Council works to protect salt-water pet fish

Council works to protect salt-water pet fish

By Daniel Cooney

NUSA DUA, Indonesia (AP): Ever wondered why some of the
tropical salt-water fish you bought at the pet shop died so soon?

Chances are, a diver in Indonesia or the Philippines caught
them by first squirting cyanide into the water, which stuns the
fish and allows them to be easily scooped into a net.

After a few days, a fish usually appears to recover. It is
then exported to the United States, Europe and elsewhere to be
sold in pet stores for anything up to US$400.

After a month of two, though, traces of cyanide in the fish's
system often attack its liver, eat away at its digestive tract
and corrode its respiratory system, until it dies.

But not only does cyanide irreversibly poison the fish it's
used on, the toxin also damages the ocean environment, killing
other marine life.

So widespread is the problem that 1,000 environmentalists,
marine biologists and pet-fish collectors have set up a worldwide
organization - the Marine Aquarium Council - to try to eradicate
the illegal practice.

Up to 20 million tropical salt-water fish are sold in the
United States every year, said Paul Holthus, head of the
Honolulu-based group. Not all are poisoned, but many are, he
said.

"Fish buyers are unknowingly contributing to the destruction
of coral reefs and marine ecosystems," he said.

Marine scientists meeting on Indonesia's tourist island of
Bali warned recently that more than a quarter of the world's
coral reefs had been destroyed by pollution, global warming and
poor fishing practices, including the use of cyanide.

They said that unless urgent measures are taken, the remaining
coral reefs may be dead within 20 years.

Mark Erdman, a San Francisco marine biologist who has long
worked in Indonesia, said almost all aquarium-bound fish caught
in Indonesia are poisoned.

Fishermen often store the cyanide in cans on the ocean floor
to escape detection by authorities. They then dissolve a cyanide
tablet in water in a plastic bottle. The deadly mixture is then
squirted at schools of fish living around coral outcrops.

Holthus said cyanide is also used widely in the Philippines.
Aquarium fish from the two countries account for much of the
tropical salt-water fish imported by the United States and
Europe, he said.

The international aquarium fish trade is worth about $1
billion a year, experts said.

In two warehouses on Bali, hundreds of brightly colored fish
float in small dirty tanks, waiting to be packaged in water-
filled plastic bags and flown out of the country. Clown tiger
fish, with bright yellow lips, sharp teeth and pink dorsal fins,
lie on their sides, seemingly comatose from cyanide.

Holthus said the use of poison is limited to only some
tropical salt water varieties. More popular fresh water fish
mostly come from commercial fish ponds and are chemical-free.
He said that by reforming the salt water segment of the industry,
the welfare of marine life could be improved and healthier fish
would be provided for collectors.

Walt Smith, a businessman from Los Angeles who exports live
fish from Fiji, said the problem is not as widespread as some
fear. He said all the fish he sends to the United States are
caught without poison.

The marine council plans to start monitoring fish exported
from various parts of the world to ensure that they have not been
caught by divers using cyanide and that they are handled
professionally. Fish buyers in the United States and Europe will
be able to look for Marine Aquarium Council-certified fish in
certain pet shops by the end of next year.

"We will test everything from the reef to the retailer,"
Holthus said.

Mike King, a pet-fish retailer from Grand Rapids, Michigan,
said everyone will be a winner if environmentally sound fish-
collection practices are observed.

"Most consumers want to do the right thing for the environment
and the fish," he said. "They are prepared to pay a little more
for it."