If you’ve been following NOAA’s recent findings regarding the health of coral reefs, and wondered how they will effect your right to own a slice of the ocean, then likely you’ve heard of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC). If you visit PIJAC’s website you will find links regarding responsible animal ownership, environmental stewardship and the infamous right to own a pet. That Habitattitude flyer you get with online fish orders, is actually the work of PIJAC, trying to encourage fish owners not to release their unwanted specimens into the wild. Underneath the spit shine, PIJAC stands as a lobbying group on behalf of the pet industry. Since reef keepers are pet owners, we would assume PIJAC stands to keep us informed, and fight the good fight in Washington, making sure our right to keep a pet is protected. Lobbyist is a term with a lot of taboo surrounding it. To a degree, it’s a bit of a secret just what they do, but each major U.S. industry has them. You’ve probably heard of the famous lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and during his incarceration Abramoff has shed light on the role lobbyists play in Washington. The term is so discouraged, that lobbyists often go under the name advisor, which is ironic considering the “advisory” tag in PIJAC’s name. Lobbyists are supposed to share vital information with legislators on behalf of whom they represent. For example, a tobacco lobbyist will argue that smoking doesn’t cause cancer, and that those smokers stricken with cancer were genetically prone to the disease without ever taking a drag from a cigarette. Thanks to Jack Abramoff, we know that lobbyists also treat legislators to a host of nice gifts, such as box seat tickets to a big game, fancy dinners, etc - all for a chance to ally the legislator to support their said industry. 
PIJAC did good work on behalf of aquarists, exposing science suggesting that the reef aquarium industry wasn’t devastating coral reefs. Though, as an aquarist, I feel overall they have lost sight of the big picture, and essentially dropped the ball, even though they keep running toward the goal. PIJAC could be instrumental in forming an education and regulatory body that can help assure that environmental and consumer abuses in the reef/marine aquarium hobby don’t take place. With Habitattitude, PIJAC has attempted to combine good husbandry with the environmental savvy not to release your pets into the wild.… More:
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