Jaime is a marine biologist and has been involved in the marine aquarium industry in Canada over the last 16 years. He has been the vice-president of Ocean Voice International (a Non Governmental Organization NGO) since 1994. As a member of OVI's board of directors he has been very active in these projects taking place in the Philippines since 1989:

1. The Netsman Project
2. Environmental Education and Sustainable Livelihood in the Philippines and
3. Eco-Marketing and Fair Trade for the Aquarium Fish Collectors in the Philippines

These are the initiatives OVI has been developing to contribute to solving some of the problems the industry is facing in the Philippines. He has had the opportunity to know first hand, each level of the trade of marine ornamentals, from the collectors in the Philippines, to the aquarium hobbyist in North America. He is also a member of the Marine Aquarium Council (MAC) working group.

Introduction

The trade of marine ornamental fish in the Philippines began in 1952, the fishes were caught with cotton nets and traps placed on coral reefs. In 1962, a little-known fish collector named Gonzales began to spray sodium cyanide to stun fishes making them easy to capture. It has been suggested that Gonzales learned about the 1958 work of Bridges in Illinois, U.S.A.

Bridges was seeking a fish toxicant, and found that fish were apparently able to recover from low doses.  This hypothesis suggests that a Filipino fish collector read a special Scientific report of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and learned to apply the technique to capture ornamentals on reefs.

The stunning of aquarium fishes with cyanide spread through the Philippines and its usage grew up to at least 150,000 kg per year, and spread from there to Indonesia.

It was during the early 80's when the Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) on fish was creating confusion among importers, retailers and hobbyists. It was around 1984when the SDS was associated to cyanide fishing.

It was back in 1986 when the Pet Industry Cyanide fact Mission to the Philippines was launched as a means of enabling the marine aquarium industry in North America to address the cyanide issue in the Philippines. The goals of the mission were clear and oriented to ensure the long term health of the industry.

The most important findings suggested that the aquarium industry should support efforts to train collectors to use nets instead of cyanide. Other serious problems as handling techniques and holding methods at community level were identified. The need to address unnecessary mortalities to each level (collectors and exporters )was underlined, as well as needless mortalities of certain fish species brought into captivity, the study suggested that the industry should voluntary develop a list of fishes that should not be sold due to poor survivability in captivity.

Since then, NGOs in the Philippines are still wating for support and initiatives from the aquarium industry to help solving the problems.

It has been estimated that in the Philippines are between 3,500 and 4,000 aquarium fish collectors operating across the country. From these, there are over 1,200 which have been trained to use nets.  Considerable efforts have been made from Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs)to accomplish this difficult task. These NGOs (Ocean Voice International, The Haribon Foundation and International MarineLife Alliance)operate thanks to funds from Canadian, U.S.A and other countries government agencies.

Ocean Voice and Haribon programs (Netsman Project, Environmental Education and Sustainable Livelihood and Eco-Marketing and Fair Trade for Aquarium Fish Collectors) have been funded by government agencies in  Canada.International Development Research Center(IDRC) and Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Valuable help came from our membership, OFI, WWF-US and Levis.

It can be say that because of the efforts of NGOs and Filipino fisherfolks more and more net caught fish are being exported to North America, Europe and Asia.  The industry is the direct beneficiary of the programs developed in the Philippines during the last decade. We know that less cyanide is being used... that's good news for the coral reefs.

So... What has been accomplished?

Seems that's the question everyone would like to ask. To begin, let me say that there are stakeholders of the marine ornamental industry in the Philippines which have improved considerably in the last 5 years. It is a fact that less collectors are using cyanide when collecting your fish.

Experience show us that the net training program alone would not ensure the conversion of cyanide users to net users. The problem require solutions involving a combination of social, cultural, economic and scientific strategies. Thus, as one approach to the problem, the trained aquarium fish collectors were organized in the belief that they can be empowered towards effecting a cyanide-free fishing industry and promote awareness and conservation of the marine environment. To achieve these goals, the Federation of Fish Collectors of the Philippines (PMP) was created as the most important result of the Environmental Education and Sustainable Livelihood project.

More and more collectors were interested in the net training program.... a condition to be member of the Federation (PMP). Soon, collectors realized that there was no an incentive for the extra effort when using nets. The prices middlemen and exporters were paying for Net-Caught fish were the same they were getting before for cyanide collected fish.Some middlemen do not buy the net caught fish, if the collectors do not buy the cyanide tablets. These are some of the reasons why some trained collectors were dragged back to the clutches of cyanide.

The years of involvement in these projects made us realize that isolated strategies or village-based panacea could hardly make any dent in reforming the industry. The net training program brought us closer to the systemic problems in the aquarium fish trade in the Philippines, the net training program achieved minimal impacts as problems on cheap price of aquarium fish took the front seat and appeared to be responsible in the whole gamut of issues and problems in the industry. The minimal benefits derived from the trade barely supported subsistence families yet divers could not divert to other livelihood because of limited options or inavailability of alternative economic enterprise.

The pressure to get more fish from the reefs is likely influenced and dictated by the prevailing cheap price of aquarium fish in the local market.. some examples:

A collector gets 12 pesos ( U.S$ 0,30) for a Coral Beauty
A collector gets 10 pesos ( U.S$ 0,26) for a Naso Tang

The exporter price for a Coral Beauty is US$3.00
The exporter price for a Naso Tang is US$2.50

Shipping cost for a Coral Beauty is around US$5
Shipping cost for a Naso Tang is around US$9
These shipping cost are from Manila to Toronto or Montreal

The retail price of a Coral Beauty in Ottawa is close to US$35 and US$53 for a Naso Tang

Collectors strive doubly hard to keep up with a weekly catch of at least 300 fishes of different species. Volume and variety are needed to assure them of enough earnings to provide for the family subsistence. Divers pay the price of prolonged absences from their families owing to long voyages, risks associated with bends, and health hazards due to unfiltered air they inhale.

The remedial action taken to tackle the economic aspect of the problem was the establishment of the fish holding facility in Manila, from where fish collectors, PMP members, are engaged in direct marketing of their products to foreign buyers.

This fish collectors exporting venture contributes to:

1. free the collectors from middlemen "cyanide pushers".  Collectors are being indebted to and dictates of the middlemen and exporters
2. improve collectors livelihood, as a MORE REALISTIC means that would allow us to expect that this marginalized sector voluntary undergo restraint to conserve the coral reef ecosystems
3. ensure that sustainable collecting methods are worthwhile for the collectors to practice. Without healthy habitat, catches will fall and the industry will face a future with low levels of profit and little capacity to expand

The PMP is a group of aquarium fish collectors committed to reform the industry through adherence to net use and proper fish handling and holding. The PMP roots its existence on the belief that reform is possible only if divers gain a fare share in the industry profits with the exporters and middlemen. The creation of this exporting venture is the result of "Eco-Marketing and Fair Trade for Aquarium Fish Collectors". This project was funded by CIDA, OFI, WWF-US and Levis.

Interested buyers of 100% Net Caught Fish can contact PMP by e-mail pmp@world.net.ph juned@pworld.net.ph
Fax 632 913 0222
Tel:632 913 4285

If the collectors continue to receive low prices for net caught fish, then two consequences may flow from this. Firstly there is no incentive to use nets; they might well continue using cyanide, as long as they can get away with it; holding specimens a little longer will result in so much cyanide being excreted that the residue will be marginally indetectable- That has downstream consequences on the fish quality and very serious ones on the environment.

The second consequences is that, in order to sustain their families, the collectors will aim at as high volume of specimens as possible, under long working hours. The downstream effects of tha approach is that specimens, however caught, will be mishandled. Collectors will crowd specimens in holding and to them costly bags (as they are forced to do now).They will not have the time, energy or inclination to keep the bags out of the sun, to change water in plastic bags, as often as is required, to hand the bags gently. I have seen them throwing the bags around.

Both of this consequences are real not theoretical; we see them right now amongst many of the collectors. Training provides only a partial answer. If the fishers have to dive half a dozen hours a day and if they have to undertake long trips in bancas to reach fishing grounds which are less damaged, the low quality fish will continue to come out of the system, wheter caught with cyanide or not. We are quite correct in stating that quality is not the sole result of cyanide, just as we have been right in stating that one of the most serious causes of concern is the loss of vital habitat through toxicity of cyanide on corals and other components of habitat.

Developing this fisherfolks initiative has not been an easy task. Since the begining they have faced all kind of difficult situations as for example:

1. Typhoons, one of which flooded the holding facilities
2. Negative reactions from other exporters some of which made moves to destroy the Federation.
3. Negative reactions from some importers in the U.S., which at the same time are exporters in the Philippines, they state that "it is not fair that environmental organizations, as we, help fish collectors to get organized in a business operation... seems that these individuals have convinced some dealers in the US to think the same way.
4. Fish collectors selling fish to PMP have been black listed by some exporters. During low season fish collectors need money to survive. This allow some exporters to control them.

It must be recognized that the projects developed in the Philippines during the last decade have been possible because of the commitment of fish collectors. They have been sending a clear sign to the rest of the industry, they are showing their interest to make this trade a sustainable activity not only for them but for generations to come.

It is time for other stakeholders(exporters,importers, retailers and hobbyists) to react to these collectors initiatives.

Fish collectors, the most important link of the trade have been forgotten. Chances of improving the economic well being of collectors remain slim if not impossible considering the prevailing industry set up. The marine ressources would suffer the brunt of having to provide for the day to day subsistence of artisanal fishers.  Only middlemen and exporters would get enough remuneration from the trade while the divers remain poor in spite of their boundless efforts to get more fish from the reefs.

To give you a break, I want to share with you the conclusions I got from the information Lyle Squire, wholesaler from Australia presented during a workshop of the Marine Aquarium Council (MAC) in Manila last Dec/98. Ideal management practices in Australia assure that the trade in that country is environmentally sustainable, socially benefitial and economically viable. According to his talk, in Australia there are only 180 fish collectors which export annually around US$ 10 million. In the Philippines where we know are between 3,500 and 4,000 collectors the value of exports, according to the Bureau of Agriculture and Statistics of the Philippines 1997, was around US$ 8,5 million. We must admit that something is wrong. I believe this is due to the cheap fish price structure in the Philippines. As a result the trade is not environmentally sustainable (too many fish collected and very high unnecessary mortality), nor economically viable (for collectors) or socially benefitial (for collectors).

I agree with Tom's point of view regarding the ideal trade " collectors would properly catch, hold and transport the fish. The exporter would properly hold and transport and so on.. So why is this not done yet?  It appears that change is made by those individuals with the capacity to realize that there is an economic benefit or who are forced to change to remain in business. That change requires an incentive or a boost. We have seen a change by the fishermen and maybe a handful of other stakeholders but not a unified effort.

It is the retailers and hobbyists job at the market level to create the need for a quality fish.

It is here when the Marine Aquarium Council(MAC) comes to the picture. The goal of MAC is ensuring a sustainable future for the marine aquarium industry, organisms and habitat through market incentives that encourage and support sustainable practices.

We know that the situation in the Philippines has improved. However, it is important to underline that exporters have always considered that the solution to the cyanide problem is related only to the technical aspect (net training). Social and economical aspects have been just brushed off or shelved by exporters in the Philippines. MAC should exhort exporters to bring forth these issues and deal with them.

It is possible that only some exporters and collectors in the Philippines would be interested in supporting MAC's initiatives. Those are the ones that we as  importers, retailers or hobbyists should encourage by buying their fishes.

If you have any questions related to MAC, I would suggest to participate this coming February 24 at 7 pm US central time in the "Town Meeting" on certification for the marine aquarium industry. Please visit www.masna.org to read Dennis' Philippines trip report and view the announcement for the "Town Meeting"

I hope this information will help you to enhance your knowledge about fish collectors and the trade of marine ornamentals in the Philippines. This way you as consumers have first hand information which will help to take tangible and concrete actions.

Thanks
Jaime Baquero
OVI (Ocean Voice International)

Questions:

Do you feel that the the use of cyanide for the Asian live food markets is now a far greater threat to the reefs?

According to V. Pratt from IMAA, it is. The DENR is working on this issue since 1997.

Is it unlikely that the Philipino govt can be pressured into banning cyanide for fish collection?

The use of cyanide or any other chemical is forbidden by the Filipino govt.

How do we gurantee these fish are not exposed to harmful chemiclas after collection like copper or quinine dips?

We cannot guarantee that. I think that another problem related to physiological damage on fish is due to the use of medication to treat fish.

So how does the average fish hobbyist know what is net caught and what is not? I have asked retailors and they all say 'yeah. It's all net caught'

I suggest you check for behaviour in fish when kept at the retailers tanks: they should respond to food very fast and ask your retailer to keep the fish for you for a week or so, to make sure it won't die.

How can a retailer get fish directly from the PMP?

IN the test of my presentation, I gave some phone and fax numbers. Please take a look. Now I should correct the phone number to 632 912-4285. The fax is okay.

Would you support cyanide testing by the FWS & private actors to make it more difficult and less profitable to import cyanide-contaminated fish into the US?

Yes I would support this initiative.

What measures are being taken to enforce the "no chemicals" policy?

There is a program in place developed by IMA and the BFAR and is known as the cyanide detection test (CDT). This test is in the process of being included in the FAO fisheries administration orders as mandatory for the stakeholders in the Philippines.

How can we at the bottom of the chain put pressure on what appears to be a problem with the exporter/importers?

Good question. The only possible way I see is by means of an organization such as MAC which will guarantee the hobbyist that the fish they will get has followed the chain of custody being developed by MAC. I suggest to participate in the town meeting next Wednesday to find out more about this.

Is there any pressure being put on the Asian live caught food mkt bt the NGO's?

Yes, IMA is working on this.

PMP fish are all net caught as well as held and shopped properly and are as competivly priced with the avg wholesaler?

It will be at the importer's advantage (retailer) to deal directly with PMP. They will provide 100% net caught fish properly handled and held, at better prices.

Could anyone set up a vertical organization, buy from collectors, export/import themselves, and sell mail order?

It could be possible if the quality of the fish is not going to deteriorate because of poor husbandry.

So how about making a simple test available for the hobbyist?

It could be possible that once you get your fish, it has excreted the cyanide and the result would be negative.

Where in the world am I calling for PMP? as in where is the 682 area code?

It is not 682, it is 632 which is the code for the Philippines (Manila)

Is PMP trying to monopolize the mkt. in the Phillipines, what are you doing to insure free trade and competition?

No, it would be impossible for PMP to monopolize the market. They have only forty aquariums to hold fish. This is more a pilot project than anything else.

Have Philippinos seen any of their harvesting areas ruined by cyanide, or is this a theoretical threat to them?

Yes Filipino scientists have seen the effects of cyanide on coral reefs. Me too, it is very real although we have to say that the cyanide problem is not the only factor responsible for coral reef destruction.

There has been talk of all out bans on coral collection for aquarium trade. How would a similar ban on fish affect the Phillipines?

It would be disastrous for thousands of collectors whose livelihoods depend on these resources. Coral collection is not allowed in the Philippines.

We've been seeing evidence of the cyanide posioning spreading through the rest of the indopacific(very high mortality rates on indo fish from multiple distributors versus hawaiian, carib or red sea), have you seen or heard anything confirming this?

The South Pacific university of Fiji has shown results of cyanide on fish collecting.

Why do you feel cyanide poisonig could clear in a few days

These are the results from all the work from some work conducted in the Philippines.

Why is there no Filipino live rock for sale?

It is a good thing that it is not for sale. Because the trade is not legal.

Are there any plans to allow hobbyists to buy direct from PMP, or perhaps to have PMP "approved" mail-order dealers in the US who will offer PMP fish?

Chicago Aquarium Society were thinking about getting some fishes for members . We will see what happens with this idea. I think the mail order could have some problems mainly related to total travel time for the fish. Mortalities could be too high. Only trial shipments would provide some answers.

Thanks for the great talk, Jaime!