| I met Ivan at my first meeting of the American Livebearer Assoc, I cannot recall the year it was, I talked about the program I called “Centro de Resguardo Para Peces en Peligro” or the Refuge for Endangered Fish Species, where I was mostly dealing with killies at the time, it must have been by late eighties, he was impressed by my work keeping endangered and almost extinct fish, for I pretended it to be part of a program for public education and conservational conscience and environmental awareness, since I did not want those fish species and habitats to be lost forever; we started a friendship of no ends since we coincide in ideals and ways of thinking and of looking at the world environment, our favorite issue: of course livebearer fish; and he immediately came up with the idea to start a similar program for his Goodeins, a group of fish almost nobody else was thinking of then, and he was directly looking for some way to start a fish lab where to culture those species, then it happened the first meeting of Livebearers Symposia in Mexico City, where he presented his ideas and he met Omar Dominguez, and therefore started the Morelia’s Fish Conservation Lab, and got going what he called latter on the now know as “Fish Ark” , he was so happy!
Now, I just cannot believe, no finish getting through my mind. Nothing could be sadder than to end the 2009 with Ivan’s departure!
We are missing not just a friend, but “the” Leader of Goodeins Fish Conservation Movement.
When at the last meeting of Livebearer’s Symposia I was asked to present Ivan for his talk, I introduced him as a person of stout and harsh driven personality, always in command, always right, always stubborn, always concerned for aquarium hobbyist’s livebearers fish future, always worried for his Goodeins, and therefore very hard and difficult to understand and deal with, but at the same time a very warm and caring person; all of it is needed to lead and convince about conservation of those unknown then fish, and he has those qualities. Therefore, at that moment it came to me, as a personal pun and at the same time jokingly as such was the idea, in between seriously and humor, present him to the audience: because of all of the above, and well earned, and on the ways of the United Kingdom, since that is his nationality, now let it all known, here I present you: for that’s what he is, a real gentleman and a master of those fish, Ivan Dibble, “The Lord of Goodeids” … He and we all laughed and enjoyed the moment, and then he proceeded with his presentation.
More recently, his main worries were “Gambusias”, a group of fish most people relates with the “mosquito fish”, also called “Dambusias” since nobody wants them, a very unfortunate way to learn of such group of fish species, for now is considered a very wrong way to control mosquito, since that mosquito fish, Gambusia affinis, now is all over the world and considered a nuisance for many other species and habitats that have being altered; But there are many more species of Gambusias and most people thinks of them all as the same trouble, and unwanted, and not one but Ivan was thinking on the difficulties of the habitats for those species, and for nobody else was looking seriously for the conservation of them, all our fishes, killies and livebearers ignored by Mexican authorities until very recently.
Now, on this moment I could not be any more realistic on the issue, since not one else has ever been more seriously concerned on the ideal of Mexican Fish’s Conservation, and no one else has done more that Ivan, and at least on my mind, he really shall and will be always remembered as what he is: The Lord of Goodeids!
Rest in peace Ivan, enjoy the glory on the companion of your loved wife, relatives and friends who have been earlier to go; the fish conservation you started are in the good hands of your friends at BLA, ALA, and many others who will take good care to continue your labor.
With my deepest respect to your family, brothers, sisters, nephews and else, God bless you all.
Arcadio Valdez
Gonzales
Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon
Monterrey,
Mexico
|
|
