http://www.dejongmarinelife.nl/kwekerij.htm
By Robert Brons
The artificial culture of reef fishes in sufficient amounts so that the import of wild specimens will be less and less required, is undoubtedly of great importance for the long term continuation of the
marine aquarium hobby. Despite steady progress in aquaculture techniques, however, still the vast majority of reef fishes for sale in aquarium shops, have been collected from the world’s coral reefs.
This obvious inavailability of tank raised specimens is often attributed to the lack of know-how to raise the delicate larvae of reef fishes. This is indeed partly true: many reef fish genera, especially among the pelagic spawners such as for example Centropyge and Zebrasoma, have such tiny larval stages or extended larval development that complicated biological problems have to be solved to be able to develop breeding techniques that work.
There are however overlying economic problems that not ony prevent research into new species, but even seem to prevent mass production of the species of which the breeding technique is already available.
Reef fish culture is a very expensive activity since it is time consuming work, requiring specialised personnel as well as high quality equipment. Especially the development of new techniques for species that can not be bred yet may take years of scientific team work. Since this means a very large investment, companies would perform a market research to investigate if such an investment could be earned back. Since the market for many reef fishes is quitte limited, especially while there is also still competition from wild caught specimens, these large investments can in many cases prove to be unjustified.
But also the large scale culture of species that unquestionably can be bred does not seem to develop as could be expected, which is clearly illustrated by the scarcity of tank raised fishes in the shops and the ongoing dominance of imported wild specimens.
Also here the explanation should be sought in economics. Because of the high costs involved in reef fish culture, one should of course try to limit the expenses as much as possible. Therefore it seems very logical to breed reef fishes in tropical areas, where at least seawater, optimum temperatures and lighting are at no costs available. Several marine ornamental hatcheries were built and operated in this fashion during the past 20 years.
While the fish production costs are in this case indeed much lower than a similar enterprise in a colder climate, there is one large disadvantage in this strategy.
To be able to sell the produced fishes, they must be exported and shipped as airfreight to wholesalers in (for example) the European market. The cost of airfreight added to the price of the tank raised fishes leads to a price to the importer that is significantly higher than the price for wild caught fishes. Of course import companies (and their customers) will prefer the cheaper wild caught fishes so that the reef fish farm is forced to sell at a lower price, that will in the best case not provide any profit, but in practice many times led to the economic failure of the hatchery. The history of marine ornamental fish culture shows therefore several examples of closed down hatcheries that were unable to compete with the low prices of wild caught fishes.
In Table 1A and B this principle is illustrated by figures, using the clownfish
Amphiprion ocellaris as an example. 1A follows a wild caught A. ocellaris which costs for example $ 0.10 to the exporter to buy it from the catcher. He sells it for $0.30 to the importer, but as soon as the freight costs are added the fish costs already $2.00 to the importer. He sells it to the shopkeeper for $3.50, who sells it to the aquarist for $7.00.
Breeding fish is much more expensive than catching them: the costs to the fish farm (see 1B) to breed one A. ocellaris are for example $ 1.50. When the farm makes a profit of $ 0.50 per fish, the total costs after adding the airfreight are already higher than for the wild caught fish.
A
Price (for)
Species-Amphiprion ocellaris
Exporter $ 0.10
Importer $ 0.30
after landing $ 2.00
retailer $ 3.50
Aquarist $ 7.00
Price (for)
Species -Amphiprion ocellaris
Fish farm$ 1.50
Importer$ 2.00
after landing $ 3.50
retailer $ 5.00
Aquarist$ 10.00
Price (for)
Species fish- Amphiprion ocellaris
farm/importer in Europe$ 2.00
retailer $ 3.50
Aquarist $ 7.00
Table 1.: Comparative price developments of Amphiprion ocellaris, for A. wild caught fishes, B. fishes bred in a tropical fish farm and C. fishes bred in a European fish farm close to the market.
The higher price of bred reef fishes and its failure to compete with cheap wild specimens is not the only problem that prevented reef fish hatcheries from becoming successful. Importers are used to buying a large variety of fish species, usually at least fifty species in one shipment. At present the technical know-how is available to be able to breed approximately 30 species, that are divided over 5 or 6 genera. This is highly unattractive to fish importers, especially when it is also combined with a high price.
The economic problems around reef fish hatcheries were also experienced by the author of this article, when he led an experimental ornamental marine hatchery in Eilat, Israel. Although the location is reasonably close to the European market, also here we experienced that the produced fishes were too expensive after landing at a European airport. While the project was technically and biologically successful it failed because of economic reasons.
If the costs of airfreight to the market are such a dominant factor inhibiting success in reef fish culture, the thought inevitably develops to breed fishes very near or inside the market. At first thought this seems to be a big contradiction: in this case there will be very large costs for heating, lighting, seawater and filtration equipment.
Personally I went even a step further than breeding reef fishes in a cold climate inside the market, since it would be even more advantageous to do this inside an existing import/wholesale business. In this way also the mentioned problem of insufficient assortment of tank raised species will be solved: while the number of bred species gradually increases, customers can still be provided with a complete assortment of reef fishes, by supplementation with wild caught specimens of the species that cannot be bred yet.
In Table 1C the principle is illustrated using the same example of A. ocellaris. While the costs of producing the fish are higher than in the tropics (for example $2.00 each) the fish does not have to be exported any more so that the price can be kept the same as for a wild specimen.
In October 1998 this project started in the Netherlands, inside the existing marine import and wholesale business De Jong Marinelife BV in Spijk. One year later a steady production of the following 12 species was achieved: Amphiprion ocellaris, A. percula, A. rubrocinctus, A. clarkii, A. nigripes, A. polymnus, A. frenatus, Pseudochromis fridmani, P. flavivertex, P. springeri, P. olivaceus and Calloplesiops altivelis. Gradually more species will be tank raised. As soon as production can meet the demand, the import of wild specimens will be stopped. Using this strategy the percentage of bred fish will become gradually larger, while the percentage of imported wild fish will become gradually smaller. Using the income earned by selling bred fish we will hopefully also be able to finance research into new species.
It is already clear that at present this type of marine ornamental hatchery, despite the higher production costs, shows much better financial results than can be achieved in a tropical environment far away from the market.
Thinking of how marine ornamental fish culture may develop into the future, two questions arise:
1. Will it be possible that eventually all popular reef fish species can be bred, so that the marine aquarium fish industry becomes fully self supporting?
2. Is it required or even desirable that all marine aquarium fish will be bred, so that no claim at all will be laid on the natural reefs?
Question 1. is partly a biological, partly an economic question and partly a mixture of both biology and economics.
To start with the biological part, it may indeed prove impossible to culture certain reef fish species, especially in a closed system hatchery as we discussed above. The larvae of Angelfishes (Pomacanthus sp.) are for example extremely difficult to rear in even very large larval rearing tanks of 500 liter volume and more. A company in Taiwan is presently breeding a Pomacanthus species, but is doing this in open ponds of 500x500 meters, connected with the sea. Naturally this is not breeding under completely controlled conditions. Instead of solving the biological problems this company lets nature do the work, by providing a very large volume of seawater with conditions almost like the sea itself. Of course this method has the disadvantage that it has to be performed in a tropical area, so that shipment to the market, as already discussed, will lead to a sharp price increase. If this will work out economically for the Pomacanthus farm still remains a question. On the other hand an open pond method such as this will be impossible to realise in a colder climate as ours. Here we have to work under completely controlled circumstances in closed systems and in larvae tanks of limited volume.
Still there is also an economic aspect to the question if we will ever breed for example Pomacanthus species in Europe. The large investment required for research to develop the method, must be justified by a large enough market to earn back the investment. The high price in the aquarium shop for Pomacanthus species, may lead to think that it must be highly profitable to mass culture these fishes. Unfortunately this is not the case. Market studies reveal that Pomacanthus species are much less in demand than for example the smaller and cheaper species such as Amphiprion and Pseudochromis. It is therefore economically wiser to mass culture the cheaper and more popular (and often smaller) species: while the profit per fish is lower, the market demand is many times larger.
An example of a fish species that is difficult to culture because of both biology and economics is Pterapogon kauderni. Although this fish is widely known as very easy to breed, since no larval stage exists, it only reproduces at a rate of 20 per pair per month (compare e.g. Amphiprion ocellaris with 1500 per pair per month). Such a low fecundity is difficult to handle in a hatchery situation. To breed just 1000 fish per month, one would need already 50 pairs in 50 tanks, plus the personnel to take care of all this, which is just costing too much for too little fish. Pterapogon is therefore a typical example of a fish of which the aquarists themselves should try to become self supporting. This is truly an important task for the hobbyist since the natural population of P. kauderni is very limited.
It is therefore very unlikely, because of biological as well as economic reasons, that all popular reef fishes will eventually be bred. But, is it necessary or even desirable to breed all required reef fishes?
It would be necessary if there is so much demand for a species from the aquarium industry, that collection from the reef would become a threat to the natural population. While very little research has been performed into the influence of reef fish harvesting to the natural populations, it is likely, but this should be verified, that for many species this influence is quitte small. It is therefore quite likely that a continuous harvest of certain species without damaging the natural reef environment will be very well possible. In this respect the culture of those species for which there is only a limited demand from the aquarium market, will probably be less necessary from a conservation point of view.
Also from a conservation point of view it is not even desirable to culture all species (if it were biologically and economically possible), so that the aquarium hobby becomes completely self supporting. The reef ecosystems of the world are under heavy pressure. Destructive activities such as removal of coral for building and cement production and dynamite fishing are serious threats to the delicate ecosystem. The collection of reef specimens for the aquarium forms amidst this large scale destruction only a very limited influence. Still, it should be a concern to reef aquarist as well as aquarium trader.
A number of environmental organisations notice that the relatively small impact of the aquarium industry on the reef environment may well be used as a positive influence to prevent worse damage from other human activities. The collection and export of reef organisms, if done in a sustainable manner, could be a source of income for local villages for many generations to come. This may help to prevent such activities that will definitely destroy the reefs within one generation.
This also shows that operating a marine ornamental hatchery away from the reefs has its contradictions. On the one hand environmental organisations and government authorities build up pressure, so that the aquarium industry is looking for ways to become self supporting. On the other hand if self-supportiveness is complete, the reef environment will not benefit from it, probably it will will suffer more, since the other economic uses of the reef are far more destructive.
In any case the species choice of a marine ornamental hatchey will be led by economics, provided biological complications do not prevent it. Economics will demand that the species can be sold in large numbers and that by using the culture technique a profit can be made. Here we see that hatchery economics may combine well with reef conservation. A large demand from the aquarium market would lay a relatively heavy pressure on the reef environment, but on the other hand it stimulates the culture of the species. Reverse, species that are less in demand are unlikely to be cultured, but probably also the collection of these limited amounts will have insignificant effect on the natural population.
The species that can be bred close to the market will most probably cost the same as the current wild caught specimens or might even become cheaper. Fishes that can not be bred near the market and that also can not be collected in a sustainable manner, could be bred in large open systems in the tropics. The price will definitely be high because of the expensive breeding process plus additional airfreight.
All this could work out into a marine aquarium fish industry which breeds relatively cheap mass produced species within the markets and more expensive species in tropical open system hatcheries. Species that are less in demand or occur sufficiently abundant could be wild caught using sustainable harvest techniques, thereby stimulating efforts to preserve the reef ecosystem.
