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Population impacts of collecting sea anemones and anemonefish for the marine aquarium trade in the Philippines

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Abstract

Tropical marine ornamentals comprise an increasingly important fishery worldwide. Although the potential for overexploitation of marine ornamentals is great, few studies have addressed the population-level impacts of ornamental exploitation and few ornamental fisheries are managed. Analysis of catch records obtained from collectors over a four-month period in the vicinity of Cebu, Philippines, showed that anemonefish and anemones comprised close to 60% of the total catch. Underwater visual census surveys revealed that both anemone and anemonefish densities were significantly lower in exploited areas than in protected areas. The low density of anemones on exploited reefs accounted for over 80% of the reduced density of anemonefish at those sites. There were similar numbers of anemonefish per unit area of anemone in protected and exploited sites; however, biomass of anemonefish per unit area of anemone was lower in exploited areas. Reduction of anemone removals is recommended to support the sustainable harvest of anemonefish from this region.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the numerous fisherfolk in the Philippines for their limitless hospitality and cooperation. We thank D. Ochavillo, R. Ruz and the staff of MAC Philippines for their support and assistance as well as N. Ross, K. McGee, L. Maun and Quiksilver Inc. for logistical assistance. We recognize N. Alonzo and the staff of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Cebu) as well as S. Green and A. White for their support of this project. Funding for this study was provided by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to GH and a dissertation year fellowship from UCLA to CSS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Science and Engineering Program, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Box 951772, CA, 90095-1772,  , USA

    Craig S. Shuman & Richard F. Ambrose

  2. Reef Check Foundation, P.O. Box 1057, 17575 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades, CA, 90272-1057, USA

    Craig S. Shuman & Gregor Hodgson

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  1. Craig S. Shuman
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Shuman, C.S., Hodgson, G. & Ambrose, R.F. Population impacts of collecting sea anemones and anemonefish for the marine aquarium trade in the Philippines. Coral Reefs 24, 564–573 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-005-0027-z

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