Species diversity and conservation status of marine ornamental fish traded at three market spots in the southern coast of West Java

Abstract

Several studies had reported marine ornamental fish are exported from Indonesia to the United States of America. However, there is no study about marine ornamental fish that has been done with particular reference to specific localities across Indonesia, mainly from the southern coast of West Java. This study aims to know species diversity and conservation status of marine ornamental fish traded in Pelabuhan Ratu, Ujung Genteng, and Taman Manalusu. Fish samples were bought from the first collector in each sampling locality. Fish species were identified morphologically according to the previous publication. A total of 93 nominal species, 22 families, and six marine ornamental fish orders were traded. The highest number of species belonged to Pomacentridae and followed by Achanturidae, Labridae, and Chaetodontidae. The remaining families consisted of one up to six species. Perciformes was the dominant order with 19 families. Most of the species are listed as Least Concern conservation status, and one species listed as vulnerable, namely Hippocampus kuda (sea horse). Our results proved that many marine ornamental fish were on the southern coast of West Java and mostly listed as Least Concern species.