Schmidt, Christiane and Kunzmann, Andreas ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9500-4332 (2005) Post-harvest mortality in the marine aquarium trade: A case study of an Indonesian export facility. Live Reef Fish information bulletin, 13 . pp. 3-12.

Text Kunzmann.pdf - Published Version Download (120kB)

Abstract

Introduction

The use of destructive harvesting methods, the collection of unsuitable species, poor handling and husbandry practices, and the potential for overexploitation have raised concerns about the marine aquarium trade over the last decade (Barber and Pratt 1997; Johannes and Riepen 1995; Jones 1997; Sadovy 2002; Wood 2001). Most of these concerns are directly or indirectly related to high post-harvest mortality. The reduction of post-harvest mortality therefore plays a central role in the management of the trade. Because tropical fish are transported great distances to overseas destinations, and because many people are involved in their processing, there are a number of possible causes of post-harvest mortality. The reasons may be summarised as follows:

• Physical damage and use of cyanide during the catch, resulting in a higher risk of bacterial and parasitic infections and delayed mortalities (Hanawa et al. 1998).

• Poor handling, leading to stress and, thus, to a decreased resistance to continually present pathogens and diseases (Rottmann et al. 1992; Grutter and Pankhurst 2000).

• Inferior water quality during transport and in the tanks.

• Collection of species or juveniles that are almost impossible to maintain in aquaria.

There is a strong interest, motivated by sound economic and conservational reasons, in avoiding post-harvest mortalities. Every dying fish means a financial loss and a waste of fishing effort, as the fish needs to be replaced to fill the orders, thereby placing extra pressure on natural resources.

Although considerable action has already been taken to fight these problems, the management of the marine aquarium trade faces a lack of reliable data on post-harvest mortality (Holthus 1999; MAC 2001). Because of differences resulting from variations in product treatment around the world, it is nearly impossible to generalize globally about
the level of post-harvest mortality that is typical in the trade.

Indonesia, a centre of global coral reef biodiversity, is a focus of the marine aquarium trade and the world’s largest exporter of reef ornamentals. In order to provide information on the cause of postharvest mortality, and to identify possible solutions to reduce mortality rates, post-harvest mortalities of marine ornamental fish were assessed in several deliveries made to and processed in an export facility in Indonesia over a six-month period.

Document Type:	Article
Programme Area:	PA1
Research affiliation:	Ecology > Experimental Aquaculture
Refereed:	No
Open Access Journal?:	Yes
Date Deposited:	19 Feb 2026 11:24
Last Modified:	19 Feb 2026 11:24
URI:	https://cris.leibniz-zmt.de/id/eprint/6105

Actions (login required)

View Item