Ornamental fish export of the State of Amazonas, Amazon Basin, Brazil

Abstract

The State of Amazon is one of the main exporters of ornamental fish from Brazil, and depends essentially on the extraction accomplished in several areas of the Amazon basin. Ornamental fish are the third forest product exports of that State, however, the monitoring of trade is almost nonexistent. The present work provides an initial evaluation of the ornamental fish trade of Amazon, investigating the species diversity, the value and the abundance of specimens marketed, the importing countries, and identifies priorities in data collection and monitoring. Between 2002 and 2005, approximately 100 million ornamental fish were exported, accounting for US$ 9.6 million to the international market and US$ 1.5 million for the domestic market. There was an annual average growth in the order of 28.8% in the volume of exports, from 17 million units exported in 2002 to 36.2 million in 2005. About 86.0% of the volume of exports is directed to the international market. Among the 35 importing countries, the highlights are Germany, United States, Japan, Holland and Taiwan accounting for about 76% of that market. The number of exported species reaches 169, and the cardinal-tetra, Paracheirodon axelrodi, and the rodóstomo, Petitella georgiae, are the most popular species. Those results reveal the importance of the industry of ornamental fish to Amazon and identify the actual status of exports that can generate subsidies for the formulation of future management plans and conservation and provide bases for a sustainable production system.