The trade in coral reef fish
Do not buy any coral fish – neither for the aquarium nor to eat.
For each fish you see in an marine aquarium 4 other fish had to die.
Almost all coral fish you see in an aquarium are not bred in captivity but come directly from a coral reef.
Of the 1500 species which are available in trade, only about 1 % can be bred.
Due to the catching methods about 80% of the catch die, probably more.
The few fish that reach the aquarium alive are the strongest fish but even these suffer from the stress imposed by tansportation; they do not survive for very long either.
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The Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) is one of the most important international UN conventions on the environment.
At the Biodiversity convention of autum 2010 almost all countries (191) agreed on a plan to safeguard biodiversity and on 20 targets, all of which have to be accomplished by 2020.
Target 10 says:
By 2015, the miscellaneous anthropogenic pressures on coral reefs, and other vulnerable ecosystems impacted by climate change or ocean acidification are minimised, so as to maintain their integrity and survival.
The consequences for Switzerland:
With the production of greenhouse gas Switzerland shares direct and indirect responsibility for the climate change – therefore it has to find means to reduce these consequences within its own borders as well as in other countries. The import of endangered coral fishes and other species from sensitive environments has to be banned or reduced to minimum levels.
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The information on this website comes mainly from „From Ocean to Aquarium“, a 2003 UNEP study on the trade of coral reef fish and invertebrates. It is based on self-declaration from coral fish traders (see literature).