Aquarium Industry Threatens Biodiversity

摘要

THE AQUARIUM INDUSTRY IS AMAJOR SOURCE of aquatic invasions, especially in terms of the number of species and potential sites of species release (7,2). The introduction of species to foreign ecosystems occurs through intentional release of adults from aquaria into the environment, accidental release from breeding facilities (common in areas where the captive stocks are raised in outdoor farms), and unnoticed release of juveniles in discarded water (7). Regulatory and legal mechanisms that rely on accurate species-specific data are critical to preventing biological invasions and mitigating the consequences of those that occur (3).Examples of regulation include Section 75 of Victoria, Australia's Fisheries Act of 1995 (4), and chapter 68A-23, Section 008, of Florida's Administrative Code (5), each of which declares more than 30 nonna-tive aquarium fish species illegal to import. Unfortunately, many developing countries lack such specific regulation, allowing the aquarium industry to introduce nonnative species into the environment. For example, in Brazil, ornamental fish farmers release commercially important families such as Cyprini-dae and Poeciliidae into the creeks and later collect and sell the offspring (6).