Abstract

Increasing demand for reef fishes, both domestically and internationally, is putting intense pressure on many reef fish populations which receive little management or adequate conservation attention. Many of these are aggregating species and an increasing number is being exported. It is time to carefully examine and better understand the value, economic, cultural and nutritional of these species to source countries and to ensure not only their sustainability and seek ways to improve the value that they bring to the sectors of society that use and depend on them most. In this article, I highlight the problems being faced to preserve important reef fishes, and identify key challenges and opportunities for doing so.

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