Deeper into Conservation - new
Eating an Australian Icon
Today’s Specials…
So mei – try the Napoleon Wrasse, not only is it an Australian icon but it is also threatened throughout most of Asia. Filleted, sautéed in cyanide and grilled to perfection…………………..AUS$300/Kg
As of 13 December 2003 the Napoleon Wrasse (also known as the Maori Wrasse) will be a no-take fish in Queensland waters where catching, filleting or exporting the fish will be illegal.
In a Ministerial statement, Peter Beattie remarked, “Queenslanders are passionately committed to sustainable management of the reef fisheries.” In the new Coral Reef Fin Fish Management Plan seven fish, including the Napoleon Wrasse, have been set aside as no-take species. “These fish are as much a part of the Great Barrier Reef as the colourful corals.”
With a hump above its head, thick fleshy lips, soulful eyes and fluttering fins, the Napoleon Wrasse has enchanted many a diver. Highly intelligent, they strike up amazing relationships with some divers, especially when boiled eggs are involved! According to Mark Elmer from the Queensland Fisheries Management Authority, such redeeming characteristics came to the fish’s aid, “it is regulated as iconic, not threatened. They were set aside purely on an iconic basis.”
However, according to the NSW fisheries - what the Queenslander’s claim to be an icon is their own business.
This majestic fish does not live in the waters surrounding NSW. Unfortunately, it is this small detail that has made their decision to not regulate it, astoundingly easy. If it is not found here, why protect it?
Sadly, the Napoleon Wrasse, which is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN red list and protected in Western Australia, can still be bought, sold and devoured within NSW.
Chinese restaurants display the fish in tiny tanks, accompanied by extravagant price tags. An 80cm Napoleon Wrasse was found by OceanNEnvironment, selling for $1000 at Sydney’s Golden Century Restaurant. The high prices are not a result of any superb flavour or texture. Instead, eating this fish is seen as a status symbol – a representation of wealth.
The only way the Napoleon Wrasse can be caught and exported legally from Queensland is if it is for educational or research purposes. Perhaps education is what NSW policy makers need. By allowing the sale and consumption of the fish, they become an integral factor in its demise.
“With an increase in the demand for the live fish trade there is an increase in fishing pressures. Napoleon Wrasse are very vulnerable to fishing pressure, if it increases they will quickly come under serious concern,” explains Mark.
All said and done, this is not really a battle between different states and different policies. The question is – how can we allow our own icons to be eaten? The answer can be found in a problem that has plagued Australian’s for years – the mindset that our island continent is immune to the troubles of the world.
Ask an Australian about the culling of Napoleon Wrasse with cyanide for the live fish trade and the response is fairly predictable. ‘Oh…that only happens in Indonesia and the Philippines…yeah I heard that the WWF found 6000 cyanide divers squirt 130, 000 Kg of poison into 33 million coral heads a year…oh…but that only happens in Asia, not in Australia…’
Nowhere are such views more apparent than in the controversy over whether or not to include the Napoleon Wrasse as a no-take fish.
Despite the fact that the sighting of a solitary wrasse is reason enough to call in the dive boats, three years of research by James Cook University found that stocks were in pretty good condition. As Mark explains, “they were not as long lived as they were once thought and they were more reproductively active as well and they were not inclined to aggregated in great densities. All these things worked against the need for their protection.”
Such information divided the 1260 people and organisations involved in deciding which species would be regulated and which would be left to fend for themselves. “It became a divided issue whether action should be taken to protect the fish before they become threatened or if you should take action when they become threatened and that became the issue.”
Only in a country that believes they are immune to divers descending upon a fish, stupefying with poison, ruthlessly shoving a hook in its lips and dragging it to the surface to be exported and eaten, can there be such an issue.
But it is happening in our own backyard and we are the ones that are allowing it.For those of you in Queensland, if you see any illegal fishing of the Napoleon Wrasse there is a free Fishwatch Hotline that you can contact on 1800 017 116.
As for those in NSW, if you want to help stop this magnificent fish from being eaten, contact oneocean@OceanNEnvironment.com
Live Reef Fish Trade in Hong Kong Updates
With a greater amount of data now available on the trade, and the number of exporting countries to Hong Kong having increased to about twenty, Patricia Davies recently published a report outlining the current status of the trade in Hong Kong, as well as discussing biological and social issues at the regional and global levels and possible approaches for management.
Her report shows that the mean wholesale prices for all species of live reef fish appear to have declined from 1997, as expected in response to the Asian economic downturn. The High-finned Grouper replaced the Humphead Wrasse as the highest priced fish on the market, selling for over HK$500 per kg in 2001.
Notably her research shows that the dive tourism industry, inherently reliant on the health of coral reefs for survival, has the potential to play an important role in the conservation of reef fish stocks by providing information and resources to communities within their vicinity.
However at present, few dive companies in South-east Asia actually return the benefits they derive from the reefs to the local community. Instead, they are often foreign-owned businesses that take advantage of a supply of cheap labour and conflicts often arise with local fishermen. At best their attempts at preservation are by charging tourists an environmental management charge, which generates funds for improved monitoring and surveillance programs. As such economic benefits to the locals are near to non-existent.
The report concludes that much work remains to be done by governments, conservation agencies, researchers, and individuals to regulate the live reef fish trade at a sustainable level; aquaculture is sighted to be a major contributing factor. Although Hong Kong appears to be the major importer of live reef fish for food, with the economic downturn in South East Asia, OceanNEnvironment sighted China’s recent entry into the WTO to have significant increase consumption of live reef fish and shark fins. Although the average GDP per capita in China is very low, a small proportion of the population, representing a large total market, is comparatively affluent to those of Hong Kong. (Michael Aw /OceanNEnvironment contributed to Patricia Davies report)
 |
 |
Marine Awareness Presentation for Resorts & Liveaboards
OceanNEnvironment is now offering a Tropical Reef ecology program designed to educate and raise awareness of marine life on the coral reef. The program is made up of two modules – Reef Life & Reef Fishes. The modules are comprised of 100 high quality 35mm slides, presentation notes and presenter reference books. All images are by Michael AW, author and photographer of Dreams of a Rainbow Sea, Tropical Reef Life and Tropical Reef Fishes marine awarness guides. Scuba instructor or Guest Relation Officer will find the program easy to use, a delightful way to entertain and an effective program to promote the interest and conservation for our marine environment.
The program is designed to entertain guests and educate them about the highlights of diving, thus making their underwater adventure and snorkeling activity more enjoyable. The presentation can be held either during a once or twice weekly program.
Complete Package
This presentation package is comprised of:
- Tropical Reef Fishes Module – 50 slides 35mm
- Tropical Sea Life Module = 50 slides 35mm
- CR ROM – Powerpoint Version
- Hard Copy – presentation notes
- Tropical Reef Fishes – 160 pages – reference book
- Tropical Reef Life – 160 pages – reference book
US$380 – freight included
Power Point Only Package - USD 200