Business as Usual

     I need to mention again the two driving questions about this thesis project: Why don't people care about freshwater fish? How can we make them care?
   With no unexpected counselor visits and the above statement out of the way, I was able to get more research done today. Using Google Scholar, I found many promising-looking sources. However, I need an institutional login, and I don't have one. Looks like I'll have to borrow one from someone else. The research papers' abstracts had a few useful facts, like ornamental aquaculture being a rather lucrative business in the US.
   Using ideas my adviser gave me, I looked at things birdwatchers and marine fish conservation groups did to raise awareness of their favored animals. Birdwatchers have around 47.7 million others making observations on avian behavior patterns. They have a code of ethics.They have large networks of like-minded people. All aquarists really have are internet forums and pet stores.
   Marine fish have a whole Department of State devoted to them. People can lobby for their support. They can talk to Congress and get legislation written to protect them. Steps are being taken to reduce overfishing. Obviously, freshwater fish conservation groups don't have a DoS to lobby for them.
   The New England Aquarium has a website mentioning the importance of ornamental fish, but I don't have time to go into it much. I'll edit this post soon.