The Ornamental Aquatic Trade Association (OATA,) is supporting two research projects that will examine how wild-collected ornamental fish can be caught sustainably and how the industry can contribute to conservation in source countries. Both projects are being run in collaboration with the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences (Cefas,) and Mars Petcare’s Waltham Petcare Science Institute. Mars owns the API and Aquarian brands.
The first project, at the University of Leeds School of Biology, UK, seeks to Assess the current and future sustainability of coral reef ornamental fisheries under different management scenarios. This Ph.D. opportunity will build and develop assessment methods for the status of tropical ornamental fisheries that promote sustainable harvesting of reef fishes to benefit both biodiversity and the socio-economic systems that rely on them.
The second project, at the University of Kent’s School of Anthropology and Conservation, also UK, will examine the role of marine ornamental fisheries in achieving net positive outcomes for nature and people. The student will be required to spend a significant part of their time working alongside the fisher communities in Indonesia and the Philippines where they will study ways to better understand the ways sustainable ornamental fisheries could contribute to ecosystem conservation while enabling socio-economic development.
Ornamental fisheries are estimated to have a global value of $ 15-20 billion a year. There are increasing calls to regulate and restrict the trade in wild-caught fish through mechanisms such as CITES, trade bans, and local fisheries management measures. Given that wild capture fish can provide environmentally low-impact, sustainable livelihoods in source countries, often Small Island Developing States and Less Economically Developed Countries understanding the current sustainability is of high importance for evidence-based policymaking.
Current data on volumes of take for the trade in marine ornamental fish species often lack resolution or is limited spatially or by the species examined. This studentship will gather evidence on the sensitivity of marine ornamental fish to harvest, estimated volumes of take, and develop broadly applicable potential future management strategies to support future policy making that will have profound effects on both people and wildlife. The work will have broad appeal for conservation, sustainable livelihoods, and international policy.
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