Entitled “The $30,000 Peppermint Angelfish at Waikiki Aquarium,” this fantastic interview with Andrew Rossiter, executive director of the Waikiki Aquarium, was published by Honolulu Magazine.
Dr. Rossiter shares an interesting opinion on the private aquarist’s obsession with rare fish like the Peppermint Angelfish. “I’ve received telephone calls, internationally, offering me the equivalent of $30,000. Personally I think that’s obscene, and I also think it’s crazy; it’s kind of an addiction. It’s like somebody buying a Picasso or a Renoir or something and keeping it in their home where only they can see it. I think that’s real tragedy and I extend that idea to the rare fish species as well.”
Did we mention there’s also great footage of Centropyge abei in addition to Centropyge boyleyi? Rossiter talks extensively about Richard Pyle, how the Peppermint Angelfish wound up on display in Hawaii, and so much more. It’s a video well worth your time.
Read more about deepwater reef fish collection in Ken Wingerter’s article Deep Focus in the May/June 2014 issue of CORAL Magazine.
Video Credit: HONOLULUMagazine on Youtube
