Subsistence fishing in Bangladesh.

Environmental impacts of fishing are the ecological changes brought about on the wider environment of the growth in global demand for fish as a food source, and to a lesser extent, for the aquarium trade. These impacts are brought about through choice of fishing practices and the selective properties of the fishing gears. Fishing gears and fishing activities are said to be destructive when the environmental effects of fishing are negative. Such destructive fishing practices are discussed below. Image File history File links BD-fishermen. ... Image File history File links BD-fishermen. ... Ernst Haeckel coined the term oekologie in 1866. ... For other uses, see Aquarium (disambiguation). ... Fishing is the activity of hunting for fish. ...

Cyanide fishing

Main article: Cyanide fishing

The use of cyanide as a fishing technique was first documented in the Philippines in 1962^[1]. More than 150,000 kg of cyanide are believed to be used in the Philippines annually by the aquarium trade and more than a million kg have been used since the 1960’s^[2][3]. The use of cyanide is known to cause mortality on laboratory corals in measured doses, however this data is very difficult to quantify for wild populations ^[4]. Local fishermen and dive operators, however, have no doubt on its effects ^[5]. Recent studies have shown that the combination of cyanide and stress of handling results in mortality of up to 75% of the organisms within less than 48 hours of capture^[6]. With high mortality numbers, a greater number of fish must be caught in order to supplement post catch death^[7]. The use of cyanide is also known to produce high mortality in non target organisms such as invertebrates that might be in the surrounding area when cyanide is used (Baquero 1999). Estimates suggest between 70 to 90% of aquarium fish exported from the Philippines are caught with cyanide^[8][9][10]. Indonesia also has a high volume of fish caught with cyanide, about 90%. Cyanide fishing is an illegal form of fishing common in South East Asia, which usually uses the chemical compound sodium cyanide - a close relation of potassium cyanide. ... A space-filling model of the cyanide ion A cyanide is any chemical compound that contains the cyano group -C≡N, with the carbon atom triple-bonded to the nitrogen atom. ... A coral reef can be an oasis of marine life. ...

Due to the post capture handling stress and the effects of the cyanide, fish are bound to have a shorter live span than usual in our aquariums. According to an interview with experienced aquarium owners, they were willing to pay more for net-caught fish because of the higher survival rate^[11]. They also said they would not trust an eco-labelling system, which can be misleading.

Blast fishing

Main article: Blast fishing

Another destructive collection technique used by fishermen involves the use of explosives. This so-called "blast fishing" stuns, injures and kills fish with the immense pressure caused by the detonation. While some fish simply float to the surface where fishermen scoop them out of the water, a large percentage of unwanted species sink or float away (Sievert). Similar to cyanide, using explosives allows fishermen to obtain larger catch sizes compared to using nets or hooks. In addition to producing excessive by-catch, the underwater explosion destroys corals that are slow to recover (News Target). Blast fishing not only has severe effects on the fisheries and coral, but also causes decreases in available food for the present and future generations, and by extension affects the local economy. Blast fishing or dynamite fishing describes the practice of using dynamite or other explosives to stun or kill schools of fish for easy collection. ... In fisheries science, by-catch refers to species caught in a fishery intended to target another species, as well as reproductively-immature juveniles of the target species. ... An underwater explosion, also known as an UNDEX, is an explosion beneath the surface of water. ... Subclasses Alcyonaria Zoantharia See text for orders. ...

Net fishing

A common instrument used for catching fish is the net. Nets capture smaller amounts of fish compared to explosives or cyanide, but are more environmentally friendly and less expensive. Net-fishing does not harm the fish the way explosives and cyanide do, and as a result, fish buyers are more willing to buy fish caught in nets. Fish caught in nets also tend to live longer in aquariums^{[citation needed]}.

Coral reefs

Coral reefs are referred to by biologists as the “rainforest of the seas” because they support over 4,000 fish species and account for over 25% of all marine life (Wabritz et al 2003) (Environmental Media Services). The Marine Ornamental Trade depends upon the world’s reefs for its trade of both fish and reef species. Approximately 3,000 tons of coral enter the trade annually (Ornamental Aquatic Trade Association). The US imported more than 80% of all live coral in the aquarium fish trade, which consisted of 350,000 species, in 1996 (EMS). Coral reefs are in high demand commercially, as a traded commodity and environmentally, as a vital habitat for much of marine wildlife. Unfortunately, coral reefs are being depleted at an unsustainable rate. According to Environmental Media Services, a reported 35 million acres (140,000 km²) of coral reefs have been destroyed in the last three decades. “They are among the world’s most fragile and endangered ecosystems” (EMS). Much of the degradation of coral reefs can be attributed to cyanide and blast fishing, supporting the aquarium fish trade. In the Philippines alone, 150 tonnes (330,000 lb) of cyanide is sprayed on its reefs each year (EMS). Questions still remain about how much cyanide poisoning the corals can take and the susceptibility and tolerance levels of different coral species (Barber and Pratt 1998). In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ... Marine biology is the study of animal and plant life within saltwater ecosystems. ... The word commodity is a term with distinct meanings in business and in Marxian political economy. ...

Seahorses (and the live fish trade)

The seahorse is in high demand around the globe. They are becoming ever more popular for aquariums and medicine. Nearly 40 countries are actively involved in the trade. “Large seahorses are selling for up to $550 in Hong Kong” (Geocites). In Hong Kong seahorses are imported live usually caught with cyanide; although, harvesting by net is becoming more prevalent. The Chinese consume the animals for their use in traditional medicine. The seahorse is also becoming excessively more popular in the aquarium fish trade where Westerners dominate the market. It is estimated that about 500 million are harvested annually from the Philippines. It is also estimated that populations are declining at a rate between 25 and 50% (PBS). This is mainly caused by habitat destruction, cyanide and blast fishing in coral reefs, and increased consumption. However, conservation efforts are on the rise and becoming increasingly effective. A strategy now under way is to pay fishermen for juvenile seahorses caught in the reef, then the seahorses are kept in a controlled environment, by a conservation group, long enough for them to reproduce and then sold back to the fishermen. This method of conservation has become very effective because it pays the fishermen more and encourages sustainable harvesting.

Õ===Sources=== [www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/seahorse/vincent.html] [www.geocities.com/rainforest/canopy/7897/page2.html ]

Economics

One of the main reasons that the aquarium fish trade is able to flourish is based on economics. This trade began in the Philippines in 1957 (World Resources Institute), and has been growing dramatically since on its way to becoming a $963 million trade in the U.S alone (WRI). About 50 to 60% of aquarium fish imported to the United States come from the Philippines (Scubazoo). A large portion of this trade resides in the Southeast Asia region, and as a result between $300 million to 400 million comes from this trade of aquarium fish in this region (National University of Singapore). The Philippines, Indonesia, the Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Australia, Fiji, the Maldives and Palau supply more than 98% of the total number of fish exported between 1997 to 2002 (Ornamental Fish International), and in these nations the fish trade contributes a large portion of the economy and provides a living for many. A main reason for this is because aquarium fish are the highest value product that is possible to harvest from coral reefs (OFI), so as a result this becomes a lucrative occupation for many in nations where there are very few economic alternatives. For an average village fisherman 60 to 70% of their income come from the capture of live fish, and some fishermen will spend a month after high valued species, which can be worth a whole month's salary (Scubazoo).

Proposed mitigations and certification schemes

See related article U.S. National Wild and Scenic Rivers

Several organizations are now setting standards for the collection, handling, and distribution of fish and aquatic organisms for the aquarium trade. The Marine Aquarium Council (MAC), is a nonprofit organization which has recently developed a series of standards and certifications. Paul Holthus, executive director of MAC, stated that "the program will save money by reducing [fish] mortality [and only] allow a maximum of one percent dead on arrival and one percent dead after arrival..."(Marine Biology 12). This would in turn allow for education and possible correction of some of the more harmful fishing and gathering techniques for the live aquarium fish trade. MAC-like certification would encourage consumer advocacy through the creation of international standards for the quality and sustainability of the live fish trade. According to the MAC Official Website, certification would involve stakeholders in all stages of the commodity chain, including collectors, exporters, importers, and retailers. Methods used would include ecosystem and fishing management standards, s collection methods, certification of handling procedures, and cyanide detection testing. The acceptance of international standards attempts to discourage the greenwashing tactics of other, less environmentally sound, certification schemes. National Wild and Scenic River is a designation for certain protected areas in the United States. ... Fishing is the activity of hunting for fish. ... Greenwash (a portmanteau of green and whitewash) is a term that environmentalists and other critics give to the activity of giving a positive public image to putatively environmentally unsound practices. ...

Having recognized the necessity of the reef's abundant resources, relative to both the aquarium trade and the sustenance of those communities that provide catch, the next step is creating a sustainable fishery capable of dispersing equitable benefits among all parties involved. One of the proposed methods of mitigation is the establishment of an elaborate certification scheme, applicable throughout the processes of the trade. The Marine Aquarium Council, also known as MAC, is an international non-profit organization dedicated to conserving coral reef ecosystems ([12]), and is responsible for the task. The live aquarium fish trade targets the exotic fish that primarily inhabit coral reefs; the dependence on the trade for income by many small fishing communities located throughout Southeast Asia, combined with increasing consumer demands and a shrinking fish stock with which to satisfy them leads many fishermen in those areas to employ hazardous collection/husbandry methods that could potentially destroy delicate reef ecosystems. MAC aims to impose restrictions on the collection processes, predominantly in the form of certifications granting the right to harvest the reef fish while maintaining healthy fishing methods, as described in MAC's 2004 second quarter newsletter.

Places like the Philippines have banned the use of cyanide in fishing practices, yet usage still continues. In addition to certification schemes, community-level enforcement (co-management) is practiced in certain areas. One example is the success story of Apo Island in the Philippines. Cooperation between local people and governmental agencies have been key in making co-management work (Barber and Pratt 1998). Marine Protected Areas have also been in use and conservation and preservation tactics, of which have only worked in isolated areas away from fishermen (Butler 1996). Fishing is the activity of hunting for fish. ... The term Marine Protected Area is often used as an umbrella term covering a wide range of marine areas with some level of restriction to protect living, non-living, cultural, and/or historic resources. ...

Endeavors that rely on more environmentally aware methods are particularly influential in the United States because the U.S. imports 60% of the ornamental fish that go through the live fish trade, as well as 70-90% of the live coral, and upwards of 95% of the live rock used in aquariums. Furthermore, this trade is being recorded as increasing by 10-20% annually in the United States (Seaweb, 2004). The main source of organisms for the live marine aquarium trade comes from third world nations in southeast Asia, whose reefs make up 45% of the world's total (International Marine Alliance, 2003). The World Wildlife Fund's Philippines President, Lory Tan, claims that the Philippines reef fish stock populations have declined by 90% in the last 50 years (World Wildlife Fund, 2005). Some environmentalists suggest that 80% of southeast Asia's reefs are "at risk of serious degradation in the near future" (International Marine Alliance, 2003). The World Wildlife Fund has stated that the live aquarium fish trade, as currently practiced in Indonesia, the Philippines, New Guinea, and other countries where collection methods as blast and cyanide fishing are used, will prove ultimately unsustainable. Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... Note: After losing a court case in 2002 on the use of the initials WWF, the organization previously known as the World Wrestling Federation has rebranded itself as World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE. WWF - The Conservation Organization was formerly known as World Wildlife Fund and Worldwide Fund for Nature. ...

Mortality rates prove to be a large problem in the aquarium trade because a majority of the fish caught, usually those caught using destructive fishing techniques, die in transportation and handling. According to the Department of Biological Sciences, improvements in packing and technology are needed to ensure high survival rates in ornamental fish. This can be accomplished using knowledge and research of the natural habitat of individual species to revise packing methods to suit fish needs. The transit of fishes through systemized channels also decreases the time between packing and arriving at the destination. The Marine Aquarium Council (MAC) plans to regulate the mortality rates of aquarium fish based on the batch size. Their plan is to encourage fishermen and aquarium importers to become certified in compliance with mortality rate regulations. Subsistence fishing in Bangladesh. ...

See also

• Overfishing

The Traffic Light colour convention, showing the concept of Harvest Control Rule (HCR), specifying when a rebuilding plan is mandatory in terms of precautionary and limit reference points for spawning biomass and fishing mortality rate. ...

References

• ↑ Wabritz, C., Taylor, M., Green, E., Razak, T. (2003). "From Ocean to Aquarium". UNEP-WCMC: Cambridge.
• ↑ Pratt, V.R. (1996). "The growing threat of cyanide fishing in the Asia Pacific Region and the emerging strategies to combat it.". Coastal Management in Tropical Asia 5: 9-11.
• ↑ Barber, C.V., Pratt, R.V. (1998). "Poison and profits: cyanide fishing in the Indo-Pacific". Environment 40: 5-34.
• ↑ Jones, R.J. (1997). "Zooxanthellae loss as a bioassay for assessing stress in corals". Marine Ecology Progress Series 149: 163-171.
• ↑ Baquero, J. (1999). "Marine Ornamentals trade: Quality and sustainability for the Pacific region". South Pacific Forum Secretariat Fiji: 51pp..
• ↑ McManus, J. W., Reyes, R.B., and Nanola, C.L. (1997). "Effects of some destructive fishing practices on coral cover and potential rates of recovery". Environmental Management 21 (1): 69-78.
• ↑ A glance at the marine aquarium fish trade in Hong Kong.. Tsang, A.. Retrieved on May 27, 2005.
• Department of Biological Sciences. http://www.dbs.nus.edu.sg/biodiversitii/bio/aquarium_more.html
• Marine Aquarium Council. http://www.aquariumcouncil.org/subpage.asp?section=3.
• Sievert, Rupert. "Closer Look at Blast Fishing in the Philippines." Overseas online magazine for sustainable seas.

http://www.oneocean.org/overseas May 1999 Vol. 2 No. 5. May 27 is the 147th day (148th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 218 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

• News Target Network. "Using explosives to catch fish harms coral reefs, tourism in Indonesia" http://www.newstarget.com. 2005 Mar 2.

World Wildlife Fund Seaweb International Marine Alliance

• Tsang, Anita. A glance at the marine aquarium fish trade in Hong Kong.

Scubazoo. http://www.scubazoo.com/productions/LRFT.htm

• Marine Biology (2003). Establishing standards for aquarium trade. USA Today Magazine. v131 i2697 pg 12(1).
• Butler, Steven (Nov 25, 1996). Rod? Reel? Dynamite? A tough-love aid program takes aim at the devastation of the coral reefs. U.S. News & World Report v121 n21.

External links

• Ecological fishing of African Pygmies