Hewitt, C.L., Campbell, M.L. and Gollasch, S. (2006). Alien Species in Aquaculture. Considerations for responsible use.

IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. viii + 32 pp.

Aquaculture is an important economic activity in the coastal areas of many countries. It offers opportunities to alleviate poverty, boosts employment, helps community development, reduces overexploitation of natural coastal resources, and enhances food security, particularly in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Due to the increasing worldwide demand for aquatic products, aquaculture is one of the most important and fastest growing sectors within fisheries. Currently most aquaculture facilities in the marine environment, particularly in developing countries, use non-native or alien species, mainly to reduce costs by using readilyavailable research and development outputs.

Transport guidelines - PACKER'S GUIDELINES Ps/2 from CITES. Ps/2 – Fishes that would damage polythene bags

Transport guidelines - ADVICE TO CARRIERS from CITES

Transport guidelines - PACKER'S GUIDELINES Ps/1 from CITES. Fishes, except those species that cannot be contained in polythene bags

Transport guidelines - PACKER'S GUIDELINES Inv/1 from CITES.

International trade in live stony corals (Order Scleractinia) for the aquarium hobby has increased over the last decade, from approximately 200,000 specimens in 1990 to 750,000 in 1999 (WCMC data).  Industry representatives have expressed a desire to double this volume in the next 10 years.  Scleractinia are listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which generates almost all of the available data on international coral trade.

An alphabetic list of contracting parties for CITES. Can also be retrieved from  http://www.cites.org/eng/disc/parties/alphabet.shtml

The IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria are intended to be an easily and widely understood system for classifying species at high risk of global extinction. The general aim of the system is to provide an explicit, objective framework for the classification of the broadest range of species according to their extinction risk. However, while the Red List may focus attention on those taxa at the highest risk, it is not the sole means of setting priorities for conservation measures for their protection.

The ocean covers 70% of the Earth’s surface, and yet less than 1% of the marine environment (in Exclusive Economic Zones) falls within a protected area. Many of us have now heard of “the green revolution”, but it is time to engage in the “blue revolution”, in recognition of the enormous value that marine systems have for the maintenance of life on our planet, including our economic systems. The variety of threats facing our global marine environment is as vast as the ocean is deep. How can society assist the planet to avoid suffering the “ocean blues”?