With the CITES CoP20 meeting set for 24 November–5 December 2025 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, the global aquarium fish industry is once again under the spotlight. As we've seen before, there is growing pressure from animal rights and activist groups to list more aquarium species for trade restrictions - often based not on scientific evidence or conservation need, but on ideology.
At OFI, we strongly believe that decision-makers need to be reminded of the facts:
the aquarium fish industry is low impact, high value, and delivers real benefits for people, conservation, and education. It's a sector that contributes meaningfully to several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and deserves recognition - not restriction.
At OFI, we believe that decision-makers must be reminded: the aquarium fish industry contributes meaningfully to conservation, education, and livelihoods. We already know that:
- Less than 0.0001% of global marine catch is used in the aquarium trade.
- The majority of aquarium fish are collected using low-impact methods such as hand nets.
- Best practice supply chains consistently achieve mortality rates below 2%.
- No aquarium fish species has gone extinct from collection for the trade.
It is a low-impact, high-value industry that aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in real and measurable ways.
What Sustainability Really Means
Sustainability is a word that gets thrown around a lot - but too often, it's used in ways that ignore the people who depend on natural resources for their livelihoods. We hear calls to shut down the aquarium trade in the name of sustainability, but rarely do those calling for bans consider what that means on the ground.
Let’s be clear: when small-scale aquarium fisheries are closed, families lose their incomes. The incentive to protect local environments disappears. Destructive and unsustainable alternatives - like logging, mining, or food fishing - often move in to fill the gap and cause more harm to the environment than collecting aquarium fish. We have already seen what happens when trade is shut down without proper justification. When Indonesia banned coral exports in 2018, it’s estimated that 12,000 people lost their livelihoods almost overnight. That’s not sustainability - it’s short-sighted ideology dressed up as environmentalism.
By contrast, the aquarium fish trade is overwhelmingly artisanal and small-scale, especially in developing countries, particularly for wild fish collectors. The volume of fish harvested is small - virtually negligible when compared to food fisheries - but the income it generates is often transformative. That’s what real sustainability looks like: protecting biodiversity, supporting livelihoods, and creating long-term value for communities and ecosystems alike.
So let’s examine how the aquarium industry meets the UN Sustainability Development Goals:
Goal 14: Life Below Water: The aquarium fish industry directly supports SDG 14: Life Below Water in several important ways such as:
- Sustainable wild collection: Fish and invertebrates are typically collected using low-impact methods — like hand nets, seasonal quotas, and area closures.
- Community-based models: Projects like Project Piaba in Brazil show how trade in species like the cardinal tetra provides income while protecting entire river systems and rainforest areas.
- o Captive breeding and coral aquaculture: Coral farming, propagation, and captive breeding are meeting market demand while reducing pressure on wild populations and also being used in reef restoration programs.
- This is practical, science-based conservation in action.
Goals 1 & 8: No Poverty and Decent Work:
In regions like the Amazon, Southeast Asia, East Africa, and the Pacific Islands, the aquarium fish trade provides critical income for thousands of families. The work is generally family-based, requires little infrastructure, and offers a genuine alternative to environmentally destructive industries. This directly supports:
- SDG 1: No Poverty
- SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
Goal 4: Quality Education:
Public aquariums play a vital role in marine education and outreach. They connect millions of people each year — especially children and students — with the underwater world. The industry also supports training in source countries—building skills in fish husbandry, health management, and environmental stewardship. There is also an element of science needed by hobbyists all around the world and keeping an aquarium develops our citizen scientists around the world and provides them with an understanding of the maintenance of aquatic life. These efforts contribute to SDG 4: Quality Education, both at home and in the field.
Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production: The aquarium industry is evolving constantly. We are seeing:
- Growth in captive-bred fish and aquacultured corals
- Wider use of biodegradable packaging and reef-safe products
- Increased focus on traceability, certification, and improved transport standards
- This reflects a commitment to SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, and we’re proud of the progress being made.
Goals 5 & 10: Gender Equality & Reduced Inequalities: In many countries, women are at the forefront of coral farming and aquaculture. The aquarium trade also enables rural and marginalised communities to participate in international markets on their own terms.
It’s a genuine example of inclusive development, supporting:
- SDG 5: Gender Equality
- SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals: Progress rarely happens in isolation. Across the industry, OFI members are partnering with researchers, NGOs, regulators, and local communities to build better trade systems and deliver real conservation outcomes.
This collaborative model reflects the spirit of SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals—and it’s something our industry does well.
Why We Must Speak Up Ahead of CITES CoP20
CITES CoP20 will be important for our industry, although no new listing proposals (https://cites.org/eng/cop/20/amendment-proposals) for species of importance to the aquarium trade have materialised this time – listing proposals can be seen here . There will be general discussions on the marine aquarium trade, and we know that efforts are underway to list more aquarium species for CITES listings. In many cases, these campaigns are based not on evidence of threat, but on anti-trade ideology. In many cases, these campaigns are based not on evidence of threat, but on anti-trade ideology. OFI supports evidence-based conservation, and we are not against listing species that have a proven need for conservation efforts. Rather, our industry has often been at the forefront of conservation efforts with the most notable being that of the Asian Arowana or dragonfish. Thanks to the efforts and ingenuity of the aquarium industry there are undoubtedly more Asian Arowana alive today than there ever has been and if ever there was a candidate species to be taken off CITES listings it is the Asian Arowana.
However, anti-trade campaigners often use poor science, or simply invent data to support their claims in order to shut down legitimate trade to support their ideology that humans should not interact with any animals for any purpose. At OFI, we want to see good science, transparency, and proportionality in CITES decisions—not politics and these ideological pressure campaigns. Above all, CITES must remain a convention grounded in science, not activism.
Looking Ahead: A Sustainable Future
The aquarium fish industry isn’t perfect, but no industry is and the vast majority of operators are working towards improving how they operate. The aquarium industry is a practical, proven model of how wildlife trade can support people and planet when done right:
- · It connects people to nature.
- · It supports education and conservation.
- · It provides jobs, hope, and purpose in places where few alternatives exist.
Rather than closing down small-scale, sustainable trades, we should be investing in them and improving standards, expanding their capacity and opportunities, and helping countries manage their biodiversity through existing legislation in ways that benefit both nature and people.
At OFI, we’ll be taking that message to Samarkand this November—and we invite all responsible voices to join us.
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