Wild caught ornamental fish: a perspective from the UK ornamental aquatic industry on the sustainability of aquatic organisms and livelihoods

Abstract

The ornamental aquatic industry involves the global commercial trade of live aquatic organisms such as fish, invertebrates and plants. It comprises a range of businesses including collectors, breeders, exporters, importers and retailers. Together, these form a supply chain through which aquatic organisms pass from their point of origin to the end point e.g., domestic aquaria and ponds. On a worldwide basis, the legal and legitimate ornamental aquatic trade is subject to regulation and monitoring throughout the majority of its supply chain. Approximately 90% of ornamental freshwater fish species traded are captive‐bred, but, due to their complex breeding cycles, 90–95% of ornamental marine fish species are wild‐caught. The ornamental aquatic industry and consumers therefore have a responsibility to ensure that wild‐caught species are sourced sustainably, legally and to good welfare standards. Such good practice should be considered a necessity for the longevity, not only of the ornamental aquatic industry, but of the livelihoods which depend on it and the future of ecosystems dependent on such communities.

Understanding the United Kingdom marine aquarium trade – a mystery shopper study of species on sale

“…Given sufficient information (and improved traceability standards), the marine aquarium industry could be positively incentivized to improve practices, rather than being forced to do so through top‐down legislation (Militz et al, ). Thus, it might be possible for perceived sinners to become saints in terms of helping to maintain endangered marine aquarium species (such as P. kauderni ) when there is a risk that they might go extinct in the wild and offering an income to impoverished citizens who might otherwise engage in less sustainable and more destructive practices (Evers et al, ; King, ).…”

The sustainable use and exploitation of fishes

“…Sendek & Bogdanov, ), but it is equally relevant for the recreational sector (poaching) and the aquarium trade – where there are disreputable people using a broad range of bad practices, including cyanide fishing to capture aquarium fish. In contrast, there are many people with good intentions complying with trade regulations, and many national and international initiatives have emerged to enhance sustainability (Evers et al ., ; King, ).…”

“…This is a trade that is driven by diversity and novelty, rather than quantity as is the case for food fisheries (Evers et al, 2019;King, 2019;Pinnegar & Murray, 2019). As a result, information about sources and collection practices can be very limited and traceability is often very difficult, particularly at the species levelnoting however that there are growing efforts to improve "best practice" in the ornamental trade (King, 2019), and in rearing conditions (Nguyen et al, 2019). There is a strong move away from sourcing wild-caught fish towards aquaculture-reared, particularly in freshwater ornamentals (Evers et al, 2019), however the marine ornamental trade remains largely based on wild-caught animals although there is some change here towards breeding of fish (King, 2019).…”

“…For example, trade in wild-caught cardinal tetras Paracheirodon axelrodi gave incentives to protect the natural habitats of these species within Brazilian rainforests, but this trade is now declining due to breeding facilities of the same species in other parts of the world (Evers et al, 2019). On the other hand, small-scale breeding facilities in southern and eastern Asia provide income and poverty alleviation for many low-income communities (Evers et al, 2019;King, 2019). Both public aquaria and several aquarium trade organisations are now striving for ethical and sustainable sourcing; an example is the aquarium within London Zoo, which is trying to ensure that all their stock are sustainably sourced (Zoological Society of London, 2018).…”

“…There were various cross-cutting themes that came up in each of the four sessions, and one of these was the notion of "empowering consumers." In commercial fisheries this was exemplified by the theme of MSC accreditation (Agnew, 2019) and in the ornamental trade, by the sector's efforts in aiming to empower consumers to be able to trace well-sourced ornamental marine fish (King, 2019). In recreational fisheries, the dissemination of "responsible and sustainable" F I G U R E 1 Participants at the 2018 symposium of the Fisheries Society of the British Isles (FSBI), on the "Sustainable Use and Exploitation of Fishes", at the University of East Anglia, 9 to 13 July…”