Norm Halliwell has been prominent in the fish keeping world for over

thirty years. First as proprietor of Riverside Aquariums in Campsie, an

institution with a strong association with Cichlids, although all types of

fishes are stocked.

             Second he is known as the founder of the NSW Cichlid Society

now regarded by many as the premier fish club inAustralia. Norm and a

few friends gathered round his kitchen table and decided the time was

ripe for a specialist group devoted to the study and promotion of the

Cichlid family of fishes.

            Thus was inaugurated the club that we know today. Norm has

been elected president on numerous occasions, but latterly has taken a back seat for others to do the hard yards.

            Third he is known as an activist for fishkeepers’ rights,

forthrightly challenging the powers that be, whenever he considers

unreasonable limitations are threatened by bureaucratic bodies with

limited or non-existent knowledge of fishes.  It was most gratifying

therefore, when Norm agreed to take a day out from his busy schedule (he has recently moved house) and come down to speak to us.

            He was last in Melbourne as a support speaker for the first Ad

Konig’s visit to Melbourne many years ago. He has been here attending

meetings of relevance to import restrictions, but this activity was

curtailed when his membership of OFMIG - the Ornamental Fish

Management Implementation Group, was suddenly terminated. Most who

have had an ongoing interest in this body, consider he was treated most

unfairly and that he was a  force for rationality in the various processes

being examined.

            After a tour of some of Melbourne’s more prominent aquarium

shops and an afternoon break, Norm was raring to go.

            Aided only by a few brief notes he spoke for almost an hour

about his involvement with importation and the growing restrictions

gradually being imposed by BioSecurity Australia.  

He started with the 1980’s when the first serious moves were made to

exert some control over what species could legally be imported.

            The well known Permitted Import List of some 300 + species

was instituted, and a mechanism set up so that additions could be made

over time. Ten additions per year could be applied for and for every fish

added some would be removed from the existing list.

            A one step forward two steps back type situation. Norm

successfully argued that if a fish was on the list - it was considered to

pose no threat to the environment. It should not be removed for reasons

which had nothing to do with the fish itself, and were simply to ease the

bureaucratic burden that the increased list entailed.

            Throughout the eighties and early nineties, assisted by funding

 from the then PIJAC - the Pet Industry Association, Norm successfully

lobbied to have ten species added to the permitted list each year.

            This was not an easy task, as background information on each

species had to be gathered. By pursuing this process diligently, some

forty species were able to be included on the permitted list.

            Not without some hiccups however, sometimes a fish was

included, only to be later removed for specious reasons. Objections

having been shown to be incorrectly based or simply erroneous, enabling

the fish to be once again reinstated.

            An example of this double entry was the Salmon Red Rainbow,

Glossolepis incisus, which at last has a place on the list, albeit with a

size limit of four cm. applied.                                               

 Norm then discussed  possible future scenarios. At present the Federal

Government is seeking to establish a  Noxious list similar to those

operating in the various states.

            Two attempts have been made to form a risk assessment for

fishes. Using a points allocation for various parameters produced a most

unsatisfactory result; one of the reasons being that climate rather than

underwater conditions were considered.

            A second attempt to formulate an assessment using a forty

question analysis also looks as if it is failing.

Dealing with something as varied and complex, Norm explained, is never

easy, and those who seek simplistic resolutions are bound to fail !

             Norm’s talk generated a number of questions from the large

audience, always a sign of depth of interest.

                                      A great night, thanks Norm.         Daryl M. ☺