Rape & Plunder: The Tropical Fish Business in The Philippines
The Killing Of Nemo
by Jason Enrigues
Exotic Fish Dealers are poisoning our reefs, destroying our coral, and killing countless thousands of fish here in the Philippines. See Video
The waters of The Philippines contain many endangered tropical fish, and it seems tropical fish dealers from around the world have migrated here to capitalize on these rare and endangered fish. This is a high-profit business which involves the common practice of hiring local fishermen to do the dirty work. They over-fish and employ destructive fishing methods. The businessmen behind these enterprises reap fortunes while the uneducated locals destroy their ecosystem. These fishermen habitually inject cyanide into coral crevices. The deadly cyanide stuns the beautiful sought after fish and makes them easy to net and catch. But the cyanide remains in the ecosystem long after the targeted fishes have been plundered. It must be stopped.
Most commonly, sodium cyanide is dissolved in seawater in plastic squirt bottles. Divers using hookah dive equipment squirt the milky solution at the target fish, which often then retreat into crevices in the reef or within coral thickets.
These corals are subsequently broken apart by the diver to capture the fish. This is the common practice for capturing aquarium fish. More than 1,400 species of reef fish are traded worldwide for home aquaria at an annual volume more than 30 million fish imported each year into the United States Australia and Hong Kong. Between 50 to 60 percent of these are from Indonesia and the Philippines, where cyanide use is most widespread.
Exotic Fish Dealers are poisoning our reefs, destroying our coral, and killing countless thousands of fish here in the Philippines. See Video
The waters of The Philippines contain many endangered tropical fish, and it seems tropical fish dealers from around the world have migrated here to capitalize on these rare and endangered fish. This is a high-profit business which involves the common practice of hiring local fishermen to do the dirty work. They over-fish and employ destructive fishing methods. The businessmen behind these enterprises reap fortunes while the uneducated locals destroy their ecosystem. These fishermen habitually inject cyanide into coral crevices. The deadly cyanide stuns the beautiful sought after fish and makes them easy to net and catch. But the cyanide remains in the ecosystem long after the targeted fishes have been plundered. It must be stopped.
Most commonly, sodium cyanide is dissolved in seawater in plastic squirt bottles. Divers using hookah dive equipment squirt the milky solution at the target fish, which often then retreat into crevices in the reef or within coral thickets.
These corals are subsequently broken apart by the diver to capture the fish. This is the common practice for capturing aquarium fish. More than 1,400 species of reef fish are traded worldwide for home aquaria at an annual volume more than 30 million fish imported each year into the United States Australia and Hong Kong. Between 50 to 60 percent of these are from Indonesia and the Philippines, where cyanide use is most widespread.
Cyanide fishing is illegal in most countries, but poor law enforcement capabilities and high levels of corruption have allowed the use of cyanide fishing in the Philippines to continue.
Photo by James Cervino, PHD
The poisonous cyanide injections often kill the coral beds and other nearby animals who aren’t the target of collectors. A high percentage of the cyanide-collected fish die soon after capture in the aquarium tanks of the greedy dealers who infest our shores. The foreign dealers claim their fish are not collected in this manner, but chances are high they have come here because of stringent regulations which more or less shut their businesses down in their own countries. Australia and Hong Kong seem to be the scurrilous culprits leading the invasion.
According to Andy Bruckner, coral reef ecologist: Large percentages of the target fish captured with cyanide die during collection or in transit due to their weakened state, which requires fishermen to capture significantly higher numbers of fish than would otherwise be needed. In fact, some studies indicate that as many as 75 percent of fish collected with cyanide die within hours of collection, and another 30 percent of the survivors die prior to export. In addition, more than half of those fish exported may die shortly after shipment due to a combination of the poisons used in the capture and the stress associated with handling and transport. Vast quantities of our beautiful coral fish are dying so that someone, somewhere can have an aquarium in their house.
According to Andy Bruckner, coral reef ecologist: Large percentages of the target fish captured with cyanide die during collection or in transit due to their weakened state, which requires fishermen to capture significantly higher numbers of fish than would otherwise be needed. In fact, some studies indicate that as many as 75 percent of fish collected with cyanide die within hours of collection, and another 30 percent of the survivors die prior to export. In addition, more than half of those fish exported may die shortly after shipment due to a combination of the poisons used in the capture and the stress associated with handling and transport. Vast quantities of our beautiful coral fish are dying so that someone, somewhere can have an aquarium in their house.
Bring in the Clowns...
A Clown with nothing to laugh about.
We are talking about small fish that live amongst the coral. Fish that decorate the home aquariums of hobbyists, fish to decorate the tanks in a dental office in Sydney, fish tanks to serve as living nightlights in Seafood Restaurants in Hong Kong. All at the expense of our ecosystem. The popular Clownfish of Nemo fame is a very sought after target. The Clownfish and Sea Anemone are an example of a symbiotic relationship. The Clownfish obtains protection amongst the tentacles of the Anemone from predator fish, and the Anemone gets its food by capturing Clownfish predators. Once the Clownfish creates a relationship with an Anemone, it must stay with that specific anemone, because the stinging cells of individual Anemones are different. Countless Anemones are destroyed in the capture of Clownfish as well as coral and other sea life.
This is big business. A multi-million dollar industry, making the owners rich. It is impossible to know how many exotic fish dealers are working within the law, since the business is shrouded in secrecy. I spoke with one man who dives for exotic fish in Cebu, and I asked him point blank, " how many aquarium fish suppliers buy cyanide captured fish from you?" His reply was this: "I think all of them." However, the local fishermen here in the Philippines are at the bottom of the food chain, collecting and selling the valuable fish for as little as 85 pesos a day, while the owners of the enterprise rake in hundreds and thousand of dollars per shipment. Dealers in tropical fish are making big money. Many are known to flaunt their ill-gotten gains with expensive cars and ostentatious homes and build high priced, huge, aquarium facilities which ship thousands of fish daily, raping the coral reefs of our nation with impunity, while paying our naïve native fishermen peanuts to be their accomplices. Pity the poor fisherman who ruins his beloved ocean for nothing, while the fat cats get richer and richer.
I spoke with one Cebuano who dives for exotic fish in Cebu, and I asked him point blank, " How many aquarium fish suppliers buy cyanide captured fish from you?"
His reply was this: "I think all of them. It's the only way to get lots of fish."
"Do they know how you catch the fish?"
His reply: "They don't care. They need the fish."
This is big business. A multi-million dollar industry, making the owners rich. It is impossible to know how many exotic fish dealers are working within the law, since the business is shrouded in secrecy. I spoke with one man who dives for exotic fish in Cebu, and I asked him point blank, " how many aquarium fish suppliers buy cyanide captured fish from you?" His reply was this: "I think all of them." However, the local fishermen here in the Philippines are at the bottom of the food chain, collecting and selling the valuable fish for as little as 85 pesos a day, while the owners of the enterprise rake in hundreds and thousand of dollars per shipment. Dealers in tropical fish are making big money. Many are known to flaunt their ill-gotten gains with expensive cars and ostentatious homes and build high priced, huge, aquarium facilities which ship thousands of fish daily, raping the coral reefs of our nation with impunity, while paying our naïve native fishermen peanuts to be their accomplices. Pity the poor fisherman who ruins his beloved ocean for nothing, while the fat cats get richer and richer.
I spoke with one Cebuano who dives for exotic fish in Cebu, and I asked him point blank, " How many aquarium fish suppliers buy cyanide captured fish from you?"
His reply was this: "I think all of them. It's the only way to get lots of fish."
"Do they know how you catch the fish?"
His reply: "They don't care. They need the fish."
....and the horse you rode in on.
Seahorses are just one popular species which are in peril. Seahorses must be quickly shipped after capture, since it is well known that seahorses rarely, if ever, survive in captivity. Yet, inexperienced people who have invested in saltwater aquariums like to buy them for their novelty appeal. Every marine biologist knows that keeping seahorses should not be tackled by the aquarium hobbyist, because of the special care they require. Seahorses are just one of the many aquarium fish already at risk around the world, yet tropical fish dealers here in the Philippines will ship them to anyone in the world who has a Visa card. Seahorse keeping is a job only for experts and should not be tackled by the casual aquarium enthusiast.
There are at least 50 known seahorse species in the world. They inhabit temperate and tropical waters but most of them are concentrated in the warm coastal, coral waters of the Philippines. Many countries in the world will not even permit the capture of seahorses since they are quickly disappearing from the ocean. The largest known importers of this fragile creature are China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, where they are often ground into powder and used as an aphrodisiac. Among the largest of the exporters is the Philippines!
Click to see Video of Cyanide Fish Collectors in Moalboal, Cebu, Philippines
Return to Mactan.com
There are at least 50 known seahorse species in the world. They inhabit temperate and tropical waters but most of them are concentrated in the warm coastal, coral waters of the Philippines. Many countries in the world will not even permit the capture of seahorses since they are quickly disappearing from the ocean. The largest known importers of this fragile creature are China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, where they are often ground into powder and used as an aphrodisiac. Among the largest of the exporters is the Philippines!
Click to see Video of Cyanide Fish Collectors in Moalboal, Cebu, Philippines
Return to Mactan.com
It's Time To Stop The Slaughter
Check out Project Seahorse for more information. Project Seahorse was co-founded by the ZSL, Zoological Society Of London. Project Seahorse produced the first analyses on seahorse trade and consumption that led to new management regulations of the tropical fish industry in Australia, Hong Kong, and the European Union.
So what happened? Many aquarium fish dealers from Australia and elsewhere have transferred their operations to The Philippines, perhaps to avoid the regulations initiated by Project Seahorse in their home countries.
According to Project Seahorse: “Our work in the Philippines is based on a previously rich double barrier reef in the central Philippines (known as Danajon Bank, in Bohol) which has been heavily depleted by over-fishing and destructive fishing methods: The Danajon Bank is an international conservation priority due to its threatened coral reefs. It is also home to the greatest number of poor fishing communities in the Philippines.”
Danajon Bank harbors numerous species of salt water fish sought after by collectors. Fishermen from Cebu, and Mactan travel to Danajon Bank daily to take part in the aquarium fish business driven by the greed of the Exotic Fish Industry. When will our government step forward to put an end to the Rape and Plunder of our beloved Philippines, and implement and enforce laws to protect our ecosystem. Hey, there's nothing wrong with an aquarium. Stock it with fresh water fish. They don't live in our vanishing coral beds.
So what happened? Many aquarium fish dealers from Australia and elsewhere have transferred their operations to The Philippines, perhaps to avoid the regulations initiated by Project Seahorse in their home countries.
According to Project Seahorse: “Our work in the Philippines is based on a previously rich double barrier reef in the central Philippines (known as Danajon Bank, in Bohol) which has been heavily depleted by over-fishing and destructive fishing methods: The Danajon Bank is an international conservation priority due to its threatened coral reefs. It is also home to the greatest number of poor fishing communities in the Philippines.”
Danajon Bank harbors numerous species of salt water fish sought after by collectors. Fishermen from Cebu, and Mactan travel to Danajon Bank daily to take part in the aquarium fish business driven by the greed of the Exotic Fish Industry. When will our government step forward to put an end to the Rape and Plunder of our beloved Philippines, and implement and enforce laws to protect our ecosystem. Hey, there's nothing wrong with an aquarium. Stock it with fresh water fish. They don't live in our vanishing coral beds.
