Ornamental Aquatic Trade Association (OATA Ltd)

15/10/2025

What’s irritating about this story is that the headline so many publications are using comes from the original press release from the University of Sydney (see below). The research makes it clear it’s talking about marine fish, not all aquarium fish.

The vast majority of tropical fish kept in aquariums are freshwater and these are mainly captive reared so of course almost all aquarium fish kept in the US are NOT from the wild.

OATA has been in touch with the lead researcher to ask him to correct it. You would hope that he – and indeed the University - would value accuracy as a scientist.

Research by Dr Bing Lin in the School of Geosciences has raised alarm bells about where most aquarium fish originate. He calls for stronger traceability and regulatory oversight to ensure that fish are sourced responsibly.

10/10/2025

Are you supporting SHOAL’s Save Denise’s Friends to save the popular home aquarium favourite the Denison Barb? It’s part of its SOS campaign fighting for endangered freshwater fishes across the globe and we’d love you to share information and support the campaign in your business.

“You know how hard it can be to keep fish but also how thrilling. It’s a spiritual experience. But in order to do so we need spirituality back home in Denises’s own place and for that we need your support.”

Find out more about the campaign here. https://shoalconservation.org/denisons-barb-film/

https://youtu.be/rgoLx0lqeYU?si=K3mfRB1xbA1apAZ_

The Denison’s barb a popular aquarium fish, but the species' wild home in India is under threat. Together we can stop the fish going extinct.

09/10/2025

Good biosecurity is good for business! Here’s why you should check out our handy online self-assessment tool on our website to help you identify areas that need some work in your business.

https://ornamentalfish.org/what-we-do/set-standards/biosecurity/

08/10/2025

Animal activity licensing inspections are approaching! Have you downloaded our QR codes to use near shop tanks that give your customers access to species-specific caresheets? It’s a great way to show your local authority inspector you’re satisfying that requirement of the license.
https://ornamentalfish.org/what-we-do/advice-information/care-sheets/

07/10/2025

Have you checked out our Annual Review yet? Get the lowdown on what OATA has been doing for members and the industry over the past 12 months.

A story told with Adobe Express

06/10/2025

As the leaves start to fall thoughts turn to garden and pond tidy-ups in readiness for winter. So now’s a great time to talk to customers about Be Plant Wise – particularly the compost with care message. Here are some ideas to share around what to do with aquatic plants cleared from garden ponds. Please help us spread the message!

02/10/2025

Latest recruit to the OATA team... no, it's not our new Scientific Support Officer! They will be revealed in a couple of weeks. This is Percy, our PR & Parliamentary Officer Pauline's JRT. Pauline has added a few more hours to her part-time position to work on a host of new ideas we have for improving our membership. So Percy's coming along to lend a paw.

First job was to familiarise himself with the industry with our Fishing for Facts report. If you fancy reading it for yourself you can find it on our website. Percy highly recommends it. 😁💯
https://ornamentalfish.org/what-we-do/represent-the-industry/fishing-for-facts/

01/10/2025

The beginning of October sees some changes to the OATA team, following the retirement of Dominic Whitmee, so we thought we'd reintroduce you to some familiar faces!

Matthew Bond is now OATA's Chief Executive and Emily Maunder steps up to become our Scientific & Technical Adviser.

We'll be making an announcement very soon about who will fill Emily's shoes as our new Scientific Support Officer when they officially join the team!

29/09/2025

Did you know we have free caresheets on our website for businesses to use when they sell animals?

A key requirement of animal activity licensing is to have care information available to customers when they buy their new pets. So we’ve created QR codes for each of our 60+ caresheets so shops can display these near tanks. Customers can then use their smartphones to access the information straightaway.

So they're a great way to show local authority inspectors you are meeting this requirement of your licensing conditions. Find them here, along with the QR codes to download. https://ornamentalfish.org/what-we-do/advice-information/care-sheets/

24/09/2025

Have you tried our Business Biosecurity Self Assessment Tool yet? Here's a video to show you how easy and simple it is to use. Good biosecurity is good for business so why not take a few minutes to check out what you do in your business and then use our Biosecurity Guide to help you improve any areas of concern?

Find it on our website here.
https://ornamentalfish.org/what-we-do/set-standards/biosecurity/

16/09/2025

Catching up with the September issue of Pet Business World and we loved this article about why positive lists are a problem for the pet industry. 👏👏👏👏👏