The aquarium hobby: can sinners become saints in freshwater fish conservation?

Abstract

AbstractThe aquarium hobby is popular worldwide, but it has positives and negatives for freshwater fish conservation. The most damaging impacts of the aquarium trade on ecosystems are overharvesting and invasive species. Consequently, many conservationists and academics have the perception that aquarium hobbyists are generally harmful to species conservation. Without overlooking these major drawbacks of the aquarium hobby, we aim to establish common ground between hobbyists and conservationists by correcting some misconceptions and showing the benefits of serious aquarium hobbyists in the conservation of freshwater fishes and their habitats. Our overview illustrates that the aquarium hobby is not insensitive to the pernicious effects of this enduring hobby on natural systems and that serious aquarists and their associations can directly assist and fund scientific research, increase conservation awareness among the general public and even participate in ex situ and in situ conservation programmes for native fish species at national or international levels. Whilst the relationship between conservationists and the aquarium hobby has often been antagonistic in recent years, ultimately most biologists and aquarists share a love of the species they study or maintain, and this common interest could be the basis for a more positive and productive relationship.