by Center for Biological Diversity
Washington – The Center for Biological Diversity urged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today to require and report species-level data for all ornamental fish brought into the country for the aquarium trade. As today’s letter notes, maintaining and disclosing reliable species information from the national database would aid conservation measures for fish threatened by overexploitation.
More than 387 million ornamental fish were imported over a recent 6-year period for the U.S. aquarium trade without any disclosure of the species’ names, according to a Center analysis of the Law Enforcement Management Information System database.
The LEMIS database provides critical wildlife import and export information used by scientists, conservationists, and the government to preserve biodiversity, prevent the spread of pathogens and ensure animal welfare. But millions of LEMIS entries for ornamental fish lack species names, and fish are sometimes identified merely as “tropical fish,” “marine” or “freshwater.”
“Some fish targeted by the aquarium trade are highly imperiled, and we can’t protect these species if we don’t even know how many are coming into the country,” said Dianne DuBois, a scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity. “We need more data so we can take action when we see a problem. The government needs to require a species name for every individual specimen, or traders shouldn’t be allowed to bring them in.”
About 2 billion live ornamental fish are traded globally each year, and the United States is the world’s largest consumer of ornamental fish. Some species of ornamental fish have gone extinct in certain locations or are declining in population, in part because of trade. But without accurate and complete data, it is impossible to determine the full extent of the U.S. trade’s harm to a species.
Species-level identification would help inform conservation measures for fish such as wild-caught specimens of Betta cracens, a betta fish found only in a single freshwater swamp forest in Sumatra, Indonesia. The species was assessed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2019. Yet Betta cracens is available for sale in the United States, although it is unclear how many of these fish are being imported to the United States annually.
“U.S. consumers may be unwittingly contributing to the extinction crisis by snagging beautiful but highly imperiled fish for their tanks at home,” said DuBois. “Without this information, we’re burying our heads in the sand rather than taking initiative to eliminate the United States’ role in the extinction crisis.”
Some aquarium fish species are also listed domestically under the Endangered Species Act and internationally under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. Species names are necessary to ensure trade is legal under these regulations. LEMIS was developed in part to help meet the reporting and conservation requirements of wildlife laws, and without species-specific information, the United States cannot meet these objectives.
Kituo cha Biolojia ya Washington, DC, kinachotumia data ya Biolojia ya Washington, DC, na Kituo cha Biolojia cha Washington, DC, kinafanya kazi kwa njia ya ufuatiliaji wa hali ya hewa. Usalama wa samaki na Wanyamapori (FWS) inatoa taarifa za aina kwa samaki wote wa mapambo walioletwa nchini kwa biashara ya aquarium. Kama barua ya leo inavyoonyesha, kudumisha na kufichua habari ya kuaminika ya spishi kutoka kwa hifadhidata ya kitaifa ingeisaidia hatua za uhifadhi kwa samaki wanaotishiwa na unyonyaji kupita kiasi. Zaidi ya samaki milioni 387 waliingizwa katika biashara ya akwarium ya Marekani katika kipindi cha miaka sita iliyopita bila kufunua majina ya spishi, kulingana na uchambuzi wa Kituo cha Data cha Mfumo wa Habari wa Usimamizi wa Utekelezaji wa Sheria. LEMIS hutoa habari muhimu za uagizaji na usafirishaji wa wanyama wa porini zinazotumiwa na wanasayansi, watunzaji wa mazingira, na serikali kuhifadhi utofauti wa kibiolojia, kuzuia kuenea kwa vimelea na kuhakikisha ustawi wa wanyama. "Lakini mamilioni ya maandishi ya LEMIS kwa samaki wa mapambo hayana majina ya spishi, na samaki wakati mwingine hutambuliwa tu kama ""samaki wa kitropiki, "" samaki wa baharini au "" samaki wa maji baridi. "" Baadhi ya samaki waliolengwa na biashara ya aquarium wako hatarini sana, na hatuwezi kulinda spishi hizi ikiwa hatujui hata ni wangapi wanaingia nchini. """ <unk>Tunahitaji data zaidi ili tuweze kuchukua hatua tunapoona tatizo. Serikali inahitaji jina la spishi kwa kila spishi ya mtu binafsi, au wafanyabiashara hawapaswi kuruhusiwa kuwaleta ndani. Karibu samaki bilioni mbili wa mapambo ya kuishi huuzwa ulimwenguni kila mwaka, na Marekani ni mtumiaji mkubwa wa samaki wa mapambo ulimwenguni. Baadhi ya aina za samaki wa mapambo zimetoweka katika maeneo fulani au idadi yao inazidi kupungua, kwa sababu ya biashara. Lakini bila data sahihi na kamili, haiwezekani kuamua kiwango kamili cha uharibifu wa biashara ya Marekani kwa spishi. Utafiti wa aina za samaki unaoweza kugundua aina za samaki unaoweza kuhifadhiwa, kama vile samaki aina ya Betta cracens, ambao hupatikana tu katika msitu mmoja wa maji baridi huko Sumatra, Indonesia. Aina hiyo ilihesabiwa kuwa hatarini sana na Umoja wa Kimataifa wa Uhifadhi wa Asili mnamo 2019. Betta cracens ni samaki wa aina ya C. cracens, na kwa sasa, ni samaki wa aina hiyo tu ambao wanasafirishwa nchini Marekani. <unk> Marekani "Watumiaji wanaweza kuwa bila kujua kuchangia mgogoro wa kutoweka kwa kukamata samaki wazuri lakini katika hatari kubwa kwa tank zao nyumbani, ""Dubois alisema." "Bila habari hii, tunaweka vichwa vyetu kwenye mchanga badala ya kuchukua hatua ya kuondoa jukumu la Marekani katika mgogoro wa kutoweka. "" Baadhi ya spishi za samaki wa aquarium pia zimeorodheshwa ndani ya nchi chini ya Sheria ya Spishi zilizo hatarini na kimataifa chini ya Mkataba wa Biashara ya Kimataifa ya Spishi zilizo Hatarini. """ Majina ya spishi ni muhimu ili kuhakikisha biashara ni halali chini ya kanuni hizi. LEMIS ilianzishwa kwa sehemu ili kusaidia kukidhi mahitaji ya kuripoti na uhifadhi wa sheria za wanyama wa porini, na bila habari maalum ya spishi, Marekani haiwezi kufikia malengo haya.