Aquarium Fish Trade Poisoning Oceans

Ever wonder why some of the tropical saltwater fish you bought at the pet shop die 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 or elsewhere to be sold in pet stores for up to $400.

After a month or 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.

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.

As many as 20 million tropical saltwater 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 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 many of the tropical saltwater 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 saltwater varieties. More popular freshwater fish mostly come from commercial fishponds and are chemical free.

He said that reforming the saltwater segment of the industry could improve the welfare of marine life and provide healthier fish 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, Mich., 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.”