AQUARIUM enthusiasts can help save coral reefs, says Paul Holthus of the
Marine Aquarium Council in Hawaii.
The MAC is setting up a scheme to certify fish and corals that are harvested
and handled in a sustainable way. The aquarium trade is worth an estimated
$300 million a year, so by buying goods labelled under this scheme,
aquarium owners will encourage local communities to protect their reefs, Holthus
says.
Worldwide, 15 to 20 million marine fish and 700 tonnes of live coral are
taken for the aquarium trade each year, Holthus estimates. Some fish can only be
reached by prising away the living reef with crowbars. Others are caught by
stunning them with cyanide. Up to 80 per cent caught in this way die.
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The MAC hopes to certify sustainability from reef to retailer. It is setting
up pilot schemes in Indonesia, Fiji and Hawaii, and plans to have the first fish
labelled under the scheme in the shops by the middle of next year. “We know the
road we want to travel but we have to build the vehicle,” Holthus says.
However, some conservationists doubt if certification can work. “The average
American will go down the street to buy [another] fish if it’s cheaper,” says
Peter Rubec of the International Marinelife Alliance in St Petersburg, Florida.
“If we don’t educate the consumer we still haven’t solved the problem.”
And the plan may hit another hurdle in the US, the world’s largest importer.
Laws being drawn up by the Coral Reef Task Force would ban the import of all
corals. There are plans to add fish later. Such a move could kill the aquarium
trade.
