Catching Dory: selling aquarium fish supports coastal livelihoods in Indonesia

The global marine aquarium trade has created new local markets across the planet, including in Indonesia, now the second-largest exporting country of marine aquarium fish in the world. Participating in the global aquarium trade has been touted as a potentially sustainable addition to fisher livelihoods, but scant data exist showing the numbers of fish coming off the reef and how those fish contribute to income. To determine how participants in the trade incorporate aquarium species in their livelihoods, the study examines source-level aquarium fish collecting and trading data in the Banggai Archipelago, Central Sulawesi, a significant source for popular marine ornamental species. Using a sustainable livelihoods lens and considering emerging Blue Justice principles, one year of buying and selling data at the fisher, intermediary buyer, and regional trader levels shows that catching and selling fish for the aquarium trade represents an average of nearly 20% of participants’ gross annual income and provides added diversity and flexibility to livelihoods, especially during rough-weather seasons. The authors suggest that managers of an impending marine protected area in the region should consider how to sustain these livelihood benefits.