Interview with Gerald Bassleer, newly-elected President of Ornamental Fish International (OFI), as published in Aquarama Magazine Issue 7 (Sept. 2006)
Gerald
Bassleer was born in 1954 in Belgium. He is a biologist who specialised
in ornamental fish diseases and fish health management through studies
at the universities of Antwerp (Belgium), Athens (Georgia, USA),
Stirling (Scotland), Höhenheim (Germany) and Maracay (Venezuela). Since
1977, he has worked as director for five different wholesalers in the
ornamental fish industry. He is the producer of Bassleer’s Biofish Food
and author of three books on fish diseases (published in English,
German, French, Dutch and Chinese). Recently, he produced a DVD-rom
entitled ‘The New Illustrated Guide to Fish Diseases’. In 1995, he
established his own wholesale company, Bassleer Biofish, in Belgium.How did you end up in the aquatic industry?
As a young boy, I had always been
fascinated by fauna and flora. This was the reason why I became a
biologist. During the last year of my studies (in 1977), I was offered
a job opportunity at a wholesaler of ornamental fish, Aquaria Antwerp
(Belgium), which was owned by the late Mark Van de Weyer, one of the
founders of OFI. He was looking for a biologist who would be able to
identify ‘the disease’ which was killing many of the fish in his fish
house.
I was challenged as a young scientist
to take up this unique opportunity, since -in those days - little was
known about ornamental fish diseases. I was not an experienced
aquarist; I only had a small tank with a goldfish and we didn’t get any
aquatic training at university.
Within a few months, I had to
disappoint Mr. Van de Weyer: his fish were not dying from one major
disease and I couldn’t provide one general cure to treat all his
fishes. Luckily, I was well trained in the use of a microscope, backed
up by a few small books on fish diseases from Dr. Schubert. When I
showed Mr. Van de Weyer all the different pathogens under the
microscope and informed him that we had to bring in many different
medicines and that, as a result, we would end up having many more
healthy fishes, he believed me.
Of course, he was a businessman, and,
when he saw that his company was becoming more profitable, it made him
proud and happy to know that he was one of the first to hire a
biologist.
Why didn’t you stay at Aquaria Antwerp?
During 1979-1981, I had followed
special training on fish diseases (mostly food fish) at universities in
Venezuela, USA, Germany and Scotland. This had taught me that little
was known about ornamental fish diseases and that my career should be
‘paved with fish diagnosis’. I therefore emigrated to Chicago (USA) to
become a fish doctor until 1985.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t ready for the
US way of life and this made me decide to take up the position of
Commercial Manager at Ruinemans Aquarium in The Netherlands. So, I went
back to Europe. Then, after six years living like a Dutchman (I am
Belgian), I went to work for Aquarium Glaser, the largest ornamental
fish wholesaler in Germany.
All these great experiences led me to
start my own company in Belgium, together with my partner and wife,
Angélique Gillhaus, who had also been in this industry since 1991.
How did you become involved with OFI?
In the beginning of the 80’s, Mr. Van
de Weyer informed me about the necessity to protect wholesalers (i.e.
those companies which had a fish house and staff) against a new kind of
fish business (i.e. transhippers) and that an international
organisation was needed for this.
After OFI had been established for a
few years, however, the members of the organisation realised that
transhipping couldn’t be stopped and that it had to be accepted as just
another way of doing business. One of the major reasons was that
Singapore was the main supplier and they had developed great skills in
organising and packing tropical fish shipments.
As from 1986 I therefore became
actively involved in OFI and managed to get to most of the meetings on
regular occasions, making presentations and holding discussions on fish
diseases.
What made you interested in becoming President of OFI?
Well, as you get older and more experienced in this industry, you start to think differently.
In my case, I have always tried to
share my knowledge on fish care with customers and suppliers, and, over
the years, I have seen OFI developing into a progressively more
professional organisation, thanks to the secretaries and presidents who
have been in office in the last ten years.
When Svein Fosså (who, by the way, did
a great job for the future of OFI), stepped down as President, I was
approached by several members to stand for this position. Since I had
finished the writing of my latest book and the production of the new
DVD-rom, I saw this as a great opportunity to share my experience and
knowledge with the members of this international ornamental fish
organisation. I therefore accepted the nomination.
What do you want to achieve within OFI?
As President, it is not what I want to
achieve, but what OFI and its members can and want to achieve. Our
organisation can only be strong when we use the capacities and the
capabilities of our members.
What I mean is that we have many
experienced fish people who, for many years, have been members of our
organisation. Everyone is a valuable stone of our foundation.
I feel it is my task to organise this
group of experts and to make OFI known worldwide within the ornamental
fish industry, as well as outside the industry, e.g. among government
and other agencies. We should also aim at becoming known as a ‘caring’
organisation so that non-members will realise that, if they don’t join,
they will be missing on great opportunities.
How do you want to achieve this?
I can only see one way: by creating
good reasons why someone should become a member and by making the
partners in our industry aware of our ‘good reasons’. I have noticed,
since I have followed OFI from its establishment in 1980, that 99% of
our members want to learn more from OFI and have one major goal: they
want a good return for their investment (the OFI subscription fee).
They are always looking for ways of achieving a better and healthier
business!
Well, this is the unique opportunity
that OFI presents. We have repeatedly shown that members derive great
advantages by meeting other members through the OFI Journal and through
the annual meetings which are held in Germany and Singapore. As a
result, many suppliers from Asia (including China) can reach other
markets, such as the West, by joining OFI. In addition, members can
obtain information on health certificates, regulations, etc., on a
regular basis.
This is also one of the reasons why
OFI has a booth at Aquaria China 2006, where our Secretary General
(also a fish biologist), Alex Ploeg, will be in attendance.
How do you see the future for OFI and the aquatic industry?
Well, the challengers are getting greater! I can see different important issues.
- Laws and regulations relating to animal welfare: The laws and rules on trading live animals are getting stricter, which means that our industry is becoming more regulated. Fish must be stored, conditioned, packed, shipped, handled, etc., according to certain rules to protect their welfare.
- Fish health and certificates: In the international trade of animals, the paperwork involved in shipping fish is becoming more important. Some people even say that the paperwork is more important than the fish! Every exporter should realise that, when shipments arrive without the correct Health Certificates, they will not be allowed to enter the country of destination. In addition, certain fish farms for goldfish and koi, have to prove that they are free of certain diseases (such as KHV and SVC).
- Fish health management: Most of our members are dealers in ornamental fish. They can therefore only make a profit when they have healthy fish that they can sell. I believe that this is one of the key issues we should work on within OFI. This will also give non-members a good reason to join.
Do you have any plans for OFI?
Yes, I can already give you one example.
We plan General Meetings for our
members where they will get the opportunity to obtain more benefit from
their membership. Our meetings will become different, with more
possibilities for fellow members to get to know each other better, to
learn more about the working of the secretariat and its services
towards the members, and to receive an extra educational session on
important issues. For example, at Aquarama 2007, we plan to hold a
session on fish diseases where people can send their fish health
problems in advance and these will be discussed, both at the meeting
and after the meeting! Such meetings are very valuable, especially for
new members.