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Impact of Coral Regulations; New Aquatic Products at MACNA

Michelle Maskaly//September 3, 2014//

Impact of Coral Regulations; New Aquatic Products at MACNA

Michelle Maskaly //September 3, 2014//

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MACNA 2014, held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, brought together retailers, manufacturers and hobbyists for a weekend of all things aquatics, including new products and educational seminars.

Julian Sprung, the owner of Two Little Fishies, led what was arguably the most important discussion at MACNA — the listing of corals on the Endangered Species Act.

“This is serious,” he told the crowd. “We really are talking about the potential loss of our hobby. Coral species listed as threatened will be illegal to posses, trade or sell.”

Sprung emphasized that not only will it impact the aquatics industry, but also hamper the reef restorations that are happening across the globe and require coral to be grown and taken care of in an aquarium.

“Wild collection is part of reef conservation,” he explained.  “Will there be a MACNA in a few years? I don’t know.”

Marshall Meyers, a senior advisor to the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council,  warned attendees that there would likely be a lawsuit filed over the Aug. 28 decision by The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to add 20 new coral species to the list of those protected under the Endangered Species Act.

“This is just the beginning of what is going to be a long ordeal,” said Meyers.

He, along with Chris Burner, of Quality Marine, explained this has an impact on other industries as well.

“The next month to two years, will be very interesting,” said Meyers, who encouraged people to visit the marine section of PIJAC‘s website for more information and to learn more about the situation.

 

PHOTOS: MACNA 2014 DENVER

Meanwhile, a host of manufacturers launched, or showcased new products at MACNA, including Jellyflap, the first all inclusive desktop jellyfish tank with overflow from Jellyfish Art.

The aquarium features an internal filtration system that uses mechanical and biological filtering with a built in pump and 3 color changing LED lights for nearly infinite customization. The retail box includes everything to get started. All the customer has to do is add water.

Once the tank is set up, retailers have the option of having the jellyfish shipped to the store, so it gets the customer back in the door, or the jellyfish can be shipped right to the customers house.

Cold Water Marine Aquatics, a livestock supplier, teamed up with several other companies to offer retailers whole tank packages that include tanks, stands, supplements and lights for cold water.

 Fluval showcased a host of new products including an App that will soon make controlling tank lighting possible from anywhere in the world.

 

Their new Evo 5, is a 5 gallon nano marine aquarium that comes with a filter, touch LED lights with four day/night settings and hidden filtration. It also comes in a 12 gallon size, and sold as the Evo 12. It does have a larger compartment for the protein skimmer.

Most impressive, might just be their limited edition Fluval Edge 800 Blue Edition. Expected to be brought to market in March, the item will be sold as a complete set up and features among other things, a feeding compartment and performance LED with WiFi technology.

A portion of the proceeds will go to benefit the Coral Restoration Foundation.

 

On the food end of things, Hikari showcased their new Coralific Delite  and Coral Gumbo.

The Coral Gumbo is a variety of different sea creatures put together into a frozen cube, while the Coralific Delite is touted for it’s ability to both broadcast, or target, feed, giving owner, maxim feeding flexibility.