Cheers!
Filed under Arowana News - Others by Steven
Comments on Illegal imports of arowanas into Singapore? Not worth the hassle … »
Thanks for sharing and more power to you. have a good day . .
thnx steven
thanks for the information…. you helped me alot…
thanx for the information
i gat one VIP RED from imperial arowana
the color of the fish
is not so great
i think it is over price
thank for sharing
thank for the info
if these fish had no microchip then where is the misunderstanding exactly?
thanks for sharing steven
Tom,
You need to be patience… I will be writing a post on red arowanas soon to explain this. Keep a look out for it.
Steven
Arowboy,
I really don't know the full story so I cannot comment whether all the fishes came in with microchips or not. Sometimes is can also be a problem if the arowana's actual microchips do not tally with the shipment order.
Steven
Thank you for your story…yes!Not worth it!
Time & time again we are presented with situations where politicians & many a corporate figure/"Big" businnessmen(tycoons) who are well versed & know the laws that govern the busineses that they indulge in proclaim/and or feign ignorance with the comment that whatever transpired(caught with their pants down) claim that the whole issue was a "MISUNDERSTANDING"!!! It's an insult to the authorities that regulate and enforce the laws that govern these businesses - like telling them they(the authority)they are not proficient with the laws they enforce. I say let these unscrupulous "people" feel the full brunt of the laws they choose to flout & others who are considering such ventures that are surely extremely profitable but unlawful beware!
i'm totally aggreed wt u, but all this still happen in malaysia, most off hoobbist here still always get cheated wt poor quality fish & "so call certified" dragon fish.
ofcoz, we can depend on luck & experiences we hv here, but there is no way to prevent or get track to the the one who responesible for all off this. just hope one day,………something can be done by "existing" law here.
Steven Tan,
That is why I always recommend that you only buy those with a cert. I know this is not 100% full proof but at least it is some sort of protection…
Steven