Introducton to SCAP
Let's get familiar with the Species Conservation Award Program (SCAP). SCAP is intended to replace our original Species Maintenance Program (SMP).
When SMP was started, there was no internet (and therefore no Amazon or eBay). Computers with the computational power, memory, and storage capability we enjoy today were well beyond the reach of individuals (and took up whole rooms!). FedEx was in its infancy and USPS Priority Mail Express as we know it today did not exist. People joined the ALA for 2 main reasons, to get information and to get fish. Fast forward to today and people still join the ALA for those same 2 reasons, but now fish, as well as information are widely available on the internet and with the advent of modern shipping practices can reach anywhere in the U.S. alive (well, most of the time anyway). A major goal of the ALA is to conserve livebearers in the hobby and in the wild! A revamped SMP (SCAP) is one avenue to make that happen.
The Purpose of SCAP
- to conserve endangered livebearer species and populations by ensuring enough club members are keeping and breeding these fish at any one time.
- To maintain stocks of as many livebearer species/populations/strains/morphs as possible for distribution within the hobby.
- To encourage communication between members related to keeping, sharing, and distributing these species.
Species Covered
While SMP covered only "wild" or "wild-type" livebearer populations, under SCAP, all livebearer species/populations/strains/morphs are eligible for participation in this program. Proud of your Half-Black Purple Delta Tail guppies? List them in SCAP. Love your Hi-Fin Sunset Variatus? List them in SCAP.
Approach
The approach to conserving breeding populations in SCAP is to determine by regular survey and communication, how many species/populations/strains/morphs are being kept and by how many breeders. The goal is to expand the number of species maintained in captivity and breeders maintaining them by encouraging distribution of species/populations/strains to participants in the program.
Communications and Privacy
The program will operate with the practice of conditional confidentiality and information access as follows:
A list of species/populations/strains/morphs currently maintained within the SCAP will be published and regularly updated on the ALA website. This list will contain no personal information. A master list with contact information will be maintained separately and confidentially by the program. If a member or interested party is looking for a particular species/population/strain/morph on the published list, they may contact the SCAP chair or designate, expressing their interest. The chair or designate will then privately contact those breeders maintaining the desired fish to determine their willingness to engage with the member seeking those fish. Only those breeders willing to accept contact will have their contact information shared and the content of that information (i.e., phone # or email address) is at their discretion.
This process is repeated for each request unless a particular breeder makes other arrangements with the SCAP chair or another participant in the program. Participants seeking fish are not to share any contact information they receive with others without the express permission of the breeder. Any deviations from this behavior can, if necessary, be dealt with under Article III Sections 10 and 11 of ALA bylaws.
Only one request per member, per month is allowed. While non-members may review this list and request contact information, they must become members of the ALA prior to receiving any contact information.
What transpires between the breeder and the member seeking fish at that point is between those parties. The ALA expects polite, honest, and professional behavior from all participants. Any deviations from this behavior can, if necessary, be dealt with under Article III Sections 10 and 11 of ALA bylaws.
Breeder Inventories
The key to SCAP success is maintaining and sharing accurate and current information on the inventories of program participants. Multiple methods will be presented to enable participants to share their information with the program. In most cases, this will involve completion of a survey form. Different formats (i.e., spreadsheet forms and document forms) are available to aid in this process. For those formats sent via email, a SCAP email address
For domestic livebearers and strains/morphs of otherwise “wild species,” we would ask that photographs (digital is fine) of representative males and females be supplied with the survey. The quality of the photographs is not important as long as they accurately depict the strain or morph described.
SHARING YOUR INVENTORY INFORMATION WITH THE PROGRAM DOES NOT OBLIGATE YOU TO SHARE EITHER YOUR INFORMATION OR YOUR FISH WITH OTHERS. THAT IS A VOLUNTARY PROCESS, CONTROLLED BY THE BREEDER.
The program will publish and regularly update a database on the website containing each species/population/strain currently in the program along with the number of breeders working with each.
Program Incentives
Like Breeder Award Programs in the hobby, a system of participation incentives is available and will be occasionally edited by the program. Their purpose is to encourage long-term participation in the SCAP through a series of achievement awards. Other incentives (i.e., a more robust ability to offer fish on the ALA website) are envisioned but not yet developed at this time.
A series of awards will be available for participants who conserve a species/population/strain/morph over time and distribute said fish within the program. Points will be awarded for both conservation and distribution. When total points awarded in the program reach certain milestones, the participant is recognized with a certificate or plaque. All awards are based upon cumulative point totals. Participation in the awards portion of the program is at the discretion of the participant.
Requirements
The participant will submit (annually or more often at the participant’s discretion) a completed SCAP inventory form listing all species for which they desire recognition. The form will consist of two sections. The first will list the fish kept under the program and the second will list instances of distribution to ALA members. Points are awarded in the following fashion:
1 point per species/population/strain/morph conserved for each year (from date of previous survey) they have been kept.
2 points for each distribution of a bag of fish in the SCAP inventory to an ALA member. This can occur via private transaction, selling via the ALA website or ALA e-trader or selling at any ALA convention auction. For purposes of the program, a bag must contain at least one pair of sexually mature fish or a minimum of 6 juveniles no less than 2 months of age. In the case of private transactions, contact information for the recipient must be provided to receive credit.
3 points for each article submitted for the journal on long term maintenance of a species a participant has kept for at least 1 year and distributed in the program. This credit can only be awarded once per Species/Population/Strain/Morph.
Species conserved before membership in the program will be credited if attested to by any other ALA member in good standing. The judgement of the SCAP committee on these matters will be final. Prior sales or articles will not be credited.
Species are considered valid if listed by the California Academy of Sciences Catalog of Fishes, which can be found at this link: http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatmain.asp.
As a supplement for Goodeid species validation, the program will also recognize The Goodeid Working Group which can be found at this link: https://www.goodeidworkinggroup.com/
Awards
Merit Conservationist–Receives a Certificate
Earn 12 points in the program.
Senior Merit Conservationist– Receives a Certificate
Earn 25 points in the program.
Master Conservationist– Receives a Certificate
Earn 50 points in the program.
Grand Master Conservationist – Receives a Certificate
Earn 75 points in the program.
Century Conservationist – Receives a Plaque
Earn 100 points in the program.
Fellows Conservationist – Receives a Plaque
Earn 150 points in the program.
Lifetime Conservationist – Receives a Plaque
Earn 300 points in the program.
Downloadable Program Files
Please see the links on the right side of this page for downloads.