Description
By 1880, only two exotic fish species besides the goldfish are reported to have been brought back to Europe in a living state. These were the paradise fish, Macropodus opercularis, and the fighting fish, Betta splendens. Both of these can survive in spite of rather poor water quality and, presumably, had much better chances than most of surviving the long journey.
12
Description of the supply chain
hardiest species had any chance of
surviving once back to Europe.
By 1880, only two exotic fish species
besides the goldfish are reported to
have been brought back to Europe in a
living state. These were the paradise
fish, Macropodus opercularis, and the
fighting fish, Betta splendens. Both of
these can survive in spite of rather
poor water quality and, presumably,
had much better chances than most of
surviving the long journey.
By 1900 the number of tropical fish
species available in Europe had risen
to 23. Gradually, a more organised
trade in ornamental fishes began,
through specialised companies with
better expertise in packing and
transport. In 1940 the total number of
foreign fish species registered in the
European and North American hobby
was above 500. The selection in shops
was, however, much lower than this.
For good and regular availability,
successful captive breeding in the
market country was an absolute
necessity. Often, one did not succeed
at all in keeping a new species alive
long enough to breed it, and prices
became very high - often 10 or 20
times higher than what the same
fishes are sold for today.
Ornamental Fish International
By 1880, only two exotic fish species besides the goldfish are reported to have been
brought back to Europe in a living state, one of which was the fighting fish, Betta
splendens. Photo: Svein Fosså
13
Ornamental Fish International Description of the supply chain
Air transport
As civil air transport, post-WWII, made
it possible to get the fish from one side
of the globe to the other in the span of
hours, rather than days or weeks, this
led to a revolution in the ornamental
fish trade. Fish may now be flown
quickly in from the jungle or the reef to
the aquarium shop. Where one
previously had to produce fish locally
at great expense due to high wages
and expensive heating, fish can now
be harvested in the wild or bred in
their natural climates - ideally also
contributing to
the local
economies
in the range
countries of
the species
in question.
The chain
of supply
Even
though the
typical
ornamental
fish retailer,
not to mention the hobbyists, might not
think of it, ornamental fish pass
through a long supply chain to get to
the markets. Regardless of whether
the fish are captive bred or wild
caught, a great many people are
involved. They all depend on each
other and the quality of the work
performed by the other links in the
chain.
It is only when all of links along the
supply line are capable of optimal
performance that the quality of the fish
may be maintained all the way through
to the hobbyist.
Wild harvest
In the marine sector the ornamental
aquatic trade is still largely dependent
on wild harvest, and many freshwater
fishes are also collected in the wild,
even though presumably 95% are now
bred in captivity. There are several
reasons why we still continue to collect
fish from the wild. In part it provides a
continued supply of new and exciting
species for
the
hobbyists,
and it
ascertains a
steady
supply of
species that
are difficult
or expensive
to propagate
in captivity.
A further
argument,
one which is gradually gaining in and
deserving of more focus, is the fact
that ornamental fish harvesting
provides a safe and sustainable
source of income for local, rural
communities in the range states of the
fish species. Captive breeding, on the
other hand tends to aggregate income
into much fewer hands, and often in
areas and countries far away from the
wild habitats. The wild ornamental fish
harvest and trade has a huge potential
for supporting a sound socio-economy
Ornamental Fish International
14
Description of the supply chain
in local communities, providing
economical incentives for habitat
conservation and population
maintenance and, thus, directly and
indirectly, benefiting conservation of
wetlands, rain forests and coral reefs.
The actual structure of the wild capture
varies from district to district and
country to country, but is typically built
around a large number of independent
collectors. The collection of ornamental
fish may be a full-time or a part-time
occupation, since it does not normally
require large investments, neither in
materials nor in logistics.
The collectors may supply a
wholesaler/exporter directly, but
because of the large distances and
complicated transport often involved, it
is more common that there are various
intermediates, middlemen or brokers,
who gather specimens from several
catchers and sell these on to the
exporters.
There are commercial wild harvest
operations of freshwater ornamental
fish in many countries, primarily in
South America, Africa, the Indian
subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
Captive breeding
Even though there are good reasons
for collecting fish from the wild - not
Collector sorting fish in Peru. Photo: Svein Fosså
15
Ornamental Fish International
the least with regard to socio-
economical and nature conservation -
most freshwater fishes and a rapidly
growing percentage of marine fishes
are sourced from breeders. This, of
course, also has benefits, particularly
with regard to the variation and quality
of the fishes.
Foremost, captive breeding opens up
the possibility of creating huge
variation in terms of novel breeds and
races of known fish species. Some fish
species, most notably goldfish, several
livebearer species, Siamese fighting
fish and discus fish, are among the
animal species with the highest
number of man-made varieties.
Furthermore, captive breeding will
provide fish stock that - to a smaller or
larger extent has been domesticated.
Fish that have been reared in captivity
over several generations will normally
be better adapted to life in an
aquarium, and captive rearing offers
the means to better health control.
There are many different sizes and
structures of ornamental fish breeders,
ranging from small, independent one-
man breeding operations to huge
farms, often founded by national or
international investors and employing
large numbers of staff.
In some countries, like India, there is
an active governmental policy towards
facilitating the establishment of smaller
community-based breeding operations
for ornamental fish. In Sri Lanka there
has been some success with
Description of the supply chain
Foremost, captive breeding opens up the
possibility of creating huge variation in
terms of novel breeds and races of known
fish species such a guppies (Poecilia
reticulata). Photos: Magnoy
Ornamental Fish International
16
"fingerling projects" where a large
breeder supplies smaller operators
with fry for outgrowing, and buys
market-ready fish back from these.
It is increasingly common that any
farm specialises in one species or a
group of related species, but we also
still find many farms that diversify in a
large number of species from many
families of fish.
Large farms will often export directly to
importers in other countries, while
smaller farms and individual breeders
typically deliver to other companies for
export, sometimes also through
brokers who supply several exporters
in an area.
Description of the supply chain
Growing fighting fish (Betta splendens) in small bottles in Thailand. Photo: Svein Fosså
Outgrow bottles for male bettas.
Photo: Svein Fosså
17
Ornamental Fish International
Export business
Ornamental fishes (captive bred and/or
wild caught) are exported from most of
the tropical and subtropical countries
in the world, but commercial-scale
export is still mainly restricted to
countries with international airports
offering good and regular connections
to the main markets. In addition, there
are some breeding operations in
temperate climates in typical consumer
countries in Europe, North America,
Australia and J apan. In many
countries, there is also considerable
re-export of imported fish.
Page 44, gives more details on the
volumes and main routes of this trade.
Therefore, the structure and scale of
exporting businesses varies
significantly between countries, and
often also even within a single country.
Some operators combine the export
business with self-operated wild
harvest and/or farming, on or off
premises, but the majority depend on
buying from independent suppliers
(collectors, breeders or middlemen/
brokers).
Even companies that do some
collecting/breeding themselves will
Description of the supply chain
Packing for export at Lumbini Aquaria Wayamba, Sri Lanka
Photo: Svein Fosså
Ornamental Fish International
18
typically rely on buying additional
species from other suppliers in order
to offer the broadest possible
selection. In many cases, some
suppliers will be located in other
countries, so that the export business
also re-exports imported fish. This is
particularly the case with European
and North American exporters, but it is
also common in some Asian countries.
As the economic benefits of the wild
harvest of ornamental fish are
becoming better known in the lesser
South American countries, we are also
seeing the re-export of imports from
neighbouring countries becoming
increasingly common in South
America.
Still, there are also specialist exporters
who offer only one or a few species,
something which is particularly evident
in the coldwater segment, as seen in
goldfish and koi export.
Transporters
A key link in the chain of getting fish
from the producing countries to the
markets, yet one whose importance is
often underestimated, are the
transporters. There are plenty of good
reasons to consider air carriers and
freight forwarding agents as part of the
tropical fish trade chain. Without
international air transport, the rapid
development of the aquarium hobby
and trade post WWII would never have
been possible.
Description of the supply chain
KLM loading a shipment of ornamental fish at Schiphol Airport. Photo: KLM Cargo
19
Ornamental Fish International
Without efficient air transport including
good and reliable logistics, the modern
ornamental fish trade would not exist.
If one link in the transport chain fails,
the consequences can be devastating
for any individual shipment, or even for
the whole trade in the long run.
Transporting live tropical animals is a
task that demands special skills and
experience in handling unforeseen
problems. Furthermore, as anti-trade
groups place increasing focus on the
live animal trade, the negative impacts
are likely to be experienced as
particularly burdensome by the
transporters, for most of whom the
ornamental fish trade is only a small
part of their business.
The professional ornamental fish
trader is therefore wise to consider his
transporters as colleagues who are
worth building the best of relationships
with.
Importers
Similar to the export side, there is
considerable variation on the import
side. Totally different companies are
involved in importing ornamental fish,
but the need for increased
professionalism in handling legislation
and the logistics of import and
acclimatisation is gradually shifting the
trade towards larger operators.
In the largest import markets, an
increasing portion of overseas imports
Description of the supply chain
Importer’s facility of Aqualand, Switzerland. Photo: Aqualand
20
are handled by large wholesale
companies which supply the retail
trade or, in some instances, other
smaller wholesalers only.
Large retailers, particularly those who
have several shops (or chains) may
handle their own direct imports. In
many countries, one can also find
small retailers who import directly to a
single shop, either through direct
imports or via transshippers. In
general, however, the trend seems to
be that imports direct to retail are
decreasing for economic and
bureaucratic reasons, and that more
and more depend on buying from
wholesalers in their own or
neighbouring countries.
Transshippers
A special phenomenon in the
ornamental fish trade which is not
often seen in other import trades is the
so-called "transshippers". These are
companies that offer services to
smaller importers in the form of
combining orders from several
companies into one large import
shipment, they handle all of the
paperwork and distribute the fish in
whole boxes (unopened, except for
customs control purposes) to the
individual customers.
Transshippers makes it possible for
small-scale importers to get fish from
several international exporters, in
smaller quantities - while allowing the
Description of the supply chain Ornamental Fish International
Retailer in the Aquarium Industry: Swallow Aquatics in the UK. Photo: Svein Fosså
21
transshipper to handle the paperwork
involved in imports.
While buying from a transshipper
makes logistics simpler for a small
company, it does not reduce the
necessity for professional handling and
acclimatisation of the fish received.
Retailers
Retailers of ornamental fish vary from
the small general pet shop with only a
few fish tanks containing the
bestselling "bread and butter" fish, to
huge specialist shops dedicated to the
sale of ornamental aquatics only. In
most countries, one will find all levels
between these two extremes, but there
seems to be a general trend towards
more chain stores.
While large pet shops and aquatic
shops often stock coldwater fish as
well, these are also often sold by
garden centres and, in some countries,
by specialist pond dealers. Many of
these seem to define themselves as
falling outside of the ordinary
ornamental fish trade, and often
choose other trade channels.
Description of the supply chain Ornamental Fish International
doc_751705464.pdf
By 1880, only two exotic fish species besides the goldfish are reported to have been brought back to Europe in a living state. These were the paradise fish, Macropodus opercularis, and the fighting fish, Betta splendens. Both of these can survive in spite of rather poor water quality and, presumably, had much better chances than most of surviving the long journey.
12
Description of the supply chain
hardiest species had any chance of
surviving once back to Europe.
By 1880, only two exotic fish species
besides the goldfish are reported to
have been brought back to Europe in a
living state. These were the paradise
fish, Macropodus opercularis, and the
fighting fish, Betta splendens. Both of
these can survive in spite of rather
poor water quality and, presumably,
had much better chances than most of
surviving the long journey.
By 1900 the number of tropical fish
species available in Europe had risen
to 23. Gradually, a more organised
trade in ornamental fishes began,
through specialised companies with
better expertise in packing and
transport. In 1940 the total number of
foreign fish species registered in the
European and North American hobby
was above 500. The selection in shops
was, however, much lower than this.
For good and regular availability,
successful captive breeding in the
market country was an absolute
necessity. Often, one did not succeed
at all in keeping a new species alive
long enough to breed it, and prices
became very high - often 10 or 20
times higher than what the same
fishes are sold for today.
Ornamental Fish International
By 1880, only two exotic fish species besides the goldfish are reported to have been
brought back to Europe in a living state, one of which was the fighting fish, Betta
splendens. Photo: Svein Fosså
13
Ornamental Fish International Description of the supply chain
Air transport
As civil air transport, post-WWII, made
it possible to get the fish from one side
of the globe to the other in the span of
hours, rather than days or weeks, this
led to a revolution in the ornamental
fish trade. Fish may now be flown
quickly in from the jungle or the reef to
the aquarium shop. Where one
previously had to produce fish locally
at great expense due to high wages
and expensive heating, fish can now
be harvested in the wild or bred in
their natural climates - ideally also
contributing to
the local
economies
in the range
countries of
the species
in question.
The chain
of supply
Even
though the
typical
ornamental
fish retailer,
not to mention the hobbyists, might not
think of it, ornamental fish pass
through a long supply chain to get to
the markets. Regardless of whether
the fish are captive bred or wild
caught, a great many people are
involved. They all depend on each
other and the quality of the work
performed by the other links in the
chain.
It is only when all of links along the
supply line are capable of optimal
performance that the quality of the fish
may be maintained all the way through
to the hobbyist.
Wild harvest
In the marine sector the ornamental
aquatic trade is still largely dependent
on wild harvest, and many freshwater
fishes are also collected in the wild,
even though presumably 95% are now
bred in captivity. There are several
reasons why we still continue to collect
fish from the wild. In part it provides a
continued supply of new and exciting
species for
the
hobbyists,
and it
ascertains a
steady
supply of
species that
are difficult
or expensive
to propagate
in captivity.
A further
argument,
one which is gradually gaining in and
deserving of more focus, is the fact
that ornamental fish harvesting
provides a safe and sustainable
source of income for local, rural
communities in the range states of the
fish species. Captive breeding, on the
other hand tends to aggregate income
into much fewer hands, and often in
areas and countries far away from the
wild habitats. The wild ornamental fish
harvest and trade has a huge potential
for supporting a sound socio-economy
Ornamental Fish International
14
Description of the supply chain
in local communities, providing
economical incentives for habitat
conservation and population
maintenance and, thus, directly and
indirectly, benefiting conservation of
wetlands, rain forests and coral reefs.
The actual structure of the wild capture
varies from district to district and
country to country, but is typically built
around a large number of independent
collectors. The collection of ornamental
fish may be a full-time or a part-time
occupation, since it does not normally
require large investments, neither in
materials nor in logistics.
The collectors may supply a
wholesaler/exporter directly, but
because of the large distances and
complicated transport often involved, it
is more common that there are various
intermediates, middlemen or brokers,
who gather specimens from several
catchers and sell these on to the
exporters.
There are commercial wild harvest
operations of freshwater ornamental
fish in many countries, primarily in
South America, Africa, the Indian
subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
Captive breeding
Even though there are good reasons
for collecting fish from the wild - not
Collector sorting fish in Peru. Photo: Svein Fosså
15
Ornamental Fish International
the least with regard to socio-
economical and nature conservation -
most freshwater fishes and a rapidly
growing percentage of marine fishes
are sourced from breeders. This, of
course, also has benefits, particularly
with regard to the variation and quality
of the fishes.
Foremost, captive breeding opens up
the possibility of creating huge
variation in terms of novel breeds and
races of known fish species. Some fish
species, most notably goldfish, several
livebearer species, Siamese fighting
fish and discus fish, are among the
animal species with the highest
number of man-made varieties.
Furthermore, captive breeding will
provide fish stock that - to a smaller or
larger extent has been domesticated.
Fish that have been reared in captivity
over several generations will normally
be better adapted to life in an
aquarium, and captive rearing offers
the means to better health control.
There are many different sizes and
structures of ornamental fish breeders,
ranging from small, independent one-
man breeding operations to huge
farms, often founded by national or
international investors and employing
large numbers of staff.
In some countries, like India, there is
an active governmental policy towards
facilitating the establishment of smaller
community-based breeding operations
for ornamental fish. In Sri Lanka there
has been some success with
Description of the supply chain
Foremost, captive breeding opens up the
possibility of creating huge variation in
terms of novel breeds and races of known
fish species such a guppies (Poecilia
reticulata). Photos: Magnoy
Ornamental Fish International
16
"fingerling projects" where a large
breeder supplies smaller operators
with fry for outgrowing, and buys
market-ready fish back from these.
It is increasingly common that any
farm specialises in one species or a
group of related species, but we also
still find many farms that diversify in a
large number of species from many
families of fish.
Large farms will often export directly to
importers in other countries, while
smaller farms and individual breeders
typically deliver to other companies for
export, sometimes also through
brokers who supply several exporters
in an area.
Description of the supply chain
Growing fighting fish (Betta splendens) in small bottles in Thailand. Photo: Svein Fosså
Outgrow bottles for male bettas.
Photo: Svein Fosså
17
Ornamental Fish International
Export business
Ornamental fishes (captive bred and/or
wild caught) are exported from most of
the tropical and subtropical countries
in the world, but commercial-scale
export is still mainly restricted to
countries with international airports
offering good and regular connections
to the main markets. In addition, there
are some breeding operations in
temperate climates in typical consumer
countries in Europe, North America,
Australia and J apan. In many
countries, there is also considerable
re-export of imported fish.
Page 44, gives more details on the
volumes and main routes of this trade.
Therefore, the structure and scale of
exporting businesses varies
significantly between countries, and
often also even within a single country.
Some operators combine the export
business with self-operated wild
harvest and/or farming, on or off
premises, but the majority depend on
buying from independent suppliers
(collectors, breeders or middlemen/
brokers).
Even companies that do some
collecting/breeding themselves will
Description of the supply chain
Packing for export at Lumbini Aquaria Wayamba, Sri Lanka
Photo: Svein Fosså
Ornamental Fish International
18
typically rely on buying additional
species from other suppliers in order
to offer the broadest possible
selection. In many cases, some
suppliers will be located in other
countries, so that the export business
also re-exports imported fish. This is
particularly the case with European
and North American exporters, but it is
also common in some Asian countries.
As the economic benefits of the wild
harvest of ornamental fish are
becoming better known in the lesser
South American countries, we are also
seeing the re-export of imports from
neighbouring countries becoming
increasingly common in South
America.
Still, there are also specialist exporters
who offer only one or a few species,
something which is particularly evident
in the coldwater segment, as seen in
goldfish and koi export.
Transporters
A key link in the chain of getting fish
from the producing countries to the
markets, yet one whose importance is
often underestimated, are the
transporters. There are plenty of good
reasons to consider air carriers and
freight forwarding agents as part of the
tropical fish trade chain. Without
international air transport, the rapid
development of the aquarium hobby
and trade post WWII would never have
been possible.
Description of the supply chain
KLM loading a shipment of ornamental fish at Schiphol Airport. Photo: KLM Cargo
19
Ornamental Fish International
Without efficient air transport including
good and reliable logistics, the modern
ornamental fish trade would not exist.
If one link in the transport chain fails,
the consequences can be devastating
for any individual shipment, or even for
the whole trade in the long run.
Transporting live tropical animals is a
task that demands special skills and
experience in handling unforeseen
problems. Furthermore, as anti-trade
groups place increasing focus on the
live animal trade, the negative impacts
are likely to be experienced as
particularly burdensome by the
transporters, for most of whom the
ornamental fish trade is only a small
part of their business.
The professional ornamental fish
trader is therefore wise to consider his
transporters as colleagues who are
worth building the best of relationships
with.
Importers
Similar to the export side, there is
considerable variation on the import
side. Totally different companies are
involved in importing ornamental fish,
but the need for increased
professionalism in handling legislation
and the logistics of import and
acclimatisation is gradually shifting the
trade towards larger operators.
In the largest import markets, an
increasing portion of overseas imports
Description of the supply chain
Importer’s facility of Aqualand, Switzerland. Photo: Aqualand
20
are handled by large wholesale
companies which supply the retail
trade or, in some instances, other
smaller wholesalers only.
Large retailers, particularly those who
have several shops (or chains) may
handle their own direct imports. In
many countries, one can also find
small retailers who import directly to a
single shop, either through direct
imports or via transshippers. In
general, however, the trend seems to
be that imports direct to retail are
decreasing for economic and
bureaucratic reasons, and that more
and more depend on buying from
wholesalers in their own or
neighbouring countries.
Transshippers
A special phenomenon in the
ornamental fish trade which is not
often seen in other import trades is the
so-called "transshippers". These are
companies that offer services to
smaller importers in the form of
combining orders from several
companies into one large import
shipment, they handle all of the
paperwork and distribute the fish in
whole boxes (unopened, except for
customs control purposes) to the
individual customers.
Transshippers makes it possible for
small-scale importers to get fish from
several international exporters, in
smaller quantities - while allowing the
Description of the supply chain Ornamental Fish International
Retailer in the Aquarium Industry: Swallow Aquatics in the UK. Photo: Svein Fosså
21
transshipper to handle the paperwork
involved in imports.
While buying from a transshipper
makes logistics simpler for a small
company, it does not reduce the
necessity for professional handling and
acclimatisation of the fish received.
Retailers
Retailers of ornamental fish vary from
the small general pet shop with only a
few fish tanks containing the
bestselling "bread and butter" fish, to
huge specialist shops dedicated to the
sale of ornamental aquatics only. In
most countries, one will find all levels
between these two extremes, but there
seems to be a general trend towards
more chain stores.
While large pet shops and aquatic
shops often stock coldwater fish as
well, these are also often sold by
garden centres and, in some countries,
by specialist pond dealers. Many of
these seem to define themselves as
falling outside of the ordinary
ornamental fish trade, and often
choose other trade channels.
Description of the supply chain Ornamental Fish International
doc_751705464.pdf