Aquarium Trade
International trade in live fish and other marine species for international aquarium hobby market. Most fish, corals, and other marine aquarium species traded internationally are collected live from tropical and subtropical coral reefs, especially in the Philippines, Indonesia, and other Asian countries. Nearly half the world aquarium fish market is in the United States. Although the capture and marketing of live reef species provides a significant income source in remote communities, international trade has alarmed conservationists and environmentalists because of harmful collecting methods. A majority of live tropical fish are captured with sodium cyanide (NaCN), a highly toxic and inexpensive powdered poison. Divers use squirt bottles containing a cyanide solution or drop cyanide tablets into reef crevices where fish hide. The poison stuns the fish, making them easy to capture, and the fish usually recover after a few minutes. Fish are transferred to holding tanks on ships and then transported to international wholesalers. From 70–90% of fish captured with cyanide die later, however, due to damage to the liver, stomach, and other tissues. Another problem common in salt water aquaria is "sudden death syndrome," when fish inexplicably die soon after they are introduced to the aquarium.
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