There is nothing quite as beautiful and soothing as watching fish swimming around colorful coral. But the best place to see that is snorkeling on vacation. The sad truth is for every salt water fish harvested from the wild, many others die and countless coral is destroyed in the process.
The Aquarium business is worth over $1 million dollars a year and sadly, after Finding Nemo was screened ( a movie designed to show the downside of capturing fish), the demand for clown fish went up.
Because of the huge dollar trade, this market is attractive to people all over the world. Unfortunately, most of the fish captured never survive to see an aquarium.
Fishermen in some parts of the world, particularly the Philippines and Indonesia, catch fish by squirting cyanide from plastic bottles into crevasses in the reef. The cyanide temporarily stuns the fish so they can be easily captured by hand or with small nets, often using a crowbar to pry apart the reef where the fish hide. Fisherman in the Philippines cover their faces like terrorist for protection from jellyfish stings and can stay underwater for long periods of time thanks to hoses attached to an air compressor known as a "hookah." The poison initially does not normally harm the fish but it hurts the living coral. Fishermen also use bleach and other chemicals to get fish.
In other places people catch fish by setting off an explosive charge in the water which kills or stuns fish with its percussive blast. The fishermen then scoop up the fish when they float to the surface. The fish are generally caught not to feed their families but sell for profit.On the other hand, nearly 90% of freshwater fish are captive breed. This prevents the death of captured fish and the danger to the coral reefs. And while many may argue that none of these fish should be kept in captivity, I think it is easy to see why when it's time to decide between salt water and fresh water aquariums, fresh water is the better choice for us and our
The Aquarium business is worth over $1 million dollars a year and sadly, after Finding Nemo was screened ( a movie designed to show the downside of capturing fish), the demand for clown fish went up.
Because of the huge dollar trade, this market is attractive to people all over the world. Unfortunately, most of the fish captured never survive to see an aquarium.
Fishermen in some parts of the world, particularly the Philippines and Indonesia, catch fish by squirting cyanide from plastic bottles into crevasses in the reef. The cyanide temporarily stuns the fish so they can be easily captured by hand or with small nets, often using a crowbar to pry apart the reef where the fish hide. Fisherman in the Philippines cover their faces like terrorist for protection from jellyfish stings and can stay underwater for long periods of time thanks to hoses attached to an air compressor known as a "hookah." The poison initially does not normally harm the fish but it hurts the living coral. Fishermen also use bleach and other chemicals to get fish.
In other places people catch fish by setting off an explosive charge in the water which kills or stuns fish with its percussive blast. The fishermen then scoop up the fish when they float to the surface. The fish are generally caught not to feed their families but sell for profit.On the other hand, nearly 90% of freshwater fish are captive breed. This prevents the death of captured fish and the danger to the coral reefs. And while many may argue that none of these fish should be kept in captivity, I think it is easy to see why when it's time to decide between salt water and fresh water aquariums, fresh water is the better choice for us and our
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