It just popped out in my mind

I always walked pass 'Goldfish Street' after school when I was in Hong Kong
The sight of fishes relaxed me from stress
& I usually go there alone
Mingling with smelly men in the shop admiring the fishes

I thought:'It is very beautiful. I wanna get one when I have a home'

When I came back Singapore
Joined WIldFilms
Involved myself with environmental conservation voluntary groups
I realised that what I'd seen on the street are seen on the shore
Plus my new sport - Diving - allowed me to almost touch them naturally
"You think you really can touch me meh?"

Recently
I went to help out my friend who is working in the aquarium trade
It was just an excursion where I just wanna spend my time knowing new things before school pack me with notes
Anyway
I was introduced at the farm
Understanding abit how the aquarium trade works
& I am pretty sad about it
& all thanks to Disney's film - Nemo

That day had a large import of anemonefish
It looked cute, really
But it had more than hundreds
I was told they came from Australia

Huh? Aussie?
But isnt Aussie very environmentally concern on conservation?
Friend told me they are captive bred
Really?
I stopped asking & kept quiet in doubt

I looked around the tanks where corals are kept
Nice bunch but not in the tank
I still prefer it in the water
Just then
A van came
The driver carried 2 big boxes of corals
Boss looked in it for a while & handed him some cash

Friend pulled me aside & told me it was an illegal deal
She hates that man who keeps bringing illegally dug corals to workplace & also hates her boss for doing such a deal
Instead of demand & supply
It is supply & acceptance

I quickly told friend that we could do something about it
Like reporting to AVA or sorts
But she said it will be a very difficult position to do so

I realised what she meant
It's her job

When there's no sale, there's no income
When there's no stock, there's no sale
When there's no supply, there's no stock
When there's no provider, there's no supply

It's a vicous cycle
I bet she is also feeling kinda guilty earning money from such means

I guess it's an ethical issue
We all want to save the environment
We raised public awareness so more people know what we are losing
But greed stole their mindset away & wanting to own it
Thus leading to a growth of aquarium trade

Although authorites are there to approve import & export of trade
The reinforcement is not strong

Let's skip to the recent issue - development of natural park
When I read that headline
I was like 'Hur?'
A natural landscape was turned into an urban area & now turning it back to natural park?

Do you know that restoration takes years?
Probably decades
& in the first place
Who was there to assess what animal species were present before it was scrapped?
Who was there to assess what tree species?
Who was there to assess if it's a primary or secondary forest?
Who was there to assess the density of animal present?

When a place that had changed is to be transformed back to original
It will never happen at its ease

We, humans, had been taking nature for granted
Remember how we love to camp in the forest on dirt & grass?
Now we sleep in tent that sits on concrete ground

I cant think of how Earth will be like in another few years
The rate of destruction is faster than anyone could predict
When Al Gore showed 'The inconvenient truth'
No one believes him
When global warming occurs
Scientist said human is not the cause
When Yangtze River dolphin extinct
We realised it's happening in front of our eyes
When polar bears are struggling to stay on ice
NOW WE PANIC!

I just visited a fish forum
So funny I giggled
The people were discussing about captive breeding
& one person spoke
"Let's ask Disney what fish film they're gonna produce soon"

I think that's a very good idea
When Nemo showed
Anemonefish trade increased
But how come I dont see it happening when Lion King showed?

Anyway
I didnt regret that I'd chosen my Bachelor course
Although it was pretty 'cold' (i.e not a hot topic in society)
& making me demoralised at times for not getting a perfect dream job
It allowed me to understand what is going on behind the curtains
& made me more determined to shoot those idiots down

I told my friend that I want to open an environmental consultancy firm when I finished my Masters
I told my friend that I cant stand seeing beautiful corals in the aquarium which are actually chizeled from rocks and sold illegally
I told my friend that I hate fish dealers who just sell fish for money
I told my friend that I cant understand how government can allow environment impacting development just by browsing the EIA, which are not even revealed to the public
I told my friend that I also cant understand why we're forbided to comment on unagreeable points
I told my friend that I dont even notice what mitigation plans they had prior to operation
I told my friend that saving corals at Labrador Park need not put artifical growth platforms that squash corals underneath

I still remember seeing a baby chinese sturgeon packed in plastic bag hanging for sale
Chinese sturgeon - CITES endangered species in China, spawned once every 30 years
I hesitated to notify AFCD
One month later
Someone reported

I guess
Knowing the truth is easy
But telling the truth is hard