Abstract
Costa Rica hosts an active industry for the collection of marine ornamental reef fish that are supplied to the international aquarium fish trade. Little is known about the effects that collection activities may be having upon target species in Costa Rica, although research elsewhere gives reason for concern. Thalassoma lucasanum (Cortez rainbow wrasse) is an important species in this fishery. Costa Rican collectors prize the vibrantly colored terminal phase T. lucasanum individuals, but also collect the less dramatic initial phase T. lucasanum. We measured the density of T. lucasanum and the length of terminal phase individuals on highly collected reefs close to a fishing village and on nearby less-collected reefs located within the Guanacaste Conservation Area. Our findings show that densities of T. lucasanum were significantly lower and that terminal phase individuals were significantly smaller on the reefs near the fishing village where collection pressure was high. These findings indicate that even moderate amounts of relatively non-destructive aquarium fish extraction can negatively affect targeted populations. We present some suggestions for the reform of the aquarium reef fish industry in Costa Rica, which we believe would improve the long-term sustainability of this fishery.
Highlights
Our findings show that densities of T. lucasanum were significantly lower and that terminal phase individuals were significantly smaller on the reefs near the fishing village where collection pressure was high
We studied the potential effects of ornamental fish collection in northwest Costa Rica on a single species, Thalassoma lucasanum (Gill 1862), the Cortez rainbow wrasse
Densities of non-target control fish C. atrilobata were relatively equal between low collection pressure (LCP) and high collection pressure (HCP) reefs (W = 230, P = 0.26)
Summary
Past research has demonstrated that the collection of marine ornamental reef fish for the aquarium fish trade can have detrimental effects upon targeted populations (Lubbock and Polunin 1975, Edwards and Shepherd 1992, Wood 2001, Sadovy and Vincent 2002, Kolm and Berglund 2003, Tissot and Hallacher 2003, Shuman et al 2005, Jones et al 2008). We studied the potential effects of ornamental fish collection in northwest Costa Rica on a single species, Thalassoma lucasanum (Gill 1862), the Cortez rainbow wrasse. T. lucasanum has no commercial value except in the aquarium trade We selected this species for study because it is one of the most commonly collected ornamental fish in this area. Trends observed in its response to collecting pressure should help provide insight about the impact of this fishery on other more rare and difficult to survey target species
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