Organization and operation of the marine ornamental fish and invertebrate export fishery in Puerto Rico

This fishery was examined utilizing public records,stakeholder interviews,and operational site visits to describe the fishery for the Puerto Rico Coral Reef Advisory Committee as a first step toward development of policies for the effective management of these natural resources.The fishery is not large,including fewer than 20 licensed fishers operating primarily on the west end of the island.Only three operators export product,with the remaining fishers providing specimens to the exporters based upon customer orders.Most collection of coral reef species occurs over hard rubble zones mixed with relic reef structures and rock,or on the sides and frontal areas of active reefs.Other species are collected from among mangrove prop root zones,tidal flats,and seagrass beds.Collections are made using simple barrier and dip nets for fish and motile invertebrates such as shrimp. Invertebrates such as crabs,starfish,and sea cucumbers are commonly collected by overturning small rocks, gathering the specimens,and then replacing the rocks in their original positions.Specimens are carried to the boat and transferred to individual cup holders to maximize survival.Although statements concerning former use of chemicals to assist capture were noted,no evidence of current chemical use was observed.Specimens are held in re-circulating seawater systems onshore until collections are aggregated and shipped.The fishery strives to operate with mortality of 3%are described as unacceptable to customers.More than 100 fish species are collected in this fishery,but the top ten species account for >70%of the total numbers and >60% of the total value of the fishery,with a single species,Gramma loreto (Royal Gramma),comprising >40%of the numbers. More than 100 species of invertebrates are collected,but this fishery is also dominated by a handful of species,including anemones,hermit crabs,turbo snails,serpent starfish,and feather duster polychaetes.Se estudió la pesquería de peces e invertebrados para acuarios,por comisión del Comité Consultor de Arrecifes Coralinos de Puerto Rico.Se usaron registros públicos, entrevistas con empresarios y pescadores,y visitas a los sitios de operación.La pesquería no es grande:menos de 20 pescadores con licencia que operan principalmente en el extremo occidental de la isla.Únicamente tres exportan el producto,el resto provee especímenes a los exportadores según la demanda.La captura de peces se da principalmente en zonas de escombros coralinos mezclados con restos arrecifales y roca,o en los lados y áreas frontales de arrecifes vivos.Otras especies son recolectadas entre las raíces aéreas de los manglares,zona intermareal y "pastizales " marinos.Se utilizan chinchorros y redes de mano para peces e invertebrados móviles como el camarón.Cangrejos,estrellas y pepinos de mar,así como otros invertebrados,son recogidos comúnmente volcando rocas pequeñas,sacando los individuos y después colocando las rocas en su lugar original.Los especímenes son llevados al bote y se transfieren a envases individuales para aumentar la supervivencia.Aunque existen informes previos de captura con sustancias químicas,no se observó ninguna evidencia en esta ocasión.Los especímenes se dejan en sistemas de recirculación de agua en la costa hasta el día del embarque.La pesquería se esfuerza en mantener índices de mortalidad <1%,ya que una mortalidad mayor al 3%es inaceptable para los clientes.Aunque se recolecta más de 100 especies de peces,tan solo diez de ellas representan más del 70%de los individuos y más del 60% del valor de esta pesquería.Gramma loreto representa más del 40%de la cantidad total.Asimismo,se recolecta más de 100 especies de invertebrados (especialmente anémonas,cangrejos ermitaños,ofiúridos,"caracoles turbo " y poliquetos tubícolas

Roundtable Discussion Groups Summary Papers: Environmental Bio-Indicators in Coral Reef Ecosystems: the Need to Align Research, Monitoring, and Environmental Regulation

Editors\u27 Note: At the 14th International Conference on Environmental Bioindicators (14th ICEBI) held in Linthicum Heights, Maryland, USA on 24–26 April 2006, the Conference Chairs and Program Committee initiated the Roundtable Discussion Groups as a regular feature of this and future conferences. The Discussions are designed to generate focused debate around key topic areas, led by academic, government and industry experts, and are structured to produce definitive papers for peer review and publication in EBI\u27s first-quarter issue of each publication year, albeit this year the papers will be published over the first two issues of 2007. The three Roundtables of the 14th ICEBI posed questions revolving around the chosen topic areas of Mercury Bioindicators, Marine Ecosystem-level Indicators, and Regulatory and Policy Uses of Bioindicators, and moved from “what we know” to “where we need to go” and “what are the policy implications from our discussions and conclusions.” The following paper on coral reef indicators is the first product of this undertaking. The second Roundtable paper on Mercury Bioindicators, along with a summary of the third Roundtable on Regulatory and Policy Uses of Bioindicators, will occur in our next issue. A roundtable workshop was held on 24–26 April 2006 at the 14th International Conference on Environmental Bioindicators (14th ICEBI) to discuss environmental bioindicators as they apply to the coral reefs. Participants discussed procedures and potential bioindicators currently being used to monitor these ecosystems, those showing promise for future use, and candidates for future research and development. Attendees represented research and educational institutions, environmental consulting firms, and US federal government regulatory agencies. Despite the fact that these three interest-groups have similar ultimate objectives of protecting coral reef ecosystems, they are engaged in different activities, using different jargon and techniques, and are pursuing different proximal objectives. Their different perspectives presented challenges for information transfer among the groups. Coral reef scientists, both descriptive and experimental, are attempting to explain the underlying processes controlling reef health, and assign functional relationships within that system, making it possible to predict effects of natural or anthropogenic perturbations. Individuals involved in monitoring are attempting to document components of the ecosystem and their characters that might indicate the state of reef health through time, generally at the macro-scale. Such monitoring generally utilizes at least some of the basic ecological, geological, chemical, or physical relationships defined by the first group. The third group – the environmental regulators and resource managers – is attempting to set limits for defining methods that will defensively document transgressions by parties causing damage to the environment. They also provide guidance for remediation. Management objectives almost universally require “reference points” or “bands” or standards against which alleged violations can be compared and which can be confidently and demonstrably traced to some anthropogenic source, within the guidelines of the law. One of the problems recognized in the workshop was that differences in their respective objectives created communication and information gaps. Each group is encouraged to become conversant with the terminology and objectives of the other groups to provide a legal framework to effect environmental protection. Thus, for research and monitoring groups, reviewing the effectiveness of one bioindicator over another for predicting anthropogenic effects, although important, may be premature. Rather, it is more important to first understand the ultimate requirements of local, state, and federal governments, understand the staff and funding limitations of the resource management agencies, and become conversant with resource management terminology and needs. Then specific and relevant information can be channeled to the responsible regulatory bodies that will assist in achieving the common ultimate goal of environmental protection of coral reefs. A clear conclusion from this workshop is that a bioindicator review process must “start with the end in mind.