It comes down to the integrity of a wide range of people from the far corners of the globe. Even the experts can't always be sure. David Sands, an ichthyologist in Great Britain, has been importing exotic fish for decades, and he says the problem begins at the first stage. His prosperity, such as it is, depends on quantity. During his travels around the world, Sands has seen fish held in filthy tanks, and then jammed so tightly into shipping containers that few survived the ordeal.
Fish are sometimes so crowded during transport that a few die quickly, polluting the water further.
Sands recalled getting one shipment in which nearly all the fish were dead. So the answer, for now, lies in a handful of researchers struggling to understand a wide variety of fish before it is too late. An informed public would insist that humane procedures be followed. Now there's a challenge. A former science writer for the Los Angeles Times , he now lives in Juneau, Alaska.