The use of cyanide to stun and capture live coral reef fish began in the 1960s in the Philippines to supply the growing market for aquarium fish in Europe and North America, a market now worth more than $200 million a year. Since the late 1970s, the poison has also been used to capture larger live reef fish (primarily grouper species) for sale to specialty restaurants in Hong Kong and other Asian cities with large Chinese populations. Selected and plucked live from a restaurant tank, some species can fetch up to $300 per plate, and are an essential status symbol for major celebrations and business occasions. As the East Asian economy boomed over the past several decades, live reef food fish became a business worth some $1 billion annually.Chinese demand has contributed to considerable environmental damage in the region:
Despite the fact that cyanide fishing is nominally illegal in virtually all Indo-Pacific countries, the high premium paid for live reef fish, weak enforcement capacities, and frequent corruption have spread the use of the poison across the entire region -- home to the vast majority of the planet's coral reefs. Since the 1960s, more than one million kilograms of cyanide has been squirted onto Philippine reefs, and the vast Indonesian archipelago now faces an even greater cyanide problem. As stocks in one country are depleted, the trade moves on to new frontiers, and cyanide fishing is now confirmed or suspected in countries stretching from the central Pacific to the shores of East Africa. Sadly, the most pristine reefs, far from the usual threats of sediment ation, coral mining, and coastal development, are the primary target for cyanide fishing operations.
Large parts of reefs in the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia are becoming void of marine life as a result of overfishing and the use of cyanide to catch fish alive. Though illegal, many fishermen use cyanide, an exceptionally damaging and wasteful way to catch the fish, which hide amongst the coral, marine experts say. The divers squirt the toxin in the reef to stun the fish. But that kills most other marine life, including coral. Only about a quarter survive to make it to restaurants, experts say.
It's a contest with Southeast Asian governments and concerned groups like the World Wildlife Fund on one side versus opportunistic fishermen keen on capitalizing on the high prices of these fish on the other. Thirty Chinese fishermen on board the vessel Hoi Wan were arrested late last year in the Philippines for poaching endangered Napoleon wrasse, though this fish still manages to find a way unto menus in Hong Kong. However, supply is dwindling. Like with the "war on drugs," the challenge remains one of lowering demand. If conscientious diners are made aware that they are complicit in destroying reefs and endangering species, then demand should fall.
