Fishkeeping - Fishkeeping Industry

Fishkeeping Industry

Worldwide, the fishkeeping hobby is a multi-billion dollar industry. The United States is the largest market, followed by Europe and Japan. In 1993 the United States Census Bureau found that 10.6% of U.S. households owned ornamental freshwater or saltwater fish, with an average of 8.8 fish per household. In 1993, the retail value of the fish hobby in the United States was US$910 million. In 2002, census data indicated that aquarium products and fished accounted for USD684 million dolllars.

From 1989 to 1992, almost 79% of all U.S. ornamental fish imports came from Southeast Asia and Japan. Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Indonesia were the top five exporting nations. South America was the second largest exporting region, accounting for 14% of the total annual value. Colombia, Brazil and Peru were the major suppliers.

Approximately 201 million fish worth $44.7 million were imported into the United States in 1992. These fish comprised 1,539 different species; 730 freshwater species, and 809 saltwater species. Freshwater fish accounted for approximately 96% of the total volume and 80% of the total import value. Only 32 species had import values over $10,000. The top species were freshwater and accounted for 58% of the total imported value. The top imported species are the guppy, neon tetra, platy, betta, Chinese algae eater, and goldfish. Given 91.9 million total US households in 1990, 9.7 million are fishkeepers. 8.8 fish per household implies a total aquarium fish population of approximately 85.7 million, suggesting that the US aquarium fish population turns over more than 2.3 times per year, counting only imported fish.

Historically, fish and plants for the first modern aquaria were gathered from the wild and transported (usually by ship) to Europea and America. During the early 20th century many species of small colourful tropical fish were exported from Manaus, Brazil; Bangkok, Thailand; Jakarta, Indonesia; the Netherlands Antilles; Kolkata, India; and other tropical countries. Import of wild fish, plants, and invertebrates for aquaria continues today around the world. Many species have not been successfully bred in captivity. In many developing countries, locals survive by collecting specimens for the aquarium trade., and continue to introduce new species to the market.