AquariumTrade

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Managing the Aquarium Trade

History

Global Economic Impacts

  • Export
    • Dominant in developing tropical countries [1]
    • Poorer countries are often centralized around the trade as a means of income [1]
  • Import
    • Dominant in developed countries with expendable income [1]
  • Overall global impact
    • Involving 350 million fish annually [2]
    • Industry valued at $963 million [2]

Effects on Wild Populations

Case Study: Hawaiian Islands

  • first significant study on the effect of aquarium collecting on natural populations [2]
  • Large study on Kona, Hawaii
    • 7 of 10 species surveyed were significantly affected by collecting [2]
    • Abundance of many fish is lowered [2]
      • affect on those surveyed ranged from 38% to 75% lower in abundance [2]
    • Few Non-target fish were affected
      • only 2 effected [2]
      • not indicative of over fishing pracitces [2]

Banggai Cardinalfish

  • it has been shown that even if fishing practices are not necessarily destructive, it can have an effect on populations of wild fish [3]
  • traps with sea urchins in them, a closely related organism, were used to catch fish, and both populations were effected [3]

Aquarium Trade as an Invasion Pathway

  • Major source of exotic species invasion
    • In part caused by owners that feel they don't wan't
      • Re-released into non-native waters
      • Sometimes affects ecosystem balance by out-competing or throwing off natural food webs
  • Often goes unnoticed
    • Hard to regulate
    • Focus on other invasion pathways such as ballast water

Prevention or Management Methods and Future Impacts

Prevention or Management Methods

  • Reef Check Program [4]
    • checking indicator organisms
    • around 300 reefs in 31 countries
  • Re-release regulation
    • Hard to enforce
  • Regulation on collection
    • also hard to enforce in developing countries

Future Impacts

  • "The marine aquarium industry has great potential to generate jobs in low-income coastal communities creating incentives for the maintenance of a healthy coral reef, if effectively managed." [5]
    • one problem is that there are several data gaps and inaccuracies involved in measuring aquarium trade and fishing practices [5]

References in Popular Culture

  • Finding Nemo
    • Sparked interest over the relatively unheard of industry.
    • People now want "Nemo" or "Dory" fish
  • The Spongebob Squarepants Movie

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Padilla, Dianna K. "Beyond ballast water: aquarium and ornamental trades as sources of invasive species in aquatic ecosystems." Front Ecol Environ. (2004): 131-138. Print.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Tissot, Brian N. "Effects of Aquarium Collectors on Coral Reef Fishes in Kona, Hawaii." Conservation Biology. 17.6 (2003): 1759-1767. Print.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Kolm, Niclas. "Wild Populations of a Reef Fish Suffer from the “Nondestructive” Aquarium Trade Fishery." Conservation Biology. 17.3 (2003): 910-914. Print.
  4. Hodgson, G. "A Global Assessment of Human E€ects on Coral Reefs." Marine Pollution Bulletin. 38.5 (1993): 345-355. Print.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Murray JM, Watson GJ, Giangrande A, Licciano M, Bentley MG (2012) Managing the Marine Aquarium Trade: Revealing the Data Gaps Using Ornamental Polychaetes. PLoS ONE 7(1): e29543. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0029543

External Links

  1. http://life.bio.sunysb.edu/ee/padillalab/pdfs/Padilla%20%26%20Williams%20(Front%20Ecol)%202004.pdf
  2. http://www.hoikecurriculum.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/marine_unit5_activity2_appendix.pdf
  3. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1523-1739.2003.01522.x/full
  4. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X99000028
  5. http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0029543
  6. http://www.int-res.com/articles/meps2004/266/m266p239.pdf
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