1,500 aquarium fish, corals bound for Japan seized at Manila pier

Good job!!

Good work. Hopefully they can also track where they were headed and the Japanese authorities can do something about it (unless it's discovered they were headed to a major aquarium, in which case they'll do nothing).

Is this a token gesture by the Philippine authorities?

SmithinJapan,

Not hard to find out where they are headed, just head to your local pet shops. Exotic Pets in Japan are big business, and basically sell anything they can get hold of as. There is no need for a black market here, because the whole industry is barely regulated at all. As long as it is not covered by the Washington Convention (1975) then it is fare game.

And in the meantime all the caring animal lovers harp on about the Whales... Little do they know.

I just hope they're not going to be left in the plastic bags and that they'll be set free - in the best conditions - as soon as possible.

Good catch. Near my apato there was a small lake where sometimes I could see a big beautiful fish, with yellow and black stripes and a body that resembled an eel. Just last week I watched on TV that it is the dreadful snakefish, that was illegally introduced to Japan and was released in lakes and rivers. It can reach more than 150 cm and eat basically anything that moves. The same program also said about piranhas being caught in that big Shiga lake - I forgot its name.