AMDA Board of Directors speak out

Below is a letter from the AMDA BOD to the general membership and the public at large.


Dear AMDA members,

During the past year your AMDA board of directors has worked to resolve two important issues facing our business. The first relates to the impact of marine ornamental fishing on the environment. The second centers on E-Commerce’s growth and its subsequent detriment to brick-and-mortar retailers – the predominant group within our association.

During the first part of 2003, your AMDA board worked to investigate the problems related to the acquisition of healthy animals for our retail trade. One of the charter responsibilities of the AMDA organization is to seek ways to protect the environment and create a sustainable fishery for the animals we sell in our shops. There are many facets to this mandate that involve wild caught and lab or farm raised animals for the trade. For now, we turn our attention to the wild caught part of our trade.

Since we are users of a resource and the resource found in the tropical areas of the world (of which the United States is not a part), we lack the necessary political leverage to effectively promote environmental protection. What we can do, however, is promote the purchase of fish from organizations or villages devoted to good fish husbandry after capture and appropriate catching techniques.

Your board believes that we have an innate responsibility to do what we can to establish networking relationships with the fishermen and shippers in these countries, and help wherever we can to engender good collection practices for ornamental marine animals no matter where it is. We have hoped that distributors in this country would do more to stem the continued use of cyanide and poor handling and shipping, but that does not seem to be happening to any great extent.

In order to get a better understanding of the current situation, we sent our president Steve Robinson to the Philippines to investigate possible solutions to the gross destruction of the environment food fish trade and to a lesser extent the impact of the ornamental fish trade. For years, various well-meaning organizations have tried to correct this using all sorts of grants and words to no avail. Your board has come to the conclusion that on site training, making proper equipment available directly to the fishermen, and frequent site inspection is the only way to assure that our desires as customers are being met.

As a group, AMDA needs to be committed to the concept that we should not support those that do not protect their resource. And as customers, we need to impose our will and believe that our will is beneficial to the environment and the establishment of good husbandry practices at the catch sites.

Since Steve has had extensive experience in field collecting, and understands the issues involved in the endeavor, we thought a tour of an area in the Philippines would help us understand the breadth of the existing problem.

As part of the trip, AMDA bought and delivered a small amount of hand netting to the fishermen of the Philippines. They were thankful for the gesture and it illuminated the need for someone to help organize a disparate industry that needs to do its part in preventing damage to the coral reefs of the Philippines. We found that appropriate equipment was not made available to the fishermen, but there was no shortage of cyanide for them to buy.

The process of collecting, holding, transporting to shipping hubs, and the subsequent delivery to the United States is arduous for fish and fisherman alike. Steve's trip certainly expanded our knowledge of the complexity of the issues at hand and in the future we will try to educate our members as well.

The concept of net-caught vs. cyanide or chemical caught fish has been a topic of discussion amongst hobbyists and professional aquarium people for many years. For some unknown reason the food industry in the Philippines and Indonesia has not questioned this reprehensible fishing practice. The AMDA board believes that the only way we will ever achieve cooperation in regards to cyanide use is to have established delegates that answer to our needs within the laws of the land in the areas where our fish are caught, held, and delivered. The issues are not just in the procurement of fish. Handling and shipping procedures also need supervision, and it appears that this area of the chain of custody is actually equally as problematic as cyanide fishing.

As a follow-up mission, two AMDA board members have been involved in establishing a village in Bali to produce only net caught fish (Burton Patrick of Pet Supplies "Plus" in Pittsburgh and Steve Robinson of Cortez Marine). This village, through their own determination and Steve's training in the village, completely switched to net caught fish. Unfortunately the saga does not end there. Training the village to hold and ship the fish successfully to the States will be the next project and the final step toward more successful marine fish keeping at the retail level.

 

The second area of concern for your AMDA board is to define retail concerns at home. Brick-and-mortar retailers are stuck in the trenches - face to face with their customers every day and serving as the cornerstone of the education in the hobby; it is upon the backs of these retailers that the business is built. It isn't the mass merchants that cherry pick a few fast turning items like marine salt or E-Commerce that supplies the expensive and easy to ship hard goods, leaving local retailers to bear the burden of hard-to-ship and low-margin items left by the cherry-pickers.

We have not talked to a retailer that isn't tired of finding remedies for the mass merchant and E-tailers - and still not get the sales to warrant the effort. These mass merchants merely start their customers, who inevitably fail and become disillusioned with the hobby because they were originally given faulty or non-existent advice. E-Commerce and mass merchants (Petco and PetsMart are a part of the mix) know very little about the animals they sell. Just because a body in a far away place can write an animal care article for a corporate website, doesn't mean anybody in the stores servicing those customers knows anything about it.

It is also our belief that the bulk of AMDA members are bricks and mortar retailers and that e-commerce and mass merchants are taking advantage of their efforts without paying their dues. Bricks and mortar retailers pay high rents, high local taxes, have high payrolls and payroll taxes to service customers and keep their stores looking presentable for the public. All of these things have to be paid through sales of pet supplies. Taking away the ability to compete in selling pet supplies under the guise of free enterprise is to ignore that your neighborhood store is taxed to death while e-commerce is given benefits they have not earned.

In contrast to the local retailer, the e-commerce company doesn't have to worry about algae or a little slop on the floor. They don't get sued by every Tom, Dick, and Harry that walks in the door, up a curb or over a speed bump. They also don't have to worry about spending $2500 a winter salting parking lots or removing snow.

We sell hard-to-move aquariums at very low margins. We have to provide the help to get these bulky items into their cars or even deliver them - oftentimes for very little or no compensation. We provide the salt, the frozen food, and the live food; none of which are profitable enough to pay labor, rents, and taxes. We provide these services as part of the whole business, but people who don’t provide these services are whittling away our profitability. Obviously some things will have to change.

City and commuter taxes penalize employees who work in the city. Sales tax is mandated by states to be collected by local retail, yet interstate E-Commerce oftentimes boasts of the government’s inability to tax them. Local business has audits for use tax. Local businesses pay permit fees to have scales, pricing scanners, and point of sale systems. Local business pays township taxes based on gross sales. E-Commerce may eventually be forced to adopt these burdens as well, but they won’t have to take possession of their “inventory.” Many times the products are drop shipped from distributors and manufacturers without the company ever taking possession or paying the taxes on the gross sale.

We sign leases for 5 and 10 years on real estate that a government can close for road construction for months without compensation. We are part of the community that expects us to be a part of that community. We are visible center of commerce and we must keep our facilities scrupulously clean at all times. We are always in the public's eye and responsible to our customers on a moments notice. And most importantly, we create the business upon which the e-commerce businesses are built.

While we hoe the fields, our E-Commerce comrades sit lazily in the woods enjoying the good life and laughing at us for doing all the work while they enjoy the benefits of our labors… without working too hard at it.

For the above reasons we believe that companies that are major players in E-Commerce should not be a part of AMDA. This includes livestock, hard-goods distributors, and manufacturers. Livestock companies in particular cannot be fully functional without the local retailer acting as support. They may sell some things cheaper, but this would become a very expensive hobby, and it would shrink considerably, if everything were to be purchased via the Internet.

The states then would want to collect use tax, freight companies would be doing well, and E-Commerce would be spread throughout the areas without anybody to initiate an interest in the hobby.

 

Additionally we believe that distributors to AMDA members should not sell to people that do not have a wholesale license for the retail pet trade. Producers of livestock have the same responsibility to the organization as the livestock distributor. They cannot sell direct to the public.

In return, the AMDA member should at all times support those distributors that support the retail trade. We are not intending to influence competition, but to support those that create the hobby for the benefit of all. Since we are primarily a retail group, we believe our focus needs to be on retail and not supporting those companies that play both ends of this.

We would certainly like to hear any comments you have regarding these issues. If you would take a moment to write to the board regarding your feelings in these areas it would help us to represent the overall position of your organization.

Burton Patrick
AMDA BOD, Director at Large

 

Very interesting.

What good there is in this to me is slighted by the heavy e-commerce bias / bashing:

I mean c'mon. I am offended and I don't sell anything! I can't believe this was left in to a letter to the public.

E-commerce isn't going away and someday Congress will figure out a way to tax it.

He would do better to be more inclusive than exclusive.

IMO.

 

I can say I honestly see both sides and would rather see alevel playing field rather then anything go away. You will always have a more expensive/less expensive situation when sales are involved ( someone is willing to take less profit) but the thing I see is that the local business gets held to higher scrutiny the the online and seems to be tested more often. I see it here as well as in the store. I think that both ecommerce and lfs working together would make this hobby explode, but the consumer needs to help at this point also. Saving money is a great thing and I take advantage of any savings when I can but this hobby isn't always dollars and cents. The retailer gets challenged every day by the consumer to provide better service and the lowest prices but most online retailers get challeged for price only. If the consumer, the retailer, the etailer are held to the same task then this would not be an issue. The next time you shop the lfs treat it like an online store stand in front of the counter have them get the item you want, don't shop just get what you came for, pay for your item (especially live stock) and leave don't ask questions, don't tie up the staff and see what the experience is like. Then do the same at the etailer ask about every item they carry, ask to see the live stock eat, ask them to hold something for 3 days and you might be back to buy it. Ask questions about your tank and don't know any tank info when they ask then storm away when they can't help you. Buy live stock take it home to your 3 hour old tank kill it and then get pissed when after your water sample is tested they won't return your fish. My point is there is no blanket that covers and fixes this we all need to make the experience better.

 

That's true Phil. It's a hard one for sure. And I don't discount that retail has it tougher in some ways. Something will give, but I don't think retail is going away. Some people will always want to see things firsthand. This hobby has evolved a lot since I got into it in the late '80s. And I think it will continue to evolve.

I am not trying to offend anyone, especially Gresham, my point was that this letter starts out reporting on fish collecting and the AMDA efforts and then, in my eyes, derails and spills out frustration over e-commerce. I think that could have been saved for another letter entirely. To me, it muddles the message and is a little raw.

With regards to fish collecting, I support the efforts of the AMDA entirely as cynanide use is a lose-lose scenario all around.

 

Here is Burton's response to comments on www.reefs.org (General section as well as Industry Behind The Hobby) and on www.reefcentral.com (Responsiable Reefkeeping):

In regards to the AMDA statement of position:

I thought I would answer some of the comments on reefs.org and reefcentral in mass rather than one at a time.

To start with there was never any mention in our statement of position regarding restraint of trade. The position we have taken is that we are a group of bricks and mortar retailers and aquarium maintenance people that have a mission to learn how to stay in business and improve the hobby by encouraging sustainable and appropriate harvesting procedures of the animals we use in our trade. We take both issues very seriously. Since we are primarily bricks-and-mortar businesses, we decided that our organization should be geared toward just local retailers. Local e-tailing (within a 100 mile radius of the store) was included in the discussion and adopted as a position to be taken. This allows the retailers to reach out and expand the demographic in a logical manner. We believe in face to face dealings with customers when it comes to livestock.

Currently the bulk of the livestock suppliers allow their stock to be picked over by mail order houses, local dealers, and collectors before anything is sold to the stores that order from outside the local area. Those people for the most part are us. But I suppose to some that is our fault that we don’t all live in Miami or LA.

One comment that indicated that because Perrin has water on the floor and not an immaculate housekeeper discredits our position that we have to keep our floors and store in very good order, is ridiculous. You couldn't be a broad-based retailer of many different supplies with a store like Perrin's. One OSHA visit would shut a retail store down with water on the floor. Does he have ADA approval for the public and special parking spaces for the handicapped? I could go on for a long time on this issue, but I won’t bore you with the details.

I certainly enjoyed the comment where we were effectively called hypocrites because John Tullock founded the organization and that he was a mail order company. So what? Pilgrims founded this country and I'm certainly happy that that bunch of zealots are not still running it. Organizations change. Live with it. I don't mean to infer that John is a Puritan. He was tired of watching fish die in transit and arriving in poor shape. So am I. So is the rest of the AMDA board. We don’t necessarily all agree on how it is done, but we do agree that something needs to be done about how our fish are caught and only buying by low price is not the way to handle it. This concept will ultimately creep into market place.

Our businesses come from the neighborhoods. We contribute to the community. Some scoffed at my comment about b&m retailers being the cornerstone of the hobby, but we are. Without us there would be no hobby. There are people not as aware of the hobby/science that the advanced hobbyist who tries to act as the judge and the jury in these matters, but for the most part there are some very good people that are involved. Many times one store makes the difference in the area. The others just tag along and live off the good will of the one store. Sounds like e-tailers and mass merchants. I will promise the public that their local retailers make a difference to the hobby. Maybe not to the high-end aquarist, but when something is needed in a hurry they are there for you and they need to be supported. Spending $10 and expecting $50 worth of service in labor is not the way to keep good people in business.

 

One individual did recognize that the local stores create interest, which is the point of the letter. In regards to AMDA we encourage members to be a part of the community, to be involved in education, and to not sell fish that are caught and shipped improperly. We have also had a number of discussions about selling fish on impulse. It is not appropriate.

Our problems in b&m retail are different than those of e-commerce, and we choose to be with our own. We need to solve our own problems. Not once did we ever blame anyone for buying where they want. Not once did we ever insinuate that the public was going to change. The public by it's very nature, will always play both ends from the middle.

We complain that jobs are exported overseas, but we buy at Wal Mart. Most fish equipment looks very American, but most is made in Taiwan, Italy, China, Korea, etc. It is the nature of business and we don't blame anyone, but we do have a choice on who we "hang with", what we sell, and who we sell it to. I choose not to hang with manufacturers that don’t support us. I choose not to hang with e-commerce in most instances. I choose to support distributors that use net-caught fish for the bulk of our purchases. For years I chose not to use Philippine fish in our stores. Does it hurt business? Certainly it does, but I know that if we all stopped buying fish from countries that use cyanide, would stop it in a few weeks. That is the premise I would hope more AMDA members take.

The public complains that there is no service in stores and people are rude. There are reasons. If the consumer only is buying for price, the net effect is to gravitate toward the least common denominator. That's free trade at work. We don't deny it. The pendulum does swing back and forth. One day everybody is eating low fat and low protein. The next day we eat high fat and high protein. Life is like that. Today the menu consists of many fish improperly taken, improperly shipped, and improperly handled at the site of catch, and many times mishandled at the distributor level. We are trying to effect change. We sure can't get it done with quasi government organizations that do nothing but worry by the hour for the pay. We are working on the problem and we do it for free.

If any of you go to the AMDA Reef Website you will see an article on the captive raising of fish caught in the plankton of the oceans by Gilles LeCaillon. We are involved and we are interested in doing things right.

There was a comment about me owning Pet Supplies "Plus" stores. PSP is a franchise group. We come with all sorts of background. Mine is aquatic biology, management of large farms and a solid background in zoo management. That represents 35 years of animal husbandry experience. I like to think that the mix of people within the company make us a stronger organization. Like many stores, many chains, etc. some are run better than others.

Now what have I done with my six Pet Supply Plus stores in the community? I did a weekly radio show on Pet Care that was highly regarded on one of the biggest radio stations in America for 5 years. For reference call Rob Pratte at KDKA for references. I now do a Pet Care Hour on the local cable news channel dealing specifically with issues like the Nemo craze and turtle care. At Easter I did an entire show on pets not to buy on impulse. That show was aired three times on network TV. I do a weekly column in 18 local Pittsburgh papers on pet care. Last week's column was on the inadvisability of using bowls for goldfish and that we don't consider them throw away pets.

 

If you would like to find out what we have done for the local Aquarium Society (GPASI) I suggest you talk to the GPASI to find out what we do. Maybe some of the dissenters and snobs could learn something. I don't see F&S, Petco, PetsMart, That Fish Place, Pet Warehouse, or WalMart at any of the functions sponsored by local pet groups. Oh, I forgot they are too busy selling the faster moving items while the people in the b&m stores create the hobby.

Additionally, we recently switched three of our six stores to only captive raised and captive bred fish. We were one of the first supporters of C-Quest. We advertised and talked extensively on the use of green sailfin mollies to start marine aquariums. We eliminated all undergravel filters 11 years ago. We were the first to use AquaDyne monitors to keep track of our units both in the store and over the internet. We take fish health seriously.

We do a little more than most, and we do it locally. We do not consider livestock as a profit center. The rent is too high, the electricity too expensive, and the labor costs out of sight. To make money on livestock you need to have a certain impulse selling strategy. We do not do this. We were the first to use locally grown coral raised commercially by Anthony Calfo, and if you look at Anthony Calfo's book you will find that we were one of the first to do so.

Now for the end of my little speech. Of the top 10 managers in our company there is over 170 years of pet care experience. They are proud of what they do. For the government to tie our hands behind our back and let e-commerce trounce all over us while they tax the hell out of us is so inane as to try the sanity of most thinking people. Every person that buys a product out of state that doesn't have reciprocity is breaking the law. We don't have those options. For somebody to say we are whiners because we want a level playing field from manufacturers, distributors, and government makes me really mad and I choose not to associate with those that do not support what I consider the foundation of this business.

I would also like to state that my involvement with the people in AMDA has allowed me to understand the depth of the problem in regards to catch procedures, shipping, and fish health from the fishermen to us. It is an understanding that has taken me to a different level of understanding of the breadth of the problem that is upon us. Cheap fish are usually caught with cyanide. The aquarium industry is not the main problem in regards to the destruction of the reefs, but we are involved and we could be more effective in our objections to the catch and shipping procedures. and that is what we are about. So to AMDA I thank them for the education. I sure haven’t gotten that information from the e-tailers. Buy and sell is the mantra. There is more to our business than that when it comes to the environment and the ethical treatment of the animals from the sea. In the past some of our members only wanted to deal with domestic issues and not involve ourselves with the sources of our livestock. If we don’t who represents us? We can no longer put our head in the sand. Nothing will get done unless we stop buying the fish that are caught improperly with cyanide and shipped like these animals are cord wood.

 

The position statement was meant to spur comment. Some comments were thoughtful. Some just spiteful. We hope that more community retailers will join us and be part of the ongoing debate. We think it is important to define the mission of our respective businesses. Without more participation from b&m retailers, we are less for it.

Burton Patrick
AMDA BOD, Director at Large


(Sorry I had to chop the letter up, it was to long for one post )