Is sustainable exploitation of coral reefs possible? A view from the standpoint of the marine aquarium trade

Coral reefs are at the brink of a global, system-wide collapse. Human populations living at the water's edge are a vital key to the long-term survival and maintenance of these global biodiversity hotpots. Global trade combined with high levels of poverty threatens to siphon out biodiversity riches from developing nations to the developed world for short-term gains. The difficult challenge for local governance, conservationists, and resource managers alike is to create and maintain as diverse and well-functioning a Coral Reef Socio-Ecological System (CRSES) as possible. A fundamental shift in the structure of business practices, incentives and values are needed to move the marine aquarium trade to a more sustainable state. Rapid growth in the cultured coral trade and better fishery management in small fisheries are bright spots in the marine aquarium trade, and demonstrate that this trade can be part of a broader solution to reef conservation.