Take Action Now To Help Save The Koi Industry

The koi industry is being threatened, and we need your help.  Read our initial post for details about this threat.

The National Aquaculture Association (NAA) has recently issued an Injurious Wildlife Petition Summary and Action Plan.  This document provides a plan for action against this threat.  We have summarized the action plan below.

What To Do

1.  Comment to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Who To Contact

This is a public issue.  The US Fish and Wildlife Service (US FWS) is requesting input from all interested parties on this matter.  They want to hear from hobbyists and business owners alike.  Read an open letter from the President of Next Day Koi to the US FWS.  Feel free to borrow from this letter, or copy, alter and send this form letter.

Send your comments to:

Send a copy of your comments to:

Also forward copies of your comments to your congressional representatives, both House and Senate.  Find out who your representatives are.

What To Focus On

Make no mistake, this represents a major threat to the koi hobby and industry.  It is not a situation where ignoring it will make it go away.  Inaction is a silent endorsement of this action.

You are welcome to compose your own letter, copy, alter and use this form letter, or copy or draw inspiration from this open letter to US FWS.

In your comments to US FWS.  Focus on the following points:

• Negative Economic Impact – adding Koi to the Injurious Wildlife listing would eliminate the Koi industry in the U.S.  Let them know that this would mean millions of dollars and hundreds or thousands of jobs lost from the industry.
• Ineffectiveness – The U.S. Fish Commission, precursor to USFWS, distributed common carp to any and all interested parties and stocked public waterways starting in 1877.  Common carp have been documented in all 50 states of the U.S., most for more than 100 years.  No one has set forth a plan to eradicate common carp from our waterways.  Considering how widespread common carp are across the U.S., it is difficult to imagine what a plan for eradication would even look like.  This ruling would eliminate an entire industry, with no positive impact on our natural environment – which is one of the supposed “benefits” for this proposed listing change.
• Prevention – Let USFWS know what you are doing to prevent your fish from escaping into waterways, and that you take your responsibility as a koi keeper seriously, and would never intentionally release your fish.  Do not mention any negative impacts of escaped koi, rather focus on acting as a positive environmental steward.
• Inaccuracy – Point out that the belief that koi are injurious wildlife is inaccurate.  The USGS NAS database common carp fact sheet reports that “only a small percentage of common carp records in the U.S. open waters are based on koi”.  This would seem to indicate that, because of their very bright and attractive coloration, the few koi that do manage to escape into natural waters do not survive, as they are quickly eliminated by predators.

Again, you are welcome to compose your own letter, use this form letter, or copy or draw inspiration from this open letter to the USFWS.

2. Sign the Responsible Koi Keeper’s Promise

We have created the Responsible Koi Keeper’s Promise.  This details all of the steps and actions that you can take to be a responsible environmental steward, while still enjoying the koi hobby that you know and love.  Digitally “signing” this page is your commitment to following these steps.  A running count of signees will be displayed, along with the name and location of each signee.  This will show the USFWS just how many of us are committed to being responsible and pro-active about this issue!

3. Help Spread The Word

Peter Jenkins, director of the Center For Invasive Species Prevention, said in his initial blog post on this issue that “minimal to zero stakeholder opposition is expected to prohibiting them[koi]”.

This is you, us, and everyone else in the industry that he is referring to!  He thinks that we will lie down quietly and accept this industry and this hobby being ruined!

It’s up to all of us to prove him wrong.  Share this with every koi keeper, koi dealer, koi group and koi forum that you know of.  And a few days or weeks afterward, share it again!  It is up to us to prove how much this hobby and this industry means to us!

We would like to thank everyone in advance for their help and support on this critical issue.  We can be reached for comments or questions at regulations@nextdaykoi.com.

Casey and Josh LeFever

Co-Owners, Next Day Koi Inc.