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• Hong Kong consumers love live reef fish but lack knowledge that their taste is driving some fish species to the brink of extinction.
• High demand in Hong Kong and Southern China is fueling imports of reef fishes from all over the Indo-Pacific since local resources in South China Sea have already been depleted.
• There is hope for future change in consumption patterns if consumers can be convinced to choose freshwater or sustainably farmed or fished marine fish.
• The report provides recommendations for educating consumers on their role in sustainable and safe resource use through alternatives.
A recent pilot study of consumers and restaurant employees has found Hong Kong consumers' choice of live reef fish is led by their taste and their desire to avoid some chemicals, but that they lack information about the impacts of their choices on reef fish populations. Consumers as well as restaurant employees would like to avoid chemicals and toxins found in some wild-caught reef fishes when choosing live fish; however, they were unconcerned or unaware of problems of use of cyanide in capturing fishes for the live fish trade, and endangerment of certain reef fish species from overfishing.
The trade in live reef food fishes in Southeast Asia, equaling ~50,000 metric tons with a value of US$600-700 million annually, is highly lucrative for traders and fishermen, and Hong Kong is the major importer taking in approximately 60% of the imports. Consumers in Hong Kong habitually eat live fish in local restaurants, approximately once a week to as often as four times a week for some people. To satisfy this demand, traders are shipping in live fish from all across the Indo-Pacific since fish populations in South China Sea have declined.
The hope for combining consumption with conservation lies in educating consumers on the impact of their choices and suggesting sustainable and safe alternatives. Present and previous surveys have revealed wild-caught individuals are preferred by consumers over cultured ones. Restaurant owners, on the other hand, are willing to serve cultured fish as they are lower priced and free of a toxin found in some wild caught reef fishes. Farming of marine species sometimes has problems of "growout" (where juveniles caught from the wild are grown to market size) and wild-sourcing of fish for feed (as much as 5 kg of wild fish to produce 1 kg of predatory mariculture species), as these practices still exploit wild sources. But recent success with breeding certain grouper fish species can make them less dependent on wild-caught feed and seed and gives hope for sustainable sources that can satisfy Hong Kong's addiction to groupers. Some fisheries, such as in Australia, are sustainably managed and are therefore, good sources for fish. Education campaigns need to promote these alternatives through posters and pamphlets available in restaurants.
The recommendations provided by the report for governments, conservation agencies and other groups interested in solving problems of the reef fish trade are as follows:
• Find alternative sustainable marine fishes that have similar taste and texture as the preferred species (leopard coral grouper, brown-marbled grouper, orange-spotted grouper, giant grouper, and humphead wrasse). Alternative species should be available in large numbers so that restaurant employees recommend and place them on set menus. Use education campaigns with posters, pamphlets and television advertisements to promote these alternatives to both consumers and restaurant employees.
• Promote freshwater or farmed marine fish from sustainable sources as alternatives to wild-caught fishes in education campaigns, stressing their advantages of toxin-free and environmentally friendly choice, something that many consumers are unaware of.
Considering that previous surveys found restaurant managers and consumers willing to support conservation measures (including ban on import of endangered fishes, eco-labeling and cyanide free fish), stemming the tide of marine reef fish extinction is within reach with the right campaign.
For further information or a copy of the full report please contact:
Dr. Sukhmani Kaur Mantel
The Centre of Urban Planning and Environmental Management, The University of Hong Kong
Tel. 2857 8641 Fax 2559 0468 E-mail: skaur@hkucc.hku.hk
Dr. Yvonne Sadovy
The Department of Ecology & Biodiversity, The University of Hong Kong
Tel. 2299 0603 Fax 2517 6082 E-mail: yjsadovy@hkucc.hku.hk
Hong Kong's Fish Consumption Driving Species to Extinction: Role for Better Consumer Education for Consumption and Conservation
30 May 2006
Findings of a recent survey:
• Hong Kong consumers love live reef fish but lack knowledge that their taste is driving some fish species to the brink of extinction.
• High demand in Hong Kong and Southern China is fueling imports of reef fishes from all over the Indo-Pacific since local resources in South China Sea have already been depleted.
• There is hope for future change in consumption patterns if consumers can be convinced to choose freshwater or sustainably farmed or fished marine fish.
• The report provides recommendations for educating consumers on their role in sustainable and safe resource use through alternatives.
A recent pilot study of consumers and restaurant employees has found Hong Kong consumers' choice of live reef fish is led by their taste and their desire to avoid some chemicals, but that they lack information about the impacts of their choices on reef fish populations. Consumers as well as restaurant employees would like to avoid chemicals and toxins found in some wild-caught reef fishes when choosing live fish; however, they were unconcerned or unaware of problems of use of cyanide in capturing fishes for the live fish trade, and endangerment of certain reef fish species from overfishing.
The trade in live reef food fishes in Southeast Asia, equaling ~50,000 metric tons with a value of US$600-700 million annually, is highly lucrative for traders and fishermen, and Hong Kong is the major importer taking in approximately 60% of the imports. Consumers in Hong Kong habitually eat live fish in local restaurants, approximately once a week to as often as four times a week for some people. To satisfy this demand, traders are shipping in live fish from all across the Indo-Pacific since fish populations in South China Sea have declined.
The hope for combining consumption with conservation lies in educating consumers on the impact of their choices and suggesting sustainable and safe alternatives. Present and previous surveys have revealed wild-caught individuals are preferred by consumers over cultured ones. Restaurant owners, on the other hand, are willing to serve cultured fish as they are lower priced and free of a toxin found in some wild caught reef fishes. Farming of marine species sometimes has problems of "growout" (where juveniles caught from the wild are grown to market size) and wild-sourcing of fish for feed (as much as 5 kg of wild fish to produce 1 kg of predatory mariculture species), as these practices still exploit wild sources. But recent success with breeding certain grouper fish species can make them less dependent on wild-caught feed and seed and gives hope for sustainable sources that can satisfy Hong Kong's addiction to groupers. Some fisheries, such as in Australia, are sustainably managed and are therefore, good sources for fish. Education campaigns need to promote these alternatives through posters and pamphlets available in restaurants.
The recommendations provided by the report for governments, conservation agencies and other groups interested in solving problems of the reef fish trade are as follows:
• Find alternative sustainable marine fishes that have similar taste and texture as the preferred species (leopard coral grouper, brown-marbled grouper, orange-spotted grouper, giant grouper, and humphead wrasse). Alternative species should be available in large numbers so that restaurant employees recommend and place them on set menus. Use education campaigns with posters, pamphlets and television advertisements to promote these alternatives to both consumers and restaurant employees.
• Promote freshwater or farmed marine fish from sustainable sources as alternatives to wild-caught fishes in education campaigns, stressing their advantages of toxin-free and environmentally friendly choice, something that many consumers are unaware of.
Considering that previous surveys found restaurant managers and consumers willing to support conservation measures (including ban on import of endangered fishes, eco-labeling and cyanide free fish), stemming the tide of marine reef fish extinction is within reach with the right campaign.
For further information or a copy of the full report please contact:
Dr. Sukhmani Kaur Mantel
The Centre of Urban Planning and Environmental Management, The University of Hong Kong
Tel. 2857 8641 Fax 2559 0468 E-mail: skaur@hkucc.hku.hk
Dr. Yvonne Sadovy
The Department of Ecology & Biodiversity, The University of Hong Kong
Tel. 2299 0603 Fax 2517 6082 E-mail: yjsadovy@hkucc.hku.hk
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