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Right at the Centre

Tropical Marine Centre is placing a major emphasis on conservation which will benefit the retailer, the fishkeeper and the marine hobby. Michael Cowton investigates

Exciting Plans: Paul West, Managing Director of Tropical Marine Centre

With noise from the warehouse sending vibrations through the floor akin to the throbbing of a ship’s engine room, and the continuous rumble of traffic belting around the M25 south-west of Watford, you would think that Paul West would have trouble concentrating. Seated in an office festooned with plants and splendid pictures of marine fish, he is, in fact, in his element. The noise is of no consequence. The location is everything.

Tropical Marine Centre sits adjacent to a motorway which leads to Britain’s major airports and arterial road routes, important factors when you consider that TMC supplies livestock covering Europe on a daily basis, with shipments being dispatched worldwide every week.

TMC was founded in 1970 and rapidly achieved the goal of becoming the UK’s premier marine livestock wholesaler. A commercial hatchery facility was opened in 1994 and today produces several species of marine fishes for the ornamental market. The company’s aim is to produce fish that are true to nature with respect to behaviour, markings and colour, in a "tank raised" alternative to wild-caught species, thereby helping to sustain natural fisheries.

The hatchery was recently the first centre in the world to breed significant numbers of Lysmata debelius (fire shrimps). Under the direction of Mark and Deborah Wilson, it is now working on improving and refining the techniques and applying them to a small-scale production run.