Abstract
Ornamental marine species (‘OMS’) provide valuable income for developing nations in the Indo-Pacific Coral Triangle, from which most of the specimens are exported. OMS culture can help diversify livelihoods in the region, in support of management and conservation efforts to reduce destructive fishing and collection practices that threaten coral reef and seagrass ecosystems. Adoption of OMS culture depends on demonstrating its success as a livelihood, yet few studies of OMS culture exist in the region. We present a case study of a land-based culture project for an endangered seahorse (Hippocampus barbouri) in the Spermonde Islands, Sulawesi, Indonesia. The business model demonstrated that culturing can increase family income by seven times. A Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats (SWOT) analysis indicated good collaboration among diverse stakeholders and opportunities for culturing non-endangered species and for offshoot projects, but complicated permitting was an issue as were threats of market flooding and production declines. The OMS international market is strong, Indonesian exporters expressed great interest in cultured product, and Indonesia is the largest exporting country for H. barbouri. Yet, a comparison of Indonesia ornamental marine fish exports to fish abundance in a single local market indicated that OMS culture cannot replace fishing livelihoods. Nevertheless, seahorse and other OMS culture can play a role in management and conservation by supplementing and diversifying the fishing and collecting livelihoods in the developing nations that provide the majority of the global OMS.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00267-014-0343-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
There is increasing interest in culturing ornamental marine species in light of the dramatic increase in the trade over the past two decades (Tlusty 2002; Cato and Brown 2003; Wabnitz et al 2003; Moorhead and Zeng 2010; Olivotto et al 2011; Rhyne et al 2014)
The Coral Triangle, which stretches from Australia, north to the Philippines, and west to Malaysia, supports the highest coral reef and seagrass biodiversity on earth, but it is subject to multiple environmental threats (Bruno and Selig 2007; Burke et al 2012)
The first production unit was started in 2009 and commercial international sales of CITES-certified seahorses commenced in September 2011, for a total of 2,800 animals sold through January 2014
Summary
There is increasing interest in culturing ornamental marine species (hereafter ‘OMS’) in light of the dramatic increase in the trade over the past two decades (Tlusty 2002; Cato and Brown 2003; Wabnitz et al 2003; Moorhead and Zeng 2010; Olivotto et al 2011; Rhyne et al 2014). The OMS trade itself is a threat to Coral Triangle ecosystems when overcollection and destructive collection using cyanide occur (Kolm and Berglund 2003; DeVantier et al 2004; Lunn and Moreau 2004; Shuman et al 2005; Tissot et al 2010), or non-native species are released in the region (Moore and Ndobe 2007). In recognition of these factors, the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) for Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security set more effective management and sustainability of trade in reef ornamental species and live reef fish as a target for 2020 (Fidelman et al 2012)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
