Cyanide And Dynamite Fishing - Who's really responsible?

[Craig Bingman]

On Wed, 4 Dec 1996, Paul A. Blanchon wrote: 

> However, I was rather surprised to find that the rest of the piece went on  
> to explain the difficulties of reducing demand for live fish in far  
> east restaurants and made no further mention of the European and  
> N. American aquarium trade which, according to the figures, apparently  
> makes up 50% of the problem (or did I miss something?). 

Are you claiming that 50% of the damage to reefs from dynamite and  
cyanide fishing occurs because of attempts to catch ornamental fish? 

My understanding is that dynamite just isn't used to collect ornamental  
fish.  I would be interested in solid, verifiable information indicating  
that it is. 

Cyanide is, unfortunately still used to collect ornamental fish, and that  
is an abhorent practice.   

Pragmatically, though, it seems that food fish are the target when entire  
reefs are destroyed by dumping drums of cyanide into the water.  Again, I  
would be most interested in information indicating that ornamental marine  
fish are a primary or secondary target of such practices.  And that the  
concentrations of cyanide required to stun a hundred pound grouper don't  
kill small ornamental fish outright. 

Craig