Aquaculture as a potential support of marine aquarium fish trade sustainability

Recently, the popularity of aquariums has been increasing. As a result, the aquarium industry as a whole is of a relatively low volume yet has a very high value. Unlike freshwater aquarium species, for which 90% of species are currently farmed, the great majority of marine aquaria are stocked with wild species caught mainly from coral reefs and adjacent habitats. These fisheries, in addition to other activities, have contributed to the degradation of coral reef habitats. Aquaculture had experienced a great deal of development of culture technologies in the last few decades what could be applied to ornamental species. However, the number of cultured species is still limited (1–2%). The market demand may be satisfied by cultured fish once culture technologies have been established successfully. The present article presents an overview of the ornamental fish trade regarding the most important species involved and their situation, as well as updated information on breeding protocols for some high-value marine fish species.