The global trade in marine ornamental species

From ocean to aquarium
Eight genera of sea fans appear in GMAD
trade records: Ctenocella, Echinogorgia, Ellisella,
Euplexaura, Gorgonia, Lophogorgia, Pseudopterogorgia
and Rumphella. The genus Gorgonia is the most well
known and commonly traded sea fan (14 per cent or
55,375 pieces according to importers’ data 1988-2002),
with at least two species often recorded in GMAD:
G. flabellum and G. ventalina. US imports accounted for
99 per cent (54,976 pieces) of all imported Gorgonia
spp. specimens.
Live rock
Fiji is the world’s primary supplier of live rock, with data
showing that in 2001 more than 800 tonnes of live rock
were harvested from its reefs 73 , about 95 per cent of
which were destined for the United States 74 . True
collection figures are likely to be greater as large
quantities of harvested live rock, subsequently
considered unsuitable for export, are often discarded and
thrown back into the sea. In Fiji, the extraction of live rock
takes place along the edges of the reef or within the
shallow lagoon. During collection villagers selectively
target rocks with a diameter of 15-35 cm 45 covered with
light to dark pink coralline algae and remove them from
the reef framework using iron rods. These are then
loaded up onto a bilibili, or bamboo raft, and dragged onto
the beach by horses. The rocks are placed into boxes and
loaded onto a waiting truck that takes them to a
processing facility. Once at the facility, the rock is placed
under showers, which continually spray salt water for
24–72 hours before shipment. It is trimmed of all visible
green algae growth and graded according to shape,
weight and percentage of coralline algae cover.
Live rock trade constitutes an important source of
revenue for the inhabitants of Malomalo (one of the most
important live rock collection sites in Fiji). Since 1994, live
rock has been collected at Malomalo for Ocean 2000, a
local wholesaler, by the traditional male users of the reef,
both on a full time and an occasional basis. The rock is
reimbursed at a price of US$0.70 per kilo, which is
divided among the collectors (US$0.50), the custodian
(US$0.10) and the marine reserve that forms part of the
village’s traditional fishing grounds (US$0.10). As this
item is bought and sold by weight it is the highest income
earner for the villagers participating in the aquarium
trade industry. A full-time harvester extracts on average
7,500 kg a year (an average of 150 kg live rock extracted
per week) contributing US$3,750 to annual household
income.
However, after nine years of extraction, the
villagers raised concerns that live rock collection could
have detrimental long-term consequences for their
reefs. Large-scale removal of live rock, the result of
hundreds of years of accretion, can destroy reef habitat,
undermining the structure of coral reefs and leading to
increased erosion as well as reduced biodiversity. Some
fishers noticed that quantities of fish and other marine
species typically collected from areas used for collection
of live rock had been reduced 45 . The World Wide Fund for
Nature (WWF) and MAC joined forces to respond to the
villagers’ concerns and those expressed by the Fijian
government about the sustainability of the industry. They
worked to develop community-based processes for wise
coral harvesting and management, which also involved
helping the government structure sound policies and
legislation that would support a sustainable aquarium
trade. Moreover, the villagers of Malolomo designated
part of their traditional fishing grounds a tabu area, in
which extractive use was banned.
The International Coral Reef Action Network
(ICRAN) recently also developed a project with the major
objective of ensuring the sustainability of the coral trade
industry in Fiji. Should this be achieved, coastal communities
(mainly around Viti Levu, where returns often do
not reflect the market value of the product) will be able to
share fairly the benefits of the marine aquarium trade
industry without compromising the health of their reefs.
Source: WWF 73 and ICRAN 76
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