Then again, listing in CITES would be a welcome step but will only regulate the import and export of species between countries, pointed out legal policy expert Debadityo Sinha. ![]() The study also sheds light on the “poor enforcement” of biodiversity regulations and wildlife trade laws within Asia, as zebra loaches were categorised as ‘endangered’ in 2011 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, but has not yet been listed in CITES appendices. Customers specifically ask for the loaches, the researchers added. The analysis also highlighted a sharp decline in exports of zebra loaches from 2016 to 2017, likely due to the decline in fish availability from overfishing and not from the availability of cheaper alternatives. There is an “unabated interest” in zebra loach in countries like the Czech Republic, which is the trading hub for ornamental fish in the European Union. Among the recipients, Singapore was importing the most fish at 73.05%, acting as a transit hub for the distribution of zebra loaches across the globe.Īfter Singapore, the Netherlands, Germany, Thailand and the Czech Republic receive the most zebra loach consignments while, 11 other countries import negligible quantities. His contention is supported by the data analysis that reveals a deeply entrenched demand for the species abroad.Īmong the five Indian cities for which airport export-import data was available, Kolkata emerged as the top exit site from where the highest number of zebra loach consignments were exported, followed by Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai and Kochi. To counter this, Kumkar underscored the need to urgently develop an artificial breeding programme for zebra loach and other ornamental fishes. Gosavi added that while the trade is legal, the extent and manner of trade are unregulated “because this species is endangered, already has an extremely limited distribution, is subject to several anthropogenic stressors (such as sand mining in the Koyna river), and currently has no artificial breeding programme to support its trade, leaving wild populations as the only option”, subjecting the fish to over-exploitation. “If the zebra loach trade continues to operate during the breeding season, carrying a large number of breeders and immature individuals, the population will suffer a severe decline and a lack of potential breeders in the near future, driving the species closer to extinction,” said study coauthor Pradeep Kumkar, a PhD student at the Czech University of Life Sciences. While unravelling the impact of the trade on juvenile and mature zebra loach populations in the Koyna river, the researchers found that 60% of the exports coincided with the fish’s breeding season, raising questions about the conservation implications. ![]() Zebra loaches are endemic to the Western Ghats, and in Maharashtra’s Koyna river basin in the northern Western Ghats, they are called vaghya (‘tiger’ in Marathi), alluding to the tiger-like stripes on their bodies. Loaches belonging to the genus Botia are listed by Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), an agency under India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, as commercially important freshwater ornamental fishes. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an international agreement between governments to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival in the wild. “We recommend that vulnerable species like the zebra loach should be included in the CITES appendices in order to get accurate export level data and establish sustainable ornamental trade in freshwater fish,” said the study’s corresponding author, Sachin Gosavi. This trade volume amounts to 148 zebra loaches exported per day to feed the international aquarium pet trade.īut this is only the tip of the iceberg because the researchers, from the Maharashtra College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Mumbai, and the Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, looked at airport consignment records and said “there is a high possibility that data from other routes, such as seaports, was not recorded.” ![]() The study, based on an analysis of export-import data on live aquarium fishes from April 2012 to March 2017 from five Indian cities, revealed that as many as 265,610 zebra loaches ( Botia striata) were exported from India to 16 different countries in five years.
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