by Lisa Brochu
Photo by Jeremy Leach
A flash of orange and white bobs up and down, then turns to dart beneath the soft green blanket of a carpet anemone. She peeks out and her mate joins her for a moment before returning to fan the egg mass he’s been tending for the last few days. I’m watching the daily dance of the clownfish couple in the 70-gallon saltwater tank that takes up much of the floor space in my living room. These captive-bred creatures bring color and comfort to my home. But at what cost?
Ethics issues pervade any pet trade and the saltwater aquarium business is no different. Researchers all agree that the aquarium trade is partially responsible for the decline of many saltwater species of fish and marine invertebrates; however, no one truly knows the extent of the impact on ocean environments. Contributing to the confusion are the inability to accurately count numbers of individuals harvested and a variety of other factors that create harmful effects on the same reef and eelgrass environments from which aquarium fish may be taken.
Does the pet trade really impact ocean environments?
Growing coastal communities increase the amount of sewage and waste production that might affect sensitive reef cultures. Development that supports those human populations, such as logging, farming, and dredging, can increase the amounts of silt in the water that can block out light and smother corals. Tourism that promotes water-oriented activities such as snorkeling, diving, and underwater photography can lend itself to destruction of the very resource that attracts people through their unintentional carelessness. Even global climate change and the resulting increase in intensity of ultraviolet rays plays havoc with the health of coral reefs and the multitude of living things that rely on them.
With a situation this complex, the aquarium trade is clearly not the only culprit in the degradation of ocean environments. In fact, even though over 1.5 million kilograms of coral are harvested each year worldwide, not all coral harvested goes into the aquarium trade. Most is used for construction or other decorative purposes, making the aquarium trade a relatively small part of the problem. According to research by Project Seahorse, the current world consumption of seahorses is estimated to be over 20 million individuals per year, but most of these seahorses are consumed literally, by the medicinal market. Traditional medicine practices in China, India, Philippines, Japan, and Korea rely heavily on seahorses to treat impotence, infertility, asthma, heart disease, liver disease, throat infections, skin ailments, pain, and a variety of other conditions. The volume of seahorses taken for the medicinal trade is measured in kilos and has a far more significant impact than the aquarium trade. Nevertheless, the number of aquarium hobbyists continues to grow and consequently their effect on ocean environments also grows. The U.S., with over 10 million aquarium hobbyists, is now responsible for roughly $1.6 billion of a $4 billion worldwide industry.
Seahorses are unique in being the only species with a true male pregnancy. Captive seahorses in a healthy aquarium environment will readily reproduce, generating hundreds of babies several times a year. Photo by Lisa Brochu.
Regardless of the other factors that affect marine environments, the current and foreseeable demand for ornamental marine fish and invertebrates requires collection from the natural environment in numbers and ways that cannot be sustained under current practices used in some countries. Many ornamental fish are harvested before they are old enough to reproduce. Often, sodium cyanide is used to stun fish and make it easy to net and bag them for transport. It also causes them to become weak and sick so that many will not survive the trip to the neighborhood pet store or from there to the household aquarium. Aside from the damage to the fish for which it is intended, cyanide kills live corals and anemones in the stun zone. In the past 20 years, it is estimated that more than 1,100 tons of cyanide has been used to collect fish for the aquarium trade, enough to kill five hundred million people.
What’s being done to help?
Ironically, the answer to conservation of coral reef environments may lie with those who have unknowingly contributed to the problem. Conservation organizations such as the Marine Aquarium Council maintain that eliminating the aquarium trade will also eliminate the incentive to keep reefs healthy. In some areas of the world, supporting the aquarium trade is the primary means of support for coastal villages. Especially in these areas, it is critical that individuals understand the long-term effects of overfishing and damaging collection methods so that both the fishery and the local culture can survive. The Marine Aquarium Council’s certification program encourages coastal communities worldwide to create more sustainable methods of collection that will help all stakeholders take part in conservation efforts, from “reef to retail.” Certification requires proof of compliance with domestic and international law, and supports monitoring and documentation of good management practices.
Several countries now provide protection of reef environments. Australia created the Great Barrier Reef Park in 1975 to regulate and monitor the use of the reef in four areas: scientific research, tourism, commercial fishing, and harvesting. The divisions allow the government to determine how these different activities affect the reef. The Sudan has prohibited the export of marine ornamentals, while Sri Lanka halted trade in coral in 1991, but not tropical fish. Kenya, New Caledonia, and the Maldives have some restrictions and require licensing for harvest of corals. Landlocked Germany has banned the sale of certain corals. China created a National Coral Reef Reserve around Hainan Island to preserve the integrity of their reefs. Since 1989, the U.S. has also taken measures to protect the reefs around Florida. The coral industry has been shut down and a 10-year ban on offshore drilling was enforced from 1990 to 2000 in an effort to protect these sensitive areas.
Regulations and certifications are important in maintaining sustainability of ocean environments, but other options are also being explored. The South Pacific islands of Fiji are the origin of much of the live rock used as aquarium substrates. A project funded primarily by the Fogarty International Center at the National Institutes of Health has the villagers of Tagage and the University of the South Pacific cooperating to explore, protect, and generate income for islanders from their coral reef. Instead of breaking off pieces of live coral, villagers are planting a “crop” of synthetic rock that becomes covered with desirable species and can be harvested without damage to the reef.
What can I do to help?
Aquafarming of marine fish and invertebrate species can provide a reasonable alternative to taking coral and fish from wild populations as household pets. One Hawai’i-based business is a classic example of how committed companies and informed consumers can help make a difference. Ocean Rider, Inc. is an organic aqua-farm that raises seahorses and other aquatic life for the pet trade. Family-owned, the farm has been in business since 1998 with a mission of inspiring and contributing to saving our planet’s oceans by providing the aquarium hobbyist with beautiful and distinctive farm-raised ornamental seahorses of the highest quality. Their contribution to saving the seahorse is considerable, especially since seahorses are now listed as endangered species by the Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES).
Wild-caught seahorses and other marine fish often seen in pet stores may not be conditioned for an aquarium environment. The diet of many of these fish species includes live prey, but most aquarium enthusiasts will not commit themselves to maintaining a live colony of brine shrimp or other prey, forcing their new pets to adapt quickly to a diet of frozen or flake food or die of starvation. Unfortunately, most will die. The brilliance of the Ocean Rider seahorse farm lies with its breeding and feeding techniques. Over several generations of farm-raised seahorses, these unique creatures are now conditioned to accept frozen food, allowing them to live a long and healthy life in a household aquarium.
Ocean Rider provides interpretive tours of its facilities just outside Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawai’i. During the tours, the guide explains that this conservation-minded company discharges nothing into the ocean, collects no broodstock from the wild, and sells only farm-raised animals propagated at their facility. Furthermore, they will not sell their seahorses in the Hawaiian islands so that accidental releases in Hawaiian waters cannot occur. The tour guide encourages responsible pet ownership and emphasizes the importance of avoiding fish and invertebrates collected from the wild.
Visitors are invited to make a personal connection with the broodstock through a carefully controlled encounter with these magical creatures. Under the tour guide’s watchful eye, children and adults are allowed to be “held” by a seahorse by lowering their clean hands into a tank so that the seahorses can wrap their prehensile tails around patient fingers. This thrilling moment convinces almost everyone to think more deeply about how to protect these unusual fish. Not every tourist who comes to the seahorse farm is or will become an aquarium hobbyist; however, those who are already addicted to a saltwater aquarium hobby can feel good about making a purchase from this conscientious company that also provides follow-up support with website information about seahorses and the other species raised.
Certainly, Ocean Rider is not the only aquafarm to provide such a thoughtful approach to helping people understand and appreciate marine resources. But their location near a major tourist destination gives them an opportunity to reach thousands of visitors annually with the message that ocean environments need help to survive. They give both those who do and do not keep aquariums a better understanding of the impact of the pet trade and suggest ways in which aquarium hobbyists can make a positive difference.
The pleasure of having a marine aquarium does not have to be a guilty one.Purchasing captive-bred marine fish, corals, and other invertebrates from responsible industry operators may help to protect and preserve the future of the world’s reef environments. Marine aquariums can provide an opportunity for learning more about the complexities of ocean environments and to enjoy the colorful world of a coral reef on a daily basis. It may be possible to keep your clownfish, and a healthy ocean too.
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Lisa Brochu is the associate director for the National Association for Interpretation. She can be reached at naiprograms@aol.com.
