Zoo Biology Opportunities for public aquariums to increase the sustainability of the aquatic animal trade Journal:For Zoo BiologyPeer Review Manuscript ID: ZOO-11-090.R3 Wiley - Manuscript type: Commentary Date Submitted by the Author: n/a Complete List of Authors: Tlusty, Michael; New England Aquarium, Research Rhyne, Andrew; Roger Williams University, ; New England Aquarium, Research Kaufman, Les; Boston University, ; Boston University, Hutchins, Michael; The Wildlife Society, ; ZooThink, Inc, Gordon, Reid; Chester Zoo, Andrews, Chris Boyle, Paul; Association of Zoos & Aquariums, Conservation & Education Hemdal, Jay; Toledo Zoo, McGilvray, Frazer; Conservation International, Dowd, Scott; New England Aquarium, Research Keywords: aquaculture, fisheries, tropical fish, ornamental fish hobby, pet trade John Wiley & Sons Page 1 of 30 Zoo Biology 1 2 3 Opportunities for public aquariums to increase the 4 sustainability of the aquatic animal trade 5 6 1, 1,2 3,4 5 7 Michael F. Tlusty *, Andrew L. Rhyne , Les Kaufman , Michael Hutchins , Gordon 8 McGregor Reid 6, Chris Andrews 7, Paul Boyle 8, Jay Hemdal 9, Frazer McGilvray 4, and Scott 9 1 10 Dowd 11 12 13 1 Prescott Marine Laboratory, New England Aquarium, 1 Central Wharf, Boston MA 02110 14 15 2 Roger Williams University, Bristol RI 02809 16 17 3 Boston University, Boston, MA 02215 18 For Peer Review 19 4 Conservation International, 2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 500 Arlington, VA 22202 20 21 22 5 The Wildlife Society, 5400 Grosvenor Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814 23 24 6 Chester Zoo, Upton-by-Chester, Chester, CH2-1LH 25 26 7 2401 Mercer Court, Spring Hill, TN 37179 27 28 8 Association of Zoos & Aquariums, 8403 Colesville Road, Suite 710, Silver Spring MD 20910 29 30 31 9 Toledo Zoo, PO Box 140130, Toledo, OH 43614-0130 32 33 34 35 Running title: Public aquariums and the pet fish trade 36 37 38 39 40 * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; 41 42 [email protected] 43 44 45 Tel.:+1-617-973-6715; 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 John Wiley & Sons Zoo Biology Page 2 of 30 1 Tlusty et al - Public aquariums and the pet fish trade. 2 2 3 4 5 6 Abstract: The global aquatic pet trade encompasses a wide diversity of freshwater and marine 7 8 organisms. While relying on a continual supply of healthy, vibrant aquatic animals, few sustainability 9 10 initiatives exist within this sector. Public aquariums overlap this industry by acquiring many of the 11 12 same species through the same sources. End users are also similar, as many aquarium visitors are home 13 14 15 aquarists. Here we posit that this overlap with the pet trade gives aquariums significant opportunity to 16 17 increase the sustainability of the trade in aquarium fishes and invertebrates. Improving the 18 For Peer Review 19 sustainability ethos and practices of the aquatic pet trade can carry a conservation benefit in terms of 20 21 less waste, and protection of intact functioning ecosystems, at the same time as maintaining its 22 23 24 economic and educational benefits and impacts. The relationship would also move forward the goal of 25 26 public aquariums to advance aquatic conservation in a broad sense. For example, many public 27 28 aquariums in North America have been instrumental in working with the seafood industry to enact 29 30 positive change towards increased sustainability. The actions include being good consumers 31 32 themselves, providing technical knowledge, and providing educational and outreach opportunities. 33 34 35 These same opportunities exist for public aquariums to partner with the ornamental fish trade, which 36 37 will serve to improve business, create new, more ethical and more dependable sources of aquatic 38 39 animals for public aquariums, and perhaps most important, possibly transform the home aquarium 40 41 industry from a threat, into a positive force for aquatic conservation. 42 43 44 45 Keywords: aquaculture; fisheries; ornamental fish hobby; pet trade; public aquarium; 46 sustainability; tropical fish. 47 48 1. Introduction 49 50 Zoos and aquariums (hereafter referred to as aquariums, as the focus of this discussion is on aquatic 51 52 53 fishes and invertebrates) are important institutions for entertainment, education, and as drivers of in- 54 55 and ex-situ conservation and basic and applied research on wildlife husbandry, nutrition, disease, 56 57 physiology and reproduction (Conde et al., 2011; Falk and Dierking, 2010; Gusset and Dick, 2010; 58 59 Hutchins and Thompson, 2008; Miller et al., 2004). The importance of conservation and research in 60 John Wiley & Sons Page 3 of 30 Zoo Biology 1 Tlusty et al - Public aquariums and the pet fish trade. 3 2 3 4 5 these institutions is demonstrated by the 80% that have these terms in their mission statements 6 7 (Wildes, 2003). 8 9 10 Public aquariums maintain diverse collections, holding 1,218 freshwater (E Holbrook, Shedd 11 12 Aquarium, pers. comm.) and 1,397 marine species (AZA, 2010). While some public aquariums collect 13 14 15 their own fishes, many fish obtained for these institutions are acquired from the same suppliers that 16 17 provision the ornamental fish trade. This is evidenced by the 54.3% overlap between marine species on 18 For Peer Review 19 exhibit at public aquariums and those species imported into the US (Rhyne et al. submitted). Given the 20 21 overlap in diversity and acquisition, public aquariums are inextricably linked to the ornamental fish 22 23 24 trade (Andrews, 1990). We postulate that this overlap provides an opportunity for public aquariums to 25 26 engage in research and conservation on ornamental fishes. This can come in three ways: (1) through 27 28 pure science initiatives on physiology and reproduction (Rhyne et al., In press) , (2) through 29 30 collaborative partnerships with the trade and hobbyists in order to provide guidance and incentive for 31 32 developing sustainability in the trade, and to stimulate and promote a market for responsibly acquired 33 34 35 aquarium fishes, and (3) by engaging the aquarium trade in programs and measures that benefit 36 37 conservation programs in source countries where the native fauna representing aquarium biodiversity 38 39 are threatened in the wild. 40 41 42 The ornamental fish pet trade is a large, biodiverse, global industry. There are an estimated 192 43 44 45 million individual fish imported into the US yearly (Barker and Barker, 2009), with the number of 46 47 marine species exceeding 1,800 (Rhyne et al submitted) and freshwater fish species exceeding 1,500 48 49 annually (Tamaru and Ako, 2000). Domestic production of aquatic fish and invertebrates is significant. 50 51 358 farms producing ornamental fishes in 41 states (USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, 52 53 2005), and the state of Florida alone produces over 400 species of freshwater fishes for the pet 54 55 56 industry. Florida also harvests over nine million invertebrates each year (Rhyne et al., 2009). While 57 58 59 60 John Wiley & Sons Zoo Biology Page 4 of 30 1 Tlusty et al - Public aquariums and the pet fish trade. 4 2 3 4 5 data are scarce, imports to the US comprise a larger proportion of the share of the trade, where for 6 7 marine fish alone, 40 countries export over 11 million marine fish (Rhyne et al. submitted). 8 9 10 In North America, a number of public aquariums have been involved in efforts promoting 11 12 sustainable seafood for more than a decade (Koldewey et al., 2009; Tlusty, 2012; Ward and Phillips, 13 14 15 2008). There are currently around 20 independent certification programs for both wild-caught (e.g. 16 17 Marine Stewardship Council) and aquaculture-produced (e.g., Global Aquaculture Alliance) fish and 18 For Peer Review 19 fish products (Jacquet and Pauly, 2007; Ward and Phillips, 2008). There are also corporate-based 20 21 advisory programs and consumer wallet card programs that promote continual improvement towards 22 23 24 sustainability in all aspects of the seafood trade (e.g., Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions, 25 26 www.solutionsforseafood.org/ forbusiness ). This involvement by public aquariums is based on the 27 28 tenet that seafood is an important protein source for humans, and that improving harvest and 29 30 production methods will broadly benefit oceans and freshwater ecosystems over the long-term. Public 31 32 aquariums function as environmental non-governmental organizations to assure environmental 33 34 35 stewardship (Kuhlman and Farrington, 2010) of the seafood industry. However, given that public 36 37 aquariums exist to exhibit aquatic organisms for educational purposes, it is ironic that fish species 38 39 destined for the plate currently have more sustainability efforts directed at them than do live fishes 40 41 kept by private aquarists and public aquariums. This is partially a function of the massive biological 42 43 44 and economic scales of food fisheries as compared to the relatively smaller values for the home 45 46 aquarium live animal trade. This may be a misleading metric, as it does not necessarily reflect the 47 48 potential for home aquarists and their suppliers to indirectly or directly affect conservation in the wild. 49 50 The broad and diverse nature of the ornamental fish trade, the fact that the aquarium hobby reaches a 51 52 great many young people who are just developing their consumer and conservation habits, and the 53 54 55 great emphasis on learning that is inherent to home aquarium keeping, all indicate that this sector 56 57 should receive greater attention. Public aquariums could take advantage of the charisma of the 58 59 ornamental species to engage visitors about ocean conservation (McClenachan et al., 2011), and 60 John Wiley & Sons Page 5 of 30 Zoo Biology 1 Tlusty et al - Public aquariums and the pet fish trade.