Marine life is valuable to humans; there is no question about that. Humans have been enjoying the bounty of the oceans for thousands of years. Fishing was once a sustainable community affair and has become a non-sustainable industry that is causing the endangerment and extinction of many marine organisms. However, this can be at least somewhat justified as these species are taken as food. Can the same be said for the trading of marine life, particularly ornamental marine life? The ornamental marine life trade has been growing steadily since 1930’s. It began in Sri Lanka, but today it encompasses the Indo-Pacific region, the Caribbean, Brazil, the Philippines, Hawaii, and Vietnam.
Only certain species are taken for ornamental purposes. There are four categories of ornamental marine organisms, including stony corals, black coral, precious corals, all other invertebrates, which include soft corals, anemones, crustaceans, echinoderms, and fish. The majority of fish are bought by hobbyists to be used in saltwater fish tanks. The marine invertebrates are traded for a variety of purposes. They are often bought as souvenirs and curios. There are also medical uses that include health food supplements, as a replacement for human bone, and as a source of biomedical compounds.
When it comes to conservation of ocean species, the trade of marine life is an important issue. While the collection and trade of these organisms is still in its early days in places such as the Caribbean and Asia; Indonesia and the Philippines are mass exporters of ornamental fish. There are a number of issues around this. These include overfishing and over-exploitation of these organisms, destructive fishing habits, and coral reef degradation. There is also the issue of post harvesting morbidity and there are many fish that simply do not survive in captivity. This most often happens to reef fish who are stunned with cyanide and sometimes as much as 80% of the catch can be lost. The destruction of reefs, destruction of habitat, the use of cyanide, and the death of fish that are caught as bycatch or otherwise killed with the use of these fishing practices are also on the list of issues. Other problems that stem from marine trade are the release of aquarium fish into the wild and the socioeconomic impact, which includes human health risks, low income for fishermen, and conflicts when it comes to the use of resources.
At this time there are only regulations protecting a handful of ornamental marine organisms, including stony coral, black coral, giant clams, and seahorses. There are no regulations in place to protect the majority of ornamental marine organisms or the environments from which they come. This must be changed. There needs to be industry-wide regulations that will help to alter harvesting techniques so that overfishing and habitat destruction are minimized. The Marine Aquarium Council has created a set of best practices to be used when harvesting, transporting, and handling marine organisms collected for ornamental purposes. These standards include limits on the mortality rate, setting it at only 1% on arrival and 1% post-arrival.
There have been other initiatives taken. One of these is to train collectors so that they have better knowledge and skills for harvesting the fish and other marine life. This way the use of sodium cyanide can be stopped as this chemical is one of the greatest threats to marine diversity in these areas. There has also been habitat restoration to improve stocks, the construction of artificial reefs, and the creation of reserves. However, there is still a long way to go. Conservation International (CI) is another organization that is working to establish better law enforcement and to establish catch limits in areas around the world. With these efforts people will be able to enjoy their salt water fish and the oceans will still thrive. Considering the oceans are the birthplace of all life on earth and have within them the means to ensure the planet thrives; protecting the life within them is crucial. By helping regulate the trading of marine life for collection and other uses, the species that are sought after for collection and all the other species that live in the same environment will be able to survive and thrive.