Background

Coral reefs are critical habitat for an unparalleled diversity of marine life that provides important resources for both local sustenance and commerce: collecting marine ornamental organisms provides one of the few potentially sustainable local industries in many coastal communities with limited resources, and few other options for generating income. The fish, corals and other invertebrates may pass through a network of middlemen but ultimately are shipped from the countries of origin by a relatively small number of wholesale exporters. They are received by a similar number wholesale importers in the market nations who, in turn, supply networks of retail outlets.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) attempts to assess the trade in species, listed in Appendix II of the Convention, which are believed to be vulnerable to exploitation but not yet at risk of extinction. All species of hard coral and giant clams are listed under Appendix II of CITES and parties to CITES are then obliged to produce annual reports specifying the quantity of trade that has taken place in each listed species. The magnitude and taxonomic composition of the international trade can then be calculated (Green and Shirley, 1999). This allows any debate on the trade in corals and clams to be based on global data which, despite its faults (Green and Hendry, 1999) is standardised.

By contrast no marine ornamental fish, or invertebrates other than clams or corals, are listed under CITES. Therefore existing calculations of 15-30 million fish from approximately 1000 species (Wood, 2001) are estimates based on a number of assumptions which mean that these figures must be used with caution. The trade in individual species of fish, and invertebrates other than corals and clams, is unknown.

The marine aquarium trade continues to receive the attention of politicians and conservation organisations alike, attracted by accounts of destructive collection practices, the introduction of alien species, over-exploitation and the threat of extinction of target species. Some regulation has already been established, and more may follow, yet the arguments for and against these measures have taken place in a near vacuum of information on the extent, and therefore impact, of the aquarium trade. The debate at times has been vociferous and contentious but progress remains constrained by the lack of quantitative and unbiased information. At stake is the employment of thousands of people, especially in source nations, and the high incentives for coral reef stewardship which the marine aquarium trade is capable of providing.

Since April 2000 the UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and the Marine Aquarium Council (MAC) have been collaborating with members of trade associations such as AKKII, PTFEA , SAFEA , OFI and OATA to establish a Global Marine Aquarium Database (GMAD) as a freely available source of information on the global aquarium industry. Our common objective is to centralise, standardise and provide fast and easy access to information on the aquarium trade.