An interview with Max Pedley

Apistogramma (c) Max Pedley
Max Pedley has been serious about fishkeeping for five years. In that time, he has amassed an impressive collection of no less than 55 tanks, containing up to 750 individual fish. We spoke to him to find out more about the hobby, and what role he thinks hobbyists have to play in freshwater conservation.

What initially drew you into keeping fish?

I suppose I’ve always been around animals, a goldfish being my first pet. My late grandma was very supportive of my interest in the natural world and happily obliged when I dragged her around almost every aquarium, zoo and butterfly house in the North! On a more serious aquarist level, my interest peaked in aquatic lessons at college and work experience in a local pet shop. One tank became two, so on and so forth until I find myself here.

Funnily enough, the college that lead my down this path is now my workplace. Seems I have gone the full circle!

Max Pedley
Max at home © Max Pedley

What do you enjoy most about fishkeeping?

That’s a tricky one to answer. On the one hand, observing and experiencing different behaviours and survival strategies is thoroughly enthralling. On the other, it’s difficult to beat the endorphin kick when you finally manage to spawn a difficult species that’s been hexing you for a few years. But it’s different for everyone, hence it is such a diverse and popular hobby.

Max’s fish room © Max Pedley

What are your favourite species to keep, and why?

Apistogramma are “my” fish. That is, they were the genus of cichlids that dragged me into the hobby at the deep end. I’ve poured so much effort into them to be rewarded with failure and success in equal proportions, yet I always go back for more. New species are being discovered and described regularly too, so that keeps them exciting. I do however have a massive soft spot for characins and betta spp., especially if they are rare or endangered.

Do you feel aquarists have a duty towards the animals and habitats that interest them?

That’s an excellent question. Everyone has a duty towards nature. It should be considered the rent we pay for our space on Earth. I don’t even think that should be aimed specifically at the animals they are interested, but if they are happy to go the extra mile for them, it should not be ignored.

It’s hard to say exactly what duty aquarists play. Ex situ breeding of threatened/endangered species and research on the captive care of such species would be very useful, especially for zoos etc. who only have a finite amount of tanks for such purposes.

Purchasing responsibly sourced livestock is a duty too. Any keeper with a moral compass should know this, as should the retailers and wholesalers importing the fish. Unfortunately, it is difficult to police in foreign counties, so emphasis must be placed on ceasing the demand.

What role do you think the average hobbyist plays in conservation?

Alas, I imagine the average hobbyist plays a very small role in conservation. It isn’t currently easy for the average hobbyist to get involved in such programmes. Not only that, many hobbyists don’t care for the animals in the wild. Unfortunately, charisma of an organism plays a huge role in how well it is conserved but given that most of the fish which need our help are small and brown, they are serially overlooked. If Cardinal tetras were at risk, that would be a different story.

And what role do you feel they should play?

Horses for courses. Entry level aquarists, those with one tank in the living room, brimmed with a teaming collection of colourful community fish probably have no intention of spending either money or time on conservation. And you can’t blame them. They might be aware of habitat loss, but do they truly understand the gravity of it? Most of the fish they keep are farmed in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe, so conservation doesn’t directly affect their fishkeeping experience.

And so the onus should really shift to retailers. Retailers who are happy to import wild caught stock might want to consider setting aside a portion of proceeds to help conservation efforts, securing the future of their potential wares. As a matter of fact, would it not make sense for any business person who profits from wild caught fish to see a percentage go back to the wild?

Experienced, hardcore keepers can put the groundwork in. Try to raise awareness, encourage a family member, friend or colleague to buy a tank and fill it with fish to help the trade. If the trade is successful, it is more likely to help conservation in a financial sense. Or even try your hand breeding and maintaining a species at risk. Why not join a club which aims at the successful captive maintenance of particular fish? And if you can’t find such a group, consider starting one! Be proud of what you do, shout it from the rooftops and make sure everyone understands the dangers which freshwater species face.

Betta patoti © Max Pedley
Betta patoti © Max Pedley

At Shoal we see a real opportunity for fishkeepers to help fly the flag for freshwater conservation. Their hobby after all depends on healthy freshwater environments. What can fishkeepers do to ensure their actions help protect and conserve fish and other freshwater species?

Be vocal. Encourage someone to become a fishkeeper. If you are already a fishkeeper, get your children involved. Young fishkeepers are a dying breed, but very necessary. Make sure your aquatic legacy is continued.

I can tell you what I’d love to see: more documentaries based entirely on freshwater species under threat.

We are with you there, Max. There is so much wonderful footage about marine and terrestrial challenges, but not so much focused on freshwater. Given the extent of the crisis, this is surprising. If there are any natural history film producers reading, let us see some fantastic freshwater films soon!

The Search for Spawning Sturgeon

Sturgeon (c) Biodiversity Heritage Library

by Matthew Spencer

In 2017 I was fortunate enough to intern on a project that focused on protecting six critically endangered sturgeon species that have their last refuge in the Rioni River in Georgia, which unlike the Danube and Garonne rivers, had no sturgeon conservation programme.

Following drastic habitat loss, recent surveys show that the Rioni supports the world’s only population of Colchic sturgeon (Acipenser [persicus] colchicus), and some of the last populations of five other species. All species are Endangered or Critically Endangered, and populations are rapidly decreasing (>50% per generation) due to fishing, illegal trade and reduced spawning habitat with just 16% of the historic spawning area remaining!

The internship opportunity, and hosting in Georgia, was kindly supported by Fauna and Flora International (FFI) a leading environmental organisation that focuses on protecting biodiversity across the globe whilst supporting local, sustainable livelihoods. Through working with the government, WWF Caucasus and a range of local stakeholders including local fishers, the project aimed to reduce the poaching and illegal trade in sturgeon products on local markets and to address the further loss of spawning habitat.

This project was one of personal interest, as someone who grew up the coast and had a small fish tank as a child, I have always wanted to work in conservation with fish; in particular working out effective ways, at a local level to help protect species and their habitats. With relatively limited exposure to the UK, Georgia is a country that is as mysterious as it is stunning, with the opportunity to work abroad and learn a new culture making it such an attractive opportunity.

Prior to heading out to Georgia, I spent several weeks spent in FFI’s Cambridge office working out river access points. As maps and information on the Rioni River were sparse, it was important to work out a lot of the detail prior to departure so as to best utilise my time in the field. The nature of Georgia’s turbulent recent past meant that information was either hard to come by or extremely disjointed. One of the key aims of this internship was to fill in some of the knowledge gaps and help develop the foundations to further monitoring activities.

Upon touching down we headed west to the mouth of the Rioni River, at a city called Poti on the eastern shore of the Black Sea and next to the Kolkheti National Park. Over the next few weeks we visited sites along the river and interviewed local fishermen where possible. In keeping with findings from across the world’s river basins, local fishermen had noticed a dramatic decline in the abundance and size of large fish species. What was also notable was that the older the fishermen that was interviewed the greater the loss appeared, particularly the plight of local sturgeon populations. Few of the fishermen below 50 had even seen a sturgeon being caught from the river and sadly many of the fishermen stated that poaching was still a serious problem.

The time spent in Georgia helped to develop a working knowledge and local network base for the area which has contributed to the conservation of sturgeon, in particular in combatting poaching and illegal trade. Most importantly, the work that I was fortunate enough to be a part of led to the first baseline study for sturgeon being conducted. Until recently, very little was known about the status of this particular sturgeon population compared to those in the Danube and Garonne rivers, with there was uncertainty about whether these fish were even still reproducing in the Rioni at all.

I can excitedly tell you that the results from all the hard work FFI is doing is showing that juvenile sturgeon have been found, indicating that sturgeon are still spawning in the Rioni. This is fantastic news and highlights the resilience of ecosystems under extreme pressure but also serves as a warning. Sturgeon, one of the largest fish species on the planet, an animal that has existed for millions of years is surviving…. but barely.

I would urge anyone who reads this to support Shoal, FFI, and WWF with their freshwater conservation projects. Iconic and lesser known species are in decline across the globe and every effort must be made to ensure that these majestic fish can continue to spawn and in turn inspire the next generation.

The Rioni River, Georgia (c) Matt Spencer
The FFI team conducting surveys on the Rioni River, one of the last locations in Europe where sturgeon continue to spawn. (c) Matt Spencer