Contacts
Marshall Meyers, PIJAC, (202) 452-1525
Joe Starinchak, USFWS, (703) 358-2018
Ben Sherman, NOAA, (301) 713-3066 ext. 178
Doug Jensen, Minnesota Sea Grant, (218) 726-8712
Helping aquarium owners and water gardeners conserve the natural
world they value by preventing the release or escape of non-native plants
and animals is the goal of HabitattitudeTM, a new public education and outreach
effort launched Friday by a government-industry-academia coalition at the
American Family Pet Expo in Novi, Mich.
Officials from the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration?s
Great Lakes Sea Grant Network made the kickoff announcement.
HabitattitudeTM encourages consumers to avoid unwanted introductions
of non-native species by adopting simple prevention steps when faced with
unwanted aquatic plants or fish:
- Contact a retailer for proper handling advice or for possible returns.
- Give/trade with another aquarist, pond owner or water gardener.
- Donate to a local aquarium society, school, or aquatic business.
- Seal aquatic plants in plastic bags and dispose in the trash.
- Contact a veterinarian or pet retailer for guidance on humane disposal
of animals.
" Beginning this fall, when aquarium hobbyists, backyard
pond owners and water gardeners go to purchase fish or plants for their tanks
or ponds, they'll receive the HabitattitudeTM message," said Marshall
Meyers, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the Pet Industry
Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC). "Through collaboration with NOAA's Great
Lakes Sea Grant Network the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, state fish and
wildlife agencies, the American Nursery and Landscaping Association and other
industry partners, we plan to get HabitattitudeTM in front of millions of
consumers."
? Prevention is the key to addressing the crisis posed
by invasive species in our aquatic ecosystems,? said Charlie Wooley,
Deputy Regional Director for the Fish and Wildlife Service?s Great
Lakes-Big Rivers Region. ?This is why we in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers
Region applaud the HabitattitudeTM initiative. This unique partnership seeks
to address the challenges our region and the country faces in prevention
of aquatic species gaining a foothold here.?
HabitattitudeTM materials will be displayed in aquarium stores
and other aquatic retail outlets across the country. Consumers will also
find information on packaging of related products and in hobby magazines
and in nursery and landscaping businesses.
In addition, a new website, www.habitattitude.net, will help
aquarium owners and water gardeners learn more about responsible consumer
behaviors and how to prevent the spread of potential aquatic invasive species.
The site includes recommended alternatives to releasing plants and animals,
instructions on how individuals, clubs, societies, industries, agencies and
organizations can get involved, information on the federal and state laws
and statutes that regulate the aquatic organisms, and detailed information
on some of the more problematic aquarium and water garden species that have
created problems in our native aquatic systems.
NOAA administrator and retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad C.
Lautenbacher agrees that proactive programming helps promote responsible
consumer behaviors, raises awareness about invasive species, and notes that
this campaign supports one of the major recommendations of the United States
Commission on Ocean Policy Report which was delivered to President Bush and
the Congress last September.
? The Ocean Commission?s recommendation notes that
the Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) Task Force, along with others, should
coordinate public education and outreach efforts on aquatic invasive species
with the aim of increasing public awareness about the importance of prevention,? says
Lautenbacher. ?If aquarium owners and water gardeners continue to unknowingly
introduce invasive plants and animals, these species can cause irreparable
harm to the environment and can damage recreational and commercial uses of
our aquatic resources."
? HabitattitudeTM builds upon the successful government,
business, and citizen partnership that is helping to stem the spread of the
zebra mussel across the United States," says U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service Director Steve Williams. "While most invasive species come into
the country as hitchhikers through commercial trade, some aquarium owners
and water gardeners have unknowingly complicated the challenge invasive species
pose for conserving America's wildlife and landscapes. HabitattitudeTM will
give them the knowledge they need to help them prevent invasive species introductions
and conserve the natural world they appreciate so much."
PIJAC and its members, who represent 70 percent of the U.S.
pet industry, and 90 percent of the aquarium industry, have committed over
$1.1 million to the campaign. Their contribution leveraged a $300,000 grant
from NOAA?s National Sea Grant College Program to Minnesota Sea Grant
and a $100,000 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service effort.
Since the Great Lakes border two nations, the International
Joint Commission, a bi national group that deals with U.S.-Canada water issues
in the basin, also supports HabitattitudeTM and participated in the news
conference.
? HabitattitudeTM is a welcomed and positive program
to prevent further damage to the ecology of the Great Lakes from the improper
disposal of plants and pets,? said Dennis Schornack, chair of the U.S.
section of the IJC. ?We can all do something to protect the lakes by
being responsible pet owners and gardeners, and HabitattitudeTM can teach
us how.?
NOAA is dedicated to protecting and preserving our nation's
living marine resources, and the habitat on which they depend, through scientific
research, management and enforcement. NOAA's stewardship of these resources
benefits the nation by supporting coastal communities, while helping to provide
safe and healthy seafood to consumers and recreational opportunities for
the American public. To learn more about NOAA, please visit http://www.noaa.gov.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal
agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife
and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American
people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge
System, which encompasses 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small
wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national
fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services
field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the
Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally
significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands,
and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation
efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes
hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment
to state fish and wildlife agencies.
-FWS-
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