Coral Reef Aquarium Fisheries Campaign

The Coral Reef Aquarium Fisheries Campaign’s goal is to empower sustainable coral reef aquarium fisheries that support biodiversity conservation, healthy ecosystems, and the livelihoods of fishers, traders, and others that depend on them across the global value chain.

In partnership with such MASNA, SeaGrant, Rising Tide, and a slew of esteemed colleges, the Campaign works with stakeholders in the trade to improve fisheries management, upgrade the value chain from volume-driven to value-driven, and develop aquaculture to offset fishing pressure for vulnerable species.

Paul Anderson, PhD, CAPM, a Research Scientist at Mystic Aquarium, started the organization in 2017. He is joined by two other scientists: Robert Pomeroy, PhD, a Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics and a Connecticut Sea Grant College Fisheries Extension Specialist at the University of Connecticut, and Andrew Rhyne, PhD, an Associate Professor of Marine Biology at Roger Williams University. Rhyne specializes in the development of novel methods to assess impacts on the coral reef aquarium trade.

Coral reefs are some of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet, but they are threatened by climate change, ocean acidification, pollution, and overfishing. In addition to their importance as a food resource for people, fish are also collected from coral reefs worldwide for the marine aquarium trade. Unfortunately, many collectors practice unsustainable fishing, capturing, handling, and transport techniques which, collectively, can result in the loss of fish along the supply chain and damage to reefs. Organizations like the Coral Reef Aquarium Fisheries Campaign are absolutely crucial in the battle to save our oceans. Thank you for all the difficult, important work you are doing.

 

(photos and most text taken from CRAFC’s fb page and brochure)