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By Alice Morris
If you liked the ending to Finding Nemo, you’ll probably like this piece of news out of the Philippines.
Authorities on Sibuyan Island in Romblon province have released about two hundred illegally captured fishes.
After being seized from a fishing vessel on October 30th, the fish were released into a sanctuary in San Fernando just three days later.
Police Senior Inspector Elmer Fajel of the San Fernando Municipal Police Station initiated the release with help from Mayor Salem Tansingo and members of the coast guard. Illegal fishing of popular aquarium species is a major problem in the Philippines and throughout the world, especially when considering the means by which many fish are captured.
Though illegal in the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia, cyanide fishing is still common practice due to ineffectual law enforcement.
In the Philippines, private planes can reportedly be hired to carry cyanide out to fishermen and then haul away the live fish.
Why the sudden interest in capturing fish for aquariums, rather than for food?
According to the World Wildlife Fund, fishermen make a lot more money capturing fish for the aquarium trade, which has a worth of about $200 million a year. This is bad news for many of the world’s tropical fish populations.
Cyanide impairs an animal’s ability to swim and breath temporarily, allowing them to be easily caught, but the harmful effects of cyanide don’t end there. For every live fish captured using cyanide, one square yard of coral is destroyed.
Though the majority of illegal aquarium fishing happens thousands of miles away, the U.S. is an integral part of the trade. As much as 90 percent of tropical fish entering the U.S. each year are reportedly captured illegally using cyanide, according to NOAA.
Currently, there are about 1,800 species of marine fish in the aquarium trade, and since only a few of those species can be successfully raised by breeders, the vast majority are caught in the wild.
Authorities in the Philippines stressed the importance of keeping wild fish in the oceans to support healthy populations and prevent species extinction.
Where do your aquarium fish come from? It’s something to consider the next time you’re shopping for fish. Luckily, most stores will tell you where its fish come from and there is even an app called Tank Watch that provides information on what species are the most ethically and environmentally safe to buy.
The app was developed by the Humane Society of the U.S., Humane Society International, and software developer Aysling… and the best part is it’s free! So you can do your part to combat illegal fishing around the world.
Read more about the harmful effects of cyanide fishing here.