Humphead Wrasse - Threats

Rapidly declining where commercial fisheries involved

Owing to its vulnerability to fishing pressure, high demand and hence high pressure on the species in many areas, populations of humphead wrasse have declined rapidly where commercial fisheries are involved (e.g. American Samoa, Sabah - Malaysia, Fiji, Indonesia).

Even in areas where humphead wrasse is protected, catches have been reduced. For instance, annual catch rates dropped by 50% from 1991 to 1998 in Australia, and sightings of humphead wrasse by dive operators in Queensland were less frequent.

Humphead wrasse is found in the coastal waters of 48 countries and territories, few of which have effective management measures in place to regulate the trade. Lack of capacity in enforcement and shortcomings of national regulations compromise conservation efforts of many range countries.

Trade
Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing and trading of this species occurs e.g.: in the Philippines, Indonesia and probably eastern Malaysia, illegal harvesting of humphead wrasse with cyanide still occurs; in the Kei Islands of Indonesia, one out of the two ships involved in the export of humphead wrasse did not have the appropriate permits; and in the Maldives, illegal export of humphead wrasse occurs in spite of the export ban.

Humphead wrasse is one of the most valuable fish in the live reef fish trade, and the rarity of this species leads to higher demand and prices (up to US$130/kg retail). Although centred in Hong Kong, this trade has spread to southern China and other consumer regions, including Singapore. Of particular concern is that rapid economic growth in mainland China in the near future may further intensify the demand for humphead wrasse throughout the country.

Exploitation of humphead wrasse started around reefs in Hong Kong and the South China Sea region. As these populations became exhausted, source areas expanded into South East Asia and beyond, into the West Indian Ocean and the South Pacific to meet the increasing demand.

This clearly demonstrates that over-exploitation and consequential declines in populations are driving those involved in this fishery to look further afield for the humphead wrasse. For instance, in 1997, the Maldives banned the export of humphead wrasse as the fish was believed to be over-harvested; however, smuggling is still reported.

Although it is one of the most valuable species in the live reef food fish trade, humphead wrasse only makes up a small volume of the total trade. The average estimated annual import of all live reef food fish to Hong Kong reaches approximately 18,000 tonnes, with the highest imports occurring in 1997 (approximately 32,000).

However, annual imports of humphead wrasse ranged from 37 to 189 tonnes between 1997 and 2002. Therefore, in spite of the high unit value, humphead wrasse only accounts for about 2-6% of the live reef food fish trade, by weight. It is unclear however whether this trend is sustainable or not for the population's survival.

Both mature and juvenile humphead wrasse are harvested for the live reef food fish trade as well as for local consumption; small juveniles (less than 10 cm) are collected for the aquarium fish trade which further exacerbates the depletion of the wild population of humphead wrasse.
Find out more about wildife trade