Fish Of The Day

The gorgeous fish in the above image is an Asian arowana, Scleropages sp., also known as the Asian bony tongue, dragon fish, and a number of other common names specific to different color morphs. Native to Southeast Asia, Asian arowanas inhabit slow-moving waters flowing through forested swamps and wetlands. Because of their spectacular color and form, they have become popular aquarium fish. They also have special significance in areas influenced by Chinese culture. The name dragon fish stems from their resemblance to illustrations of Chinese dragons. Asian arowanas are considered "lucky," particularly since the Chinese dragon is an auspicious cultural symbol.

Unfortunately, this alleged luck isn't holding out for the fish itself. It's dragon-like resemblance and popularity has come at a cost to the species survival. Asian arowanas are listed as endangered by the 2006 IUCN Red List. And the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) placed them on Appendix I, the most restrictive category. While over harvesting is in part to blame, habitat destruction is the primary threat. All of this hasn't put a damper on the demand for the species as an aquarium fish. Its popularity has in fact soared, and aquarists may pay thousands of U.S. dollars for one of these animals. Captive-bred arowanas are allowed under CITES, provided their origin as a captive-bred specimen can be verified through documentation.

Why my recent interest in Asian arowana? Well, the SF Cronicle reports today that a local San Francisco man will be spending the next four months in home confinement for selling an Asian arowana in July 2004 to an undercover U.S. Fish and Wildlife agent on an Internet site called Aquabid. The perp--Danny Yep, 27--was also fined $2,000 and placed on three years' probation. The Chronicle reports that Yep pleaded guilty in December to a felony count of violating the Lacey Act, which makes it illegal to sell an endangered species. He admitted that he knew the fish was listed as endangered and that both the importation and sale of the fish were illegal.

Meaningful punishment that can serve as deterrent or slap on the wrist? Maybe neither. I suspect the heat now has to also get turned-up on the in-country end of the supply chain--those who are actually capturing the wild fish for the aquarium trade. Fish farms have proven to be successful conservation approaches for some aquarium species, though start-up costs are often the limiting factor to their implementation. But with some strategic microloans from governments or NGOs to get the operations up and running, it shouldn't be too difficult to get a solid return on investment when consumers are willing to shell-out $3000 for a quality specimen.