About this Research Topic
Oceans cover more than 70 percent of the earth’s surface and are home to a majority of the world’s biodiversity. Over a quarter of this marine diversity relies on coral reef ecosystems i.e. around 2 million species. In recent decades, these organisms have given rise to exploitation and exploration by hobby aquarists. The increase in demand for marine ornamental fishes by hobbyists is well recognized and documented.
Overexploitation by the aquarium fish trade, habitat degradation and destruction, alien species introductions, pernicious tourism, and pollution are principal threats to marine biodiversity. Susceptible species are identified using the number of traded specimens, trends in the trade volume, IUCN Red List conservation status, as well as vulnerability according to FishBase. The clown anemone fish ‘Nemo’ Amphiprion ocellaris is the most popular fish species in the global marine ornamental trade, along with its host sea anemones Heteractis magnifica, Stichodactyla gigantea, and Stichodactyla mertensii. However, total catch and the potential impact of exploitation of these target organisms are not known precisely. Technology has been developed to successfully breed some of the important marine fishes in captivity and efforts are in progress to improving breeding processes, to limit natural take directly from reef habitats.
This Research Topic welcomes papers on examples of hobbyist fishing for ornamental fish and its wider consequences, sustainable ornamental fishing practices, breeding practices for aquarium fish, etc. We welcome research as well as reviews and methods papers for this special issue on the subject.
Overexploitation by the aquarium fish trade, habitat degradation and destruction, alien species introductions, pernicious tourism, and pollution are principal threats to marine biodiversity. Susceptible species are identified using the number of traded specimens, trends in the trade volume, IUCN Red List conservation status, as well as vulnerability according to FishBase. The clown anemone fish ‘Nemo’ Amphiprion ocellaris is the most popular fish species in the global marine ornamental trade, along with its host sea anemones Heteractis magnifica, Stichodactyla gigantea, and Stichodactyla mertensii. However, total catch and the potential impact of exploitation of these target organisms are not known precisely. Technology has been developed to successfully breed some of the important marine fishes in captivity and efforts are in progress to improving breeding processes, to limit natural take directly from reef habitats.
This Research Topic welcomes papers on examples of hobbyist fishing for ornamental fish and its wider consequences, sustainable ornamental fishing practices, breeding practices for aquarium fish, etc. We welcome research as well as reviews and methods papers for this special issue on the subject.
Keywords: ornamental fisheries, ornamental fish, aquarists
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
