According to one source (1) marine aquariums may have first been established in Indonesia in 1922, when one was built in the fish market in Sunda Kelapa, north Jakarta during the Dutch era. However, the export trade in marine aquarium organisms has been going on in Indonesia for about 25 years. At least, this is what we know from speaking to the older fish collectors and exporters. Unfortunately, few trade records are available from before 2000, and the Indonesian Department of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (established in 1999) never required the traders to submit any trade data.

It was only from 2003 when the Marine aquarium Council (MAC) Indonesia began to conduct reef surveys, stock assessments and monitor collectors catches and sales that a more accurate picture of the trade has started to emerge. LINI is in the process of reorganizing the huge amount of data already collected (2005-2007) so that trends can be identified in good time, and total allowable catch figures can be recommended for each species in trade for a given area.

But how did this trade start? Besides being the source of many spices, over which wars were fought over the centuries, Indonesia is home to some of the world’s richest areas of biodiversity, both on land and in the sea. It therefore comes as no surprise to learn that animals and plants have been collected here for centuries, and then taken back to the countries of the developed world. The millions of specimens that are crammed into bottles, boxes and display cases of the world’s museums are a testimony to this long history of collection. The Victorian explorer and naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace employed ‘natives’ wherever he travelled, to help him collect samples of the diverse fauna and flora he found on every island. His exploits are described in detail in his master work ‘The Malay Archipelago’ (2), first published in 1871. Wallace’s observations on the wide diversity of life among the Indonesian islands led to his formulation of a theory of natural selection, independently of his contemporary Charles Darwin.

Indonesian fishermen traditionally catch most of their food fish in deep water, and relatively few food species are found on the reefs. Fishing remains largely a male occupation; other species of molluscs and crustacea that live on the reef flat may also be collected by women and children at low tide, by a process called “gleaning”. Gleaning simply involves the slow systematic search of the rocks and pools for food items, which are picked up by hand or extracted using spears, crowbars and nets, before being placed in hand-woven baskets. At night, the lights of many hundreds of kerosene pressure lamps can be seen out on the reef, as the villagers search for marine creatures that only creep forth from their retreats under the cover of darkness.

With no cold storage facilities to store them, and no enclosures in which they can be kept alive, these organisms are generally cooked and consumed straight away, or sold or bartered as quickly as possible to the buyers. In the humid tropical heat, conditions are perfect for rapid decomposition of dead tissue! Where ice blocks and Styrofoam boxes are available, the catch may be frozen long enough to be transported to places further away. Preservation in brine (salting) or smoking are also used to extend the ‘shelf life’ of the fish.

Prices for food fish and other marine produce have traditionally been very low, although in some tourist areas, overfishing of animals such as lobsters and tuna has recently increased prices significantly.  In addition, foreign visitors are usually prepared to pay higher prices than the local people for fresh seafood, so this can boost the incomes of those fishermen who are lucky enough to be able to sell to hotels and seafood restaurants.
Proposals to control and limit the capture and sale of lobsters have been met with opposition from seafood sellers and restaurants. Although the overall size and quantity of lobsters may be falling in some places because of overcollection, tourists will keep on demanding lobster for dinner unless they can be educated into doing otherwise.

In spite of these opportunities for the few, most Indonesian fishermen are among the poorest sector in the country. Imagine then the delight of any group of coastal fishermen when a trader offers to buy small fish and other organisms from the reef that they would otherwise never consider catching, because these animals are mostly too small to eat! Some like the stonefish, lionfish and blue ringed octopus, are actually poisonous.

Collection has gone on without any monitoring for many years, and so, as demand from the importing countries increases, there is a real danger of some of these species being overcollected. In addition, without any business skills or knowledge of the market, the fishermen who become marine ornamentals collectors have no idea of the ‘true’ value of what they are selling. In the next article, I shall continue this theme of exploitation of both marine life and of those who collect it. I will also outline some of the measures that are being taken to fundamentally alter and improve the situation at the supply end of the trade, and which attempt to promote fairer prices and the prospects of greater sustainability of wild marine resource harvesting.

References;
1. Susanto, H. 1994. Ikan Hias Air laut. Serie Perikanan XX/305/89 Penebar Swadaya
2. Wallace, A.R. 2000. The Malay Archipelago. Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.