found this artical

[hamish99]

sounds like the root to the zebra ban could be the government after all, i'm not sure whether the reference to zebra fish is the L046 or not
if you have the time to read it all here is where i found it

http://www.idrc.ca/openebooks/157-4/

A Brazilian cancer specialist was sharply criticized by the media after receiving close to US$1 million from the American National Cancer Institute to analyse a number of Amazonian plants. His critics argued that if information taken from indigenous peoples is used to develop the world’s first anti-cancer drug, the Indian tribes might lose out even if the cancer specialist himself does not profit. In his defence, the researcher noted: ‘While we continue to talk and worry about biopiracy, fewer people are out there actually studying the Amazon, which is a serious form of scientific neglect. Of course biopiracy happens, but we have to balance this against not researching the rainforest at all. Ultimately that is much more damaging to mankind’ (Veash, 2000). We will return later to the subject of ‘research chill’, particularly in Case Study 5.
wild specimens in the middle Rio Negro. When apprehended by a representative of IBAMA, the Brazilian Institute responsible for enforcement of protected species laws, the collector was examining the viscera of cichlids to determine their natural diet. He had apparently obtained written permission from the nearest municipality but had not sought the necessary approvals from IBAMA. He was deported and ordered not to return.2
The money that changes hands in the collection of ornamental fish can stymie the most determined efforts at enforcement, especially in areas like the Amazon – the largest and perhaps most ungovernable river basin in the world. Rohter (2001) reports that zebra fish from the Xingu River are so valuable that specimens are used as local currency and that dealers’ profit margins are comparable to those in the cocaine trade, with a particularly rare specimen bringing as much as US$600 from a Japanese collector. Although Brazil has attempted to control sales to prevent rare species from being wiped out, black market dealers continue to thrive. Rohter quotes a regional IBAMA representative as stating that, with only five agents to monitor all wildlife in an area twice the size of New Jersey, little can be done to protect illegal traffic. A tropical fish expert at the Emilio Goeldi Museum in Belem notes that tropical fish dealers routinely file false customs declarations and shipping waybills to get around restrictions, yet that there is little public interest in the problem (Rohter, 2001).
Stopping unauthorized collection of aquatic genetic resources is a challenge at the best of times. Access laws are unlikely to work unless government has the political will and provides the necessary funds for enforcement. This support may be absent in both developed and developing countries depending on the degree of cooperation among different levels of bureaucracy and of coordination among policy structures. Bribery of officials may create an additional impediment in countries where it is a common tradition.

[madmoroccan]

I already implied this in the post in the general section about prices. I am glad there is documentary evidence of this, even if it seems just like an official opinion.