IMPLICATIONS OF Clarias gariepinus (AFRICAN CATFISH) PROPAGATION IN CUBAN WATERS

Buttons (Le Conteur and Burreson 2004), which describes the impact that different types of natural and synthetic molecules had in changing the world in which we live. Politicians, funding bodies, and the public must be constantly reminded of the actual and potential impact of advances (economic and otherwise) derived from curiositybased approaches and the dangers of focusing research priorities too narrowly. Ecotoxicologists must be more forceful in their delivery of simple and unambiguous messages regarding their role in society and the tools needed to fulfill this function. Intellectual freedom and the need for basic research in all fields of inquiry, including aquatic toxicology, are critical components of this mandate. We owe this to the next generation of students, who must be allowed to use their own imaginations and basic curiosity to address problems of tomorrow in aquatic toxicology. We owe this to our society, which looks to our field of science for solutions to the toxic risks threatening the environment and ultimately society itself.