1) All participants in the auction, buyers and sellers and fish must be registered and receive a bidder number or a bag number (if they are fish). This number will allow your bill or auction proceeds to be calculated at the end of the auction. The computer will be ready for registration at 8:00 AM at the Auction Building Saturday morning.

2) The Auction cut is 70/30 . . . 70% for the owner and 30% for TBAS ONLY if you pre-register BEFORE Wednesday Evening (1/19/11) with: Andres Alvarado (click on his name to e-mail). If you wait until Saturday to bring in and register your fish you will receive only a 50/50 split. ALSO . . . NOTE. . . if you arrive late on Saturday and your fish are not registered by 9:45 AM, your fish will only be taken as a donation. You MUST understand we have to start the auction on time in deference to all of those people who came on time and did everything that was asked of them. THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING!!!

3) Pre-registration must be e-mailed to Andres Alvarado by the WEDNESDAY (1/19/11) before the Saturday auction 1/22/11 and should contain the your name, address, phone number, the fish's scientific name and its popular name along with how many bags of each fish you will be bringing. CAUTION: We only allow 3 bags of a particular species of fish (max. 7 fish per bag) per person to be auctioned off at this auction (interpretation of this rule is solely the responsibility by the T.B.A.S. president and that decision will be final). This rule stops people from bringing in a whole spawn of a fish and putting them in 20 bags so we have 20 bags of a fish that go for nothing after the first 2-3-4 bags and then someone else brings in another 20 bags of the same fish . . . I have seen this ruin other auctions. You will need to register or just look at the fish available so please show up in time to properly label and put your fish on the tables or to get your paddle for participating in the auction and be able to look around prior to the starting time of 10:00 AM . . . I am sure you would wish the people to see your fish before the auction so they can make their plans. If you have not 'registered early,' you must arrive at the auction with enough time to get you and your fish registered in the computer. Understand there will be a bunch of people with the same intent, so help us start on time by registering EARLY (and get a 70/30 split) and/or getting here with time to spare. You may also register early if you know you are coming as a person to buy only and just walk in and get your paddle and off you go . . . this would help us as well! THANK YOU, FOLKS!

4) The Auction Committee of the TBAS will determine the order in which the fish will be auctioned. All decisions by this committee are final. If there is a circumstance where a fish you wish to buy or sell has not been put up for auction. If you need to leave, and a fish you wish to buy or sell has not been put up for auction, then a $2.00 fee will be added to the end of your bill. Please understand if this were a 'willy-nilly' process, everyone would want their fish auctioned first and that can't happen. Again, we hope you understand we have to be concerned about EVERYONE!

5) DOA Fish . . . you must understand that there are NO guarantees at an auction of this nature. This is not a fish store where such promises can be implied. If the fish are alive when you bought them, there is no further recourse. We have all been through this many, many times, and we all have been caught in this predicament. While it is not pleasant, I am sure you understand the problems with returning money to you. Being able to tell the seller in an auction situation becomes a very difficult problem . . . please be reasonably cautious when looking at the fish for sale. You will be allowed to look at the fish during its auction process and the auctioneer will be instructed to mention if a fish does not look in good health. After that you are basically on your own, and we REALLY don't mean to be flippant on this note.

6) You may 'check out' of the auction when ever you wish (this is in a trial basis during this 2011 auction only) . . . or at the end of the auction (bidder or bringer of fish), however, if you have fish that are yet to be sold then TBAS will send you a check for your fish. This check should not take any longer than 10 days to reach you under normal circumstances and probably it will arrive before that.

The Tampa Bay Aquarium Society thanks you for your understanding and support of this endeavor. The ever increasing cost of "doing business" is getting a little out of hand, and we all want TBAS to be around for quite a while.