INTRO
Pet Zone SD brings people together through the hobbies of fishkeeping and aquascaping. We strive to create community, as well as bring attention to the rich biodiversity of the world around us. We believe that fishkeeping has the unique potential to teach people about issues such as conservation, animal biology, plant biology, water pollution, and more. As such, we are working not just to give back to our San Diego community, but improve our environmental impact as well. We hope that you will join us in this endeavor!
Over the next few years, we are looking to begin tackling some of the environmental challenges that face the fishkeeping hobby and to give back to the community here in San Diego. Below are some of the things we are planning to do. We will be regularly updating this page as we continue to grow in this area, and we look forward to hearing from you!
CONSERVATION EFFORTS
As many species of fish, invertebrates, and plants face unprecedented challenges from global warming, pollution, deforestation, and more, we strive to help with conservation efforts by supporting research and sharing knowledge of the species we carry here at PetZone. We also aim to source our livestock from reputable sources that harvest or farm in ways that minimize damage to the environment.
-
We aim to only carry species that are not overfished or threatened with extinction. We strive for this by:
-
Researching our current stock and their conservation status. We rely on the IUCN Red List, Encyclopedia of Life, and other conservation data sites to inform us about the species we carry. We aim to complete our initial research by April 2022, with monthly updates as our stock changes throughout the year.
-
If we find that we have species that are rated ‘Vulnerable’, ‘Near Threatened’, or ‘Endangered’ and that the species is sourced from wild populations, we will notify our customers and our vendors and work to find alternatives and begin phasing out that species.
-
We do not carry species that pose a risk of becoming or transferring an invasive species, and we follow CDFW policies regarding such species.
-
Want to learn more? Visit USGS’s Nonindigenous Aquatic Species page!
-
We strive to raise awareness about the lack of knowledge about many of the species we carry and support research of lesser-known species. We will do this by:
-
Writing about plants, fish, crustaceans, amphibians, and invertebrates that we carry that currently have little to no scientific knowledge. COMING JUNE 2022!
-
Posting articles, blogs, and infographics with ecological and conservation information for lesser-known species on our social media.
-
We partner with organizations that do conservation work! Some of our partners include:
EDUCATION EFFORTS
Fishkeeping offers a unique way to teach people about nature, science, and more. As a business, we provide the materials that aquarists need to create and keep fish tanks. However, there is more that we can do to provide educational opportunities and make important information accessible and easy to understand.
-
As part of our efforts to encourage responsible fishkeeping, we will be making information about the care needs, max size, and tank requirements of our livestock readily available in-store and on our website.
-
As a consumer-facing business, we are uniquely situated to provide aquarists with a better understanding of how the ornamental fish industry works. As such, we will be sharing stories, talks, and more about the communities that our business supports, as well as the environmental and economic impacts of the fishkeeping hobby.
