Climate Change, Ocean Acidification, marine pollution, but also destructive fishing practices threaten coral reefs. Breeding and culture of marine ornamentals is therefore often seen as one big opportunity to ease the pressure resulting from aquarium fisheries and trade.

SAIA wants to encourage and promote an ethical and sustainable marine aquarium trade. As such the development and growth of breeding and culture activities in this sector are part of our programs. To help identifying sources, but also best practices, we start this program with a survey of aquaculture activities in Europe.

A wise man said: You can't manage what you don't know. Therefore SAIA would like to explore the state of marine ornamental aquaculture first. Most recent figures published (UNEP-WCMC, 2003) state: „Only 1 per cent (about 25 species) to 10 per cent of marine ornamental fish are captive-bred and probably less than 1 per cent of the total trade in hard corals is derived from cultured origins.“.These figures are often critizised as being outdated; sometimes tremendous progress is celebrated. Therefore we now want to collect new data on the topic and ask you to share your figures and experiences with us. 

Imagine new import regulation would ban all marine wildlife trade: what would be left in your tank, shop?

Could we sustain our business or hobby as it is now? Can we already rest on our laurels?

So please help with the count by answering the following questions of our Aquaculture Survey Part 1.