Looking for something different to do on January 25 – February 8th, 2014?
Here is an exciting opportunity to visit the natural habitats of many South American ornamental fish, and meet fishermen who collect these fish for the pet trade in a sustainable manner. The New England Aquarium would like to share with you the opportunity to travel with Project Piaba to the heart of the Amazon, Brazil’s Rio Negro. The expedition will be part of Project Piaba’s long term study on the Amazon fishery for the global home aquarium fish trade.

Join Dr Tim Miller-Morgan (Aquatic Animal Health Program, Oregon Sea Grant, OSU College of Veterinary Medicine), Dr Scott Dowd (New England Aquarium) and Dr. Nick Saint-Erne (Pet Quality Veterinarian, PetSmart, Inc.) on the adventure of a lifetime. We will be examining the development & implementation of Best Handling Practices with the goal of maximizing animal welfare, minimizing stress and trauma at capture and handling by intermediaries and also pre-export conditioning for maximizing market value and competitiveness.
The overall objective of the trip will be the continuation of the assessment of trade barriers and strategic planning to preserve and enhance the ornamental fishery and it’s benefits to the environment and local people.

Also, we’ll be spending a few days visiting an ornamental fishing community that we won’t be able to reach on the live-aboard boat. We’ll get there by motor canoe, and stay with the community for a couple nights.

Here is a link with some details about the trip:
http://explorers.neaq.org/2013/11/explore-amazon-with-aquarium-literally.html

or Project Piaba’s facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Project-Piaba/332179033504804#!/pages/Project-Piaba/332179033504804

One last link – a very nice article in Discover Magazine on the project:
http://discovermagazine.com/2013/april/13-buy-a-fish-save-a-tree

Here is the cost breakdown for the trip:

Dates: January 25, – Feb. 8 2015

Costs: US $2,500 for the two weeks on the boat

Included:

accommodations in a double occupancy cabin. En suite, air conditioned

All meals, mineral water, coffee/tea, juices

all program activities, guides, etc

Local transportation in Brazil; airport pickup, & drop off

Not included:

airfare (rendezvous in Manaus, Brazil or Miami)

Guide/boat crew tips

Alcoholic and carbonated beverages – there is a well stocked bar on the
boat and a tab is settled up at the end of the trip

Continuing Education Credits will be available for participating veterinarians

For additional information, please contact:

Scott Dowd
New England Aquarium
Boston, MA
(781) 626-3138
sdowd@neaq.org

Or

Timothy J. Miller-Morgan, DVM, CertAqV
Aquatic Animal Health Program – Oregon Sea Grant,
College of Veterinary Medicine
Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University
2030 Marine Science Drive
Newport, OR 97365
(541) 867-0265 (office)
(541) 867-0320 (fax)
Skype Name: h20doc
tim.miller-morgan@oregonstate.edu