Marine Animals

Coral Reef Fish Welfare and Collection Practices

Tropical fish for the aquarium trade are often collected using cyanide poisoning, causing immediate welfare harm and long-term health impacts.

Key Facts

Cyanide is estimated to be used in 90% of fish collection in the Philippines and Indonesia
Cyanide stuns fish for easy capture but causes internal organ damage reducing lifespan
Collected fish often die within weeks of purchase from cyanide-related complications
Net-caught fish from sustainable collectors have significantly higher survival rates
The Marine Aquarium Council works to certify net-caught, sustainable collection

Welfare Considerations

Cyanide collection causes acute suffering from chemical exposure and condemns fish to shortened, impaired lives even if they survive to reach aquarium shops. The high mortality rate in cyanide-caught fish means consumers are often purchasing animals already destined to die quickly. Sustainable collection certification provides a welfare-compatible alternative for aquarium fish sourcing.

What You Can Do

Ask your aquarium shop whether fish are net-caught and sustainably certified
Choose only sustainably certified marine fish if you keep a saltwater aquarium
Support Marine Aquarium Council certification and similar sustainable collection schemes
Avoid wild-caught marine species with very poor aquarium survival rates
Consider captive-bred marine fish where available as the most welfare-compatible option