CITE endangered Species Protection Program

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I love to Dive and I love aquariums, but as an air port customs officer, I'm really upset at seeing weekly the hundreds and hundreds of boxes of wild caught fish, corals and live rock that are moving through our air ports destined for aquarium stores. I hope we don't screw things up for the future, after all we humans tend to take more than nature can throw at us, just have a look at our fish stocks. Is CITE working?.

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[scuba_katt]

I just recently researched and presented a lecture on "introduced species and their impacts on ecosystems".

some people just must not be aware of what an exotic species can do to keystone species of an ecosystem - they may think its harmless to release a "little fishy" they got at the local aquarium but now can't be bothered feeding each day. But they probably don't realise that a lot of those "little fishys" are quite hardy, and can survive/thrive in so many conditions that our country's endemic stocks cannot. In Oz, there is a "feral species" list that includes those real pests such as Oreochromis mossambicus (Tilapia) that have invaded all over the world!!!!

i recently read a book called "Feral Future" where the writer tells of customs officials at airports finding fish eggs in hollowed out biros!!!

what are some of the "dodgiest" things you've found in your job at the airport?