Philippine E-Journals

The Philippines is known for its high marine BIODIVERSITY and for the high risk to that diversity. Of the human activities implicated in the degradation of coral reefs, collection of organisms for the aquarium trade is probably the most controversial. As a first step in determining the local impact of this trade and how, if possible, it can be managed, this paper presents an inventory of the corals being sold in Cartimar Shopping Center, the center of the pet trade in Metro Manila. A total of 29 species in nine families were found, with pocilloporids and Acropora being the best-selling. Euphyliids and gonioporids were also common in the shops, probably because these corals survive well in tanks. Ten of the species identified were categorized as near threatened, and another six were categorized as vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Therefore, corals in both categories should not be in the trade. Suggestions on how the aquarium trade could be made self-regulating are presented in this work.