Financial and economic analysis of wild harvest and cultured live coral and live rock in Fiji / Padma Lal and Albert Cerelala

International interest in marine aquarium products - coral, fish, invertebrates and live rock - has steadily increased over time. Coral, fish and invertebrates are sought after for their variety, colour and beauty, while live rocks are used in aquariums as artificial reef substrate for other organisms to dwell in. Live rocks in aquariums also help maintain water quality because algae on the surface of the rocks metabolize nutrients in the water into plant growth. In terms of volume, live rock and coral are two of the most important products in the marine aquarium trade, and interest in these two products, and in other ornamental species, is growing world-wide. In 2004 Fiji supplied about 161,927 pieces of hard and soft coral and 1.36 million pieces of live rock to overseas markets, mainly in USA, Hong Kong, Japan and Europe. Fiji also exported 169,143 pieces of ornamental fish and 31,900 pieces of invertebrates (CITES database with the Fiji Fisheries Department, July 2005).