INJAF is delighted to be supporting the Big Fish Campaign. Below is some key information from BIAZA (British and Irish Associations of Zoos and Aquariums) which details the reasons for the campaign, the aims of the campaign, some information for fishkeepers, information on current activities, and most importantly how you can help.

The ‘Big Fish’ campaign is an initiative set up by NAW (National Aquarium Workshop) and the BIAZA Aquarium Working Group having heard the results of research that indicated that over a period of just 4 months, 11 UK aquaria were asked to house 144 fish that had outgrown their owners’ tanks.

More and more frequently, fish of all shapes and sizes are being imported into the UK aquatics trade. A large percentage of these fish appear in general pet stores and are sold to unwary customers who do not expect their pet fish to grow to such enormous sizes and are left with a ‘BIG’ problem as a result of inadequate space or equipment.

Zoos and aquaria are being inundated with public donations of all sorts of fish species. Although members of the pubic may see this as the perfect solution for their problem, it creates problems for the aquaria themselves. It is often very difficult for them to mix donated stock with their own stock and they often lack the space to provide a purpose built home for the donated fish.

Therefore the zoos and aquariums in the UK decided to launch the Big Fish Campaign to stop the problem. The campaign first launched in Nov 2005 is back for 2012 and working with the trade to tackle the issue. It aims to raise public awareness about the need to make sensible, informed decisions when choosing pet fish.

The Big Fish Campaign aims to:

Encourage the public to research properly the fish species that they wish to own as pets
Overturn the notion that fish will never outgrow the size of their tanks
Reduce the sale of these species in pet stores to protect their welfare
Alleviate the problem of public aquaria being pressurised into accepting these big fish

Handy Hints for Fishkeepers:

Think about what kind of things will the fish need – food, tank size and system
Think about how much time you will have to look after the fish
Think about your budget as buying a fish is a long term commitment
Think about quarantine facilities for sick fish
Remember that your tank system will need to mature before you add the fish
Try to buy fish that have been bred in captivity
Always quarantine your fish before adding them to the tank

How you can help – calling all hobbyists, retailers and anyone ‘fishy’!

July 2012 – Practical Fishkeeping (PFK) have set up their page for you to sign up to the Big Fish Campaign. If you represent an aquatic shop, an aquatic business, a fish wholesaler, or are an importer, show your support by leaving your company name in the comments section below the article on their site
BIAZA have produced a letter you can download to introduce retailers etc. to the Big Fish Campaign and encourage them to sign up
Ask your local aquatics and pet shops to get involved, display a poster and show their support on the PFK website. Please contact as many aquatic retailers as you can in your area with a copy of the:

Big Fish supporters letter
Big Fish Lorry Poster
Big Fish Campaign logo poster
We’re backing the Big Fish Campaign logo

Please let us know who you have contacted, either on info@injaf.org, or by emailing katy.duke@thedeep.co.uk (BIAZA Working Group Chair).

What else can be done to help?

Add the link to the dedicated campaign website to your own website: bigfishcampaign.org
Follow the campaign on Facebook and Twitter for news and updates
If you work in a public aquarium, fish shop, fish rescue or any other enterprise that may be approached by people trying to rehome their big fish, please capture new big fish data from phone calls you receive so the Big Fish Campaign can update their survey: Fish Donation Sheet
Print out and display the poster: Big Fish Lorry Poster
Print out and display the new logo poster designed by Aquatics Live, you can also use this for display material: Big Fish Campaign logo poster
Print out and display the ‘We’re backing the Big Fish Campaign’ logo: We’re backing the Big Fish Campaign logo
Jeremy, Nathan (PFK), Sandra (PBW News) and Matt (Seriously Fish) have all expressed an interest in any ‘horror’ stories, quotes, photos that you might have regarding big fish. Any information like this would be well received to help with articles. Please contact them directly:

Sandra@pbwnews.com
Jeremy.gay@bauermedia.co.uk
Nathan.hill@bauermedia.co.uk
matt@seriouslyfish.com

Retailers, public aquariums and aquatics clubs could run some Big Fish events: family fun days, how to set up a fish tank demonstration, how to pick fish for your tank, fact or fiction quizzes etc.
If you work at a public aquarium add information about the campaign into talks given at your aquarium.
The Big Fish Campaign still has original display materials from the previous campaign, please contact them if you would like to use these although they would prefer everyone to use the new logo and lorry poster for consistency
Please let the Big Fish Campaign know if you run any events or have any PR and remember to take photos etc it would be nice to see what everyone does.
All ideas welcome! If you have an idea please share it.

What else has the Big Fish Campaign done?

In December 2011 there was a great article in PBW News which some of you may have seen, Aquatic Trader Article Dec 2011
This was followed by an initial piece, Will you support the Big Fish Campaign?, on the PFK website which was also sent out to 60000 people on their database. Both publications are very much behind the campaign and hope to publicise it as much as possible this year with a number of articles
PFK will also be setting up a link from their facebook page where people can go to download the poster, plus you can download it from here Big Fish Lorry Poster 2012
Paul Hale from London Aquarium and Jamie Craggs from the Horniman Museum are looking into possible press opportunities for later in the year such as the One Show and possible celebrity backing
BIAZA has produced a children’s quiz sheet, Big Fish Quiz Sheet (2012). Please use this if you would like or make your own
Aquatics Live 2012, Olympia London – the Big Fish Campaign hopes to be there this year and are speaking to the organisers – update as of July 2012 – the Big Fish Campaign will be at Aquatics Live
seriouslyfish.com are also on board and are keen to promote the Big Fish Campaign. Matt Ford has offered to host a dedicated information page, also with a download link for the poster
Further website options for the campaign are currently being discussed
July 2012 – Ultra Marine magazine have published the new logo in their latest edition and an article is being written for inclusion in the next one.
July 2012 – dedicated website launched at bigfishcampaign.org

The future
To help UK aquariums halt the trade in Big Fish species, please contact campaign coordinator, Peter Burgess AquaticsDoctor@aol.com or the Aquarium Working Group Chair Katy Duke Katy.Duke@thedeep.co.uk.

Further reading
Will you support the Big Fish Campaign?
Who’s to blame for the big fish problem?
Where do all those big fish keep going?
How much will this fish cost to keep in its lifetime?
Bournemouth Aquarium appeals to exotic pet owners
Maidenhead Aquatics – ‘Tankbusters & Co.’ Do you really know what you’re taking on?

Nathan Hill, Technical Writer at Practical Fishkeeping Magazine, put together two excellent (and rather sobering!) ‘info graphics’ which illustrate very clearly the sizes some of the commonly available fish can get to in comparison to a human (reproduced with kind permission of Nathan Hill and Jeremy Gay (editor) of PFK Magazine).

INJAF has some further information on
Tankbusters
Red tailed catfish – an aquatic big cat
Help with understanding how much room a species needs in an aquarium
Do fish grow to the size of their tank?
Raising your concerns

Other information and supporters
Public aquaria supporting the campaign
Websites and forums supporting the campaign
Other supporters

Author: INJAF

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