Live-Fish Market Grows, Stripping Reefs
Live reef fish like grouper -- a status symbol for many newly rich Chinese -- has caused the populations of these predators to plummet around Asia as fishermen increasingly resort to cyanide and dynamite to bring in the valuable catch. Entire reef ecosystems, already endangered by pollution and global warming, are at risk.
A study about the trade in Malaysia found that catches of some grouper species and the endangered Napoleon wrasse fell by as much as 99 percent between 1995 to 2003, a period coinciding with soaring economic growth in countries where the exotic fish are a delicacy.