The live fish trade can refer to the live food fish trade (for human consumption) or to the ornamental fish trade (for aquariums). The fish can come from many places, but most comes from Southeast Asia. The live food fish trade is a global system that links fishing communities with markets, primarily in Hong Kong and mainland China. Many of the fish are captured on coral reefs in Southeast Asia or the Pacific Island nations.
Consumer demand
Within the live food trade there are certain types of fish demanded more often by consumers, particularly smaller and medium-sized fish. According to the book While Stocks Last: The Live Reef Food Fish Trade consumer demand has caused the fish captured on coral reefs to be the most valued fish in the trade. Consumers are important because they are directly purchasing these fish species at restaurants and stores. In addition to these types of fishes, many juvenile fish are used for the live food trade. There are also cultural and regional preferences among consumers, for example, Chinese consumers often prefer their fish to be reddish in color believing the color to be auspicious. These preferences inevitably affect the biodiversity of marine life making certain fish species rarer to find. The life fish food trade is a lucrative business. According to University of Washington Professor Patrick Christie, live fish caught for food export earns approximately $6000 a ton. To help support themselves and their families, fishermen in Oceania and Southeast Asia sometimes use illegal fishing methods. Although many feel the fish are worth the cost, a typical dinner can cost up to one hundred dollars per kilogram. The wholesale value on these fish is anywhere from eleven US dollars to sixty-three US dollars per kilogram, meaning there’s a large markup and resale value. (Hong Kong alone is estimated to be about four hundred million US dollars a year.) Because this trade frequently uses illegal methods of collecting (using cyanide), there is no way to know for sure how much money is being made each year on live fish trade, although estimates conclude probably over one billion US dollars each year. As is often the case, consumers are willing to pay large amounts of money on rare and fresh fish. One 500-pound, polka-dot grouper, estimated to be more than a century old, was hacked into fillets by seven kitchen workers in about half an hour, the Economist reports. It was expected to bring about $15,000.
Market and trade routes The center for the Live Food Fish Trade is located in Hong Kong -- the markets consumers contribute $400 million to the estimated $1 billion of the trades global value. Total imports flowing into Hong Kong included 10153 metric tons, of which 30 percent was re-exported to mainland China. Other major markets include Singapore, mainland China, and Taiwan. The primary suppliers of wild caught fish are Indonesia (accounting for nearly 50 percent of Hong Kong's imports), Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, and Vietnam. However, Taiwan and Malaysia are leading the charge towards farmed live fish specializing in an industry that "harvested annually has probably been in the billions [Metric Tons]". Farming live fish is gaining popularity as tastes for live fish are burgeoning across South Asia and countries look to become more and more self sustainable, this is apparent in nations with sizable Chinese populations such as Indonesia and Malaysia. Hong Kong and China are the dominant markets for the live fish, in addition to other cities in the region that have large Chinese populations, including Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. In Southeast Asia, Singapore alone consumes 500 tons of live coral fish a year. Exports from Southeast Asia rose to over 5,000 tons in 1995 from 400 tons in 1989. However, in 1996, exports declined by 22%. Indonesia, which accounts for over 60% of the harvest, saw exports falling by over 450 tons. That same year, other Southeast Asian countries have experienced similar drops in stocks of live coral fish for food. In 1996, the Philippines' exports were halved, while Malaysian exports declined by over 30%. These decreases in catch have been due to the excessive amount of fish caught for exports and the degradation of the coral reefs from such procedures.
Corruption in the trade
The live fish trade is a complex issue that involves many different perspectives, all of which must be considered in trying to approach a solution. While, at first, one may point the finger at the fishermen themselves as the criminals, there are many other factors. One is the economic disparity of many of the communities that take part in cyanide, dynamite, or other illegal fishing practices. 40% of the Filipino population and 27% of the Indonesian population is considered to be in poverty. Many whose livelihood once depended on fishing or agriculture are realizing it is more lucrative to participate in illegal fishing activities. Community members who are not a part of the trade are affected by the activities of these illegal fishers. The cyanide fishers profit by taking away from everyone else’s trade and food. ‘If people were using poison and my take dropped to only a little, I would accept it,’ Puah said. ‘But I feel heartsick…I catch nothing at all. I have not caught a big fish in a month so there’s no point in going fishing this afternoon.’” The local people are often helpless to protect themselves, as government and law enforcement officials have "open pockets" and are also involved in the trade by turning a blind eye to the illegal actions and receiving a take of the profits. “Culpability in cyanide use cannot be understood apart from the larger structures of corruption that permeates resource extraction throughout Indonesia. The Indonesian State bureaucracy extends from Jakarta down to the village level, and radiates out into villages through kinship connections. It is the factor most tightly correlated with illegal trade in natural resources throughout Indonesia.”
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