| Ornamental Fish international |
.png)
The History of OFIOrnamental Fish International (OFI) is the peak international trade association representing the ornamental fish industry. OFI was founded in 1980 by a group of ornamental fish industry people looking to improve standards within the industry and provide a ‘voice’ for the industry. One of the main aims that arose from the original meeting was a desire to improve industry standards which still remains a central part of our organisation today. OFI includes members from 30 countries in the major ornamental fish exporting and importing nations. Our members maintain a high level In the pages that follow, you will find, not just background information about us (see, for example, the Invitation to New Members page), but also a full listing of our members in the Members' Directory (including links to members' websites), along with some articles and items from recent issues of our quarterly publication, the OFI Journal, and the Members Area which all OFI members have access to. Also included in these pages are a restricted-access members' area, plus a series of links to other websites, which present useful additional information for our visitors on a range of subjects, from conservation to trade publications. If you have any suggestions regarding this list, please contact us. We hope you will find the contents of our website interesting and valuable. |
of integrity and operate by the OFI Charter,So What Does OFI do?
OFI is a trade organisation and works on behalf of our members. OFI represents and promotes the interests of the industry through lobbying to various institutions around the world; as well as educating industry and hobbyists in responsible and sustainable Best Practices. Last year, OFI members have adopted its new charter for the conduct of an ethical, fair and legal trade. This work falls into two broad categories:
- The first is communications, we provide information and education to members on issues relevant to them through a range of methods; regular newsletters, member updates, educational book series, OFI Journal, as well as representing the ornamental fish industry at various meetings, conferences and tradeshows around the world.
- The other key area we work on is representing the interests of the ornamental fish industry. OFI attends meetings with various government officials around the world to discuss issues regarding our industry.
Some of the key challenges the ornamental fish industry faces are:
BiosecurityWith the large numbers of fish traded internationally there is a chance of transferring disease from one country to another, as well as spreading zoonotic disease (from animals or fish to humans). Already we see a lot of biosecurity regulation around this such as Health certificates for exports and the ban of importing of some species from some countries. Governments around the world are looking at the issue of biosecurity and it is likely that new regulations will continue to be developed that will impact the international trade in ornamental fish. |
Is another hot topic we are dealing with is animal welfare which can cover a huge range of issues from how we hold fish (types of aquariums, stocking densities, types of fish we sell) to how they are transported. OFI supports good animal welfare practices which should be applied at all levels of the industry. However, often regulations evolve from other sectors that when applied to fish do not make sense. For example, new proposed EU regulation limits transport of any animals (including FISH) to a maximum of 8 hrs - with the majority of fish sold in the EU being imported from Asia with a transit time of 12 hours or more this has the potential to be impacted, as well as transport by road within the EU. |
SustainabilityOFI sees sustainable harvest of wildlife as a positive incentive for conservation, and a valuable opportunity for livelihoods. OFI support a sustainable wildlife trade and reasonable trade control where this is called for, but also fight against irrelevant and misguided trade bans. | Invasive Alien SpeciesThere is a lot of discussion about Invasive Alien Species (IAS) in many jurisdictions around the world and legislation for this will continue to impact our industry and the species that we deal with. Some species of ornamental fish are proven to be invasive and as a responsible organisation OFI encourages everyone to deal with invasive species appropriately and follow local regulations. However, often regulations are impractical or unwarranted – so it is important for the industry to have an organisation like OFI to provide a voice for the industry. |