CARES

The purpose of the GBAS CARES (Conservation, Awareness, Recognition and Responsibility, Encouragement and Education, and Support and Sharing) Preservation Program is to encourage members to devote tank space to one or more at-risk species, and share them with fellow qualified hobbyists.

CARES has four major goals:

  • To bring awareness to the critical situation of fish and other aquatic organisms in nature, while educating the public and stressing the importance of our roles as responsible aquarists.
  • To recognize, encourage, and offer support to hobbyists who maintain at-risk species.
  • To share organisms as well as data and experiences through notes and manuscripts so that others may learn to maintain those identical and similar species.
  • To preserve at-risk species for future generations.

Program Overview

GBAS CARES is open to members of the Green Bay Aquarium Society. Points are earned for keeping, breeding/propagating, and sharing fish, aquatic invertebrates, and aquatic plants which appear on the CARES Conservation Priority List and/or on the IUCN Red List.  To receive points, participants must register the species with the GBAS CARES Chairperson.  Fish species must also be registered on the CARES website, www.caresforfish.org.  Participants receive a certificate and earn five points for each species they register.  Additional points are earned for breeding/propagating the species, and for sharing it with other aquarists.  As a participant accumulate points, s/he gains recognition as Junior Conservationist, Senior Conservationist, Advanced Conservationist, Expert Conservationist, Master Conservationist, Grand Master Conservationist (1, 2, 3, or 4), and Ultimate Conservationist. 

Rules

To download a complete set of rules, please click GBAS CARES Rules.  You may need Adobe Reader, which you can download for free here.

Submission Form

To register an aquatic life form for GBAS CARES, you must complete a submission form, available by clicking GBAS CARES Submission Form.

Master Species List

To see the GBAS CARES Master Species List, click here.

GBAS CARES Standings

To see the GBAS CARES standings, click here.