About Us

Tropical Marine Centre has been Europe's leading supplier of quality marine fish and invertebrates to the ornamental trade since 1970 and operates three large, fully re-circulated aquarium based facilities - in London, Manchester and Bristol.

The Company is also the UK's leading manufacturer and distributor of innovative commercial filtration equipment and quality branded aquatic products.

Pioneering Work

Tropical Marine Centre's pioneering work on welfare and environmental issues, relating to the collection and importation of marine fish, together with its partnerships with many worldwide conservation organisations, has given it a world renowned reputation and established it as a centre of excellence and technical expertise within the ornamental marine fish industry.

Variety and Quality

TMC imports more than 1200 species of livestock, and up to 350 are available for sale in each of our fish houses at any one time, offering customers an unsurpassed range of quality livestock.

Although there are typically more than 20 shipments arriving at TMC's facilities each week, the expert fish house staff ensure all livestock is carefully handled. Upon arrival, the fish are unpacked under red light and gently acclimatised into TMC's holding systems supplied with Tropic Marin synthetic seawater. They are then placed into individual aquariums, which are also supplied with the same high quality synthetic seawater from one of the centralised re-circulation systems, and introduced to Gamma Frozen Foods.

All livestock is individually screened before sale by TMC's experienced staff and packed into either double or triple walled polythene bags which are filled with oxygen before being sealed. These bags are then packed into cardboard or polystyrene boxes with a heat pack or cool pack as necessary.

By combining good filtration, stringent work disciplines and a structured feeding regime, TMC ensures that the livestock attains peak condition while in its holding facility, and by the time the fish reach TMC's customers they are fully acclimatised, and readily adapt to their new aquarium environment.

On-Site Hatchery

0ver the last 20 years TMC has promoted the production and supply of tank bred and other cultured reef species to the ornamental industry.

In 1994 Tropical Marine Centre established the first commercial hatchery of its kind in Europe, based entirely on a synthetic seawater re-circulation system. This hatchery, based at TMC's London site, still remains the leading centre of excellence in marine propagation, offering customers a tank-raised and disease-free alternative to a number of popular wild caught reef species.

The hatchery has been extremely successful in rearing large quantities of several species of Clownfish and various species of Goby and has significantly reduced the company's reliance on natural fisheries for these popular species of aquarium fish. By avoiding the use of antibiotics and chemical therapeutics, the aim is to produce fish that are true to nature with regards to behaviour and colour.

Ensuring Sustainable Resources

Research work is also carried out in the hatchery on a much wider range of more difficult species, including shrimps and seahorses, and much of this work is made available to other research groups who have close links with TMC, ensuring a better understanding of the biology and requirements of reef animals in general. This knowledge will ultimately assist in the successful management of the natural resource.

As a world leader in ornamental aquatics and marine fish culture, TMC recognises the importance of supporting teaching and research in this rapidly developing field. In conjunction with several university and government laboratories throughout the World, the TMC hatchery is looking at several key issues facing the ornamental aquatic industry including coral propagation and disease control.

Ethical Collection Methods

TMC works closely with 39 suppliers in 26 countries around the world to help ensure that the most rigorous welfare and environmental standards are met. Everything possible is done to ensure that livestock is net caught, and held near to the catching area in well designed and carefully managed holding facilities, often using filtration systems supplied by TMC. This local attention to detail, combined with careful packing and transportation procedures, ensures that livestock arrives at TMC in the very best condition. At all stages the company operates a "zero loss" philosophy and all its suppliers work hard to meet this standard.

By regularly visiting and advising its suppliers, TMC ensures that the highest quality and widest variety of livestock is offered to its customers.

Regulating the Marine Industry

Understanding the environment that marine fish come from is very important and no-one understands it better than Tropical Marine Centre. Tropical Marine Centre has worked with many research organisations, conservation groups and other NGOs around the world, including the World Conservation Monitoring Centre and the Marine Aquarium Council, actively promoting the aim of a sustainable and environmentally responsible trade from a well managed, fairly funded and properly understood natural resource.

Over the last couple of years The Marine Aquarium Council has been working with a number of key industry people to establish an International Performance Standard for the collection and importation of marine livestock. TMC has been working with MAC at all stages on this and has helped to set the best practice guidelines for this certification standard. Although up to now there have been no industry standards for the collection of marine livestock, TMC has always insisted on the most rigorous standards in the way its livestock is collected, handled and shipped and its suppliers have been working to these strict guidelines for many years.

TMC is one of only two importers that have been pre-tested for compliance with the draft International Performance Standards formulated by MAC and needless to say, the Company passed with flying colours.

The MAC standards for both fish collectors and importers have been drafted to ensure the integrity of the collection area, the sustainable use of the marine aquarium fishery and the optimal health of the harvested marine livestock.

The importer, e.g TMC, has a comprehensive list of guidelines and regulations covering documentation and traceability, requirements for holding system equipment and aquariums, acclimation, care of livestock whilst at the holding facility, water quality and packing and despatch.

Apart from rigorous documentation procedures, there are MAC guidelines relating to the actual collection of marine livestock and most of TMC's suppliers already meet these high standards. These include:-

• Collectors' Training and Level of Knowledge

• Collectors must understand which species can be collected and from which areas, and they must also maintain good reference information on all species collected including any segregation or environmental issues that affect the handling, storage or husbandry of each species.

• They must be trained in using the appropriate collection equipment, and also in maintaining the optimal health of the marine livestock from the time it is collected until the time it reaches an export facility.

Collection Methods: No chemicals must be used in the capture of fish and only small barrier and hand nets are to be used. Probing rods used for fish capture must be lightweight and breakable to ensure corals are not harmed. Intentional destruction of corals is prohibited.

Fish should be decompressed wherever possible by gradual depth change rather than by the spiking of air bladders. A notched rope is a preferred method of controlling decompression.

Holding Methods: Collectors must be able to show how they maintain water quality and temperature within a container whilst on board their fishing boat to ensure the optimal health of the collected marine organism.

There must be a short holding period between capture and acclimation at a suitable facility, in order to ensure the optimal health of the livestock.

If plastic bags are used for storage or for transporting fish to the importer then these should be clean, of adequate size for the fish to have free movement and should contain only one fish.

Hopefully in a couple of years time, there will be a list of UK importers who have been tested and found to meet the MAC International Performance Standards. This will make it easier for hobbyists to buy marine fish with confidence, knowing that the fish have been caught and imported according to the strictest guidelines, ensuring the long term sustainability of the marine ornamental hobby.