Trading of live reef food fish from the Southeast Asian Region: Economic boon or bane?

Abstract

Trading of live reef food fish starts with the capture of reef fish which are kept alive, and then exported mainly to Hong Kong and China, and to smaller markets in Malaysia and Singapore. Live reef fish have long been traded around Southeast Asia as a luxury food item, and in recent decades trading of live fish captured from coral reefs has rapidly expanded threatening the sustainability of the reef resources. The most commonly traded reef fishes include various species of groupers and leopard coral trout, humphead wrasse, and red snapper.