OFI was invited to participate in this first Aquaria China more or less in the same way as it has been asked to do during the early years of Aquarama.

 

Aquaria China 2004 was held in Guangzhou, China, and featured several typical Chinese cultural aspects during the various ceremonies which took place during the event. During the official opening, which was held outside in front of the exhibition building, a lion-dance was performed in such a way that western visitors in particular will never forget.Your Secretary General was fortunate enough to be granted a seat in the front row of the VIP podium, next to the Vice President of CMP Asia, Michael Duck, and was thus able to enjoy a close-up view of the show. Seating next to the same company, he was also able to enjoy the ceremony during the official reception for exhibitors and other invited guests.

 

Absolutely unique was the performance given by a dancer who changed masks "within the blink of an eye." This female dancer changed masks many times, first from a location on the podium, and later among the public without anyone being able to see how and when. Even from a distance of only half a meter, and with the knowledge that it would happen, I actually thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, and that I could in fact see what had happened. It would be an added attraction to have this performance repeated during the reception at Aquarama 2005 as well.

 

Most of us are familiar with the Aquarama fish competition. Aquaria China’s fish competition is very similar only somewhat smaller than one would expect for a show that is just getting started. Most of the participants were based in Guangzhou and Singapore. An international panel of judges rated the fish according to the following categories: betta, guppy, flowerhorn, dragon fish, discus and goldfish. Local fish breeders delivered surprisingly good quality and were able to win many prizes, entering fish that really deserved to win these prizes.

 

Conference
A conference held during a trade show always has two sides. For the exhibitors and the trade visitors, it is something for which they often lack the time in which to participate, and for which they rarely want to pay the fee. However, for the many fisheries, scientists and government officials it is an important main reason to support and attend the show (or the only acceptable excuse for being paid to attend an interesting trade fair). As a result, the room is never very full, which is a pity for the experienced speakers who put a lot of effort into their preparations, and a relief for the very nervous beginning speakers.

 

In general a lot of interesting topics were presented. Several presentations were given on trade with China and Asia in general, but also treated very practical issues such as packing fish for transport, or breeding loaches.

 

Items on angling were less interesting for most of the participants at Aquaria China, who were in general there as members of an industry which aims to keep fish alive in a tank, rather than catching them with a hook.

 

Exhibitors / visitors
Many of the exhibitors were from the surrounding areas of Guangzhou itself, or from Singapore or Hong Kong, although many participants were there as part of the Sri Lanka Pavilion, Malaysia Pavilion, Taiwan Pavilion and Indonesia Pavilion. In total some 80 companies, associations and organisations were present or were represented, 50% of which came from outside of China; in total there were over 13,000 visitors (trade and general public).

 

Of course, since it was the first Aquaria China, one could not have expected participation or the visitor quantities such as those seen at the Aquarama after 16 years of existence. Also, this show must still develop in terms of its organisation and participants. Organising a show in China is a challenge in and of itself, and cannot be compared with organising one in Singapore or Europe. Import/export is also a whole different situation in China than it is in most other countries. Subject to many regulations and politics, the import of live fish into China in particular is, although not officially forbidden, almost impossible in practice. So for companies planning to export to China, attending Aquaria China should be seen as an investment in the future.

 

On the other hand, Guangzhou houses thousands of ornamental fish farms, most of them set up to house tropical fish. Guangzhou is the "Florida" of China, supplying mainly the local Chinese market. The local ornamental fish market, a wholesale/retail market consisting of some 500 stalls, may appear disorganised to Western eyes, however the quality of the individual fish is very high. Quality may easily be compared with that of the best western specimens.

 

Once the economic potential shifts in focus from the local market to the export of ornamental fish, Aquaria China’s real value will become readily apparent.

 

Most exhibitors expressed positive feelings about this show, myself included, and I am sure that many of them will return. I would like to encourage you all to experience the second edition of this show in September 2006!

 

 

 

OFI Journal Issue 46: October 2004