Research Article

Marine ornamental trade in Indonesia

¹ Department of Zoology and Fisheries, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Praha-Suchdol 16500, Czech Republic
² Centre for Disaster Studies, Research and Community Empowerment, IPB University, 166 80 Bogor, Indonesia
³ Faculty of Biology, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, Jalan dr. Soeparno 63, Purwokerto 53122, Indonesia
⁴ Directorate General of Fisheries Product Competitiveness, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Gambir, Jakarta 10110, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: patoka@af.czu.cz

Handling Editor: Olivier Thebaud

Received: 14 February 2019
Accepted: 8 December 2020

Abstract

Trade with marine species as ornamentals is an important sector of the international pet trade. The vast majority of these species are collected from the wild and one of the top supplying countries is Indonesia. Detailed evidence on trade with marine resources in Indonesia is lacking or it is hardly accessible. Moreover, the exploitation of ornamental species seems to be mostly uncontrolled. This study presents detailed characteristics of such trade for Indonesia, including the offered species, their sizes, prices, and conservation status, based on data and information obtained from wholesalers in 2018. The main provinces of marine wildlife collecting are also identified. In total, 777 marine vertebrate and invertebrate species were traded, belonging to 174 families including two species classified as endangered: Banggai cardinal fish (Pterapogon kauderni) and zebra shark (Stegostoma fasciatum). Commonly traded was red lionfish (Pterois volitans), known to be a successful invader. The volume of ornamental marine fish exported from Indonesia in period 2015–2019 was 3 353 983 kgs sold for 33 123 218 USD. The province of Bali was identified as the main exporter of ornamental marine fish within Indonesia. These findings should help to establish sustainable exploitation of marine resources in relation to conservation and wildlife management.