Researchers are looking for aquaculture to support Florida's wildfish populations in Florida

Colorful reef fish are for many popular pets, but researchers from the University of Florida are concerned about the effects of the procurement of these fish that are often caught wild.

In order to reduce this pressure on Florida's reef ecosystems, the researchers hope to encourage aquaculture producers to breed popular species in order to meet consumers' demand.

“Aquaculture reduces the need for wild fish. It is sustainable and offers healthy fish for aquarium trade,” said Cortney Ohs, Associate Professor of Fishing and Water Sciences at the University of Florida.

So far, the researchers' mission has been successfully hit after being notoriously difficult species like Blue Tang in addition to PET shop classics such as the clownfish. In the future, they hope to expand their repertoire to grasp many of the most popular Reef fish species.

“The laboratory's mission is to solve problems and create opportunities. We do not know how the wild harvest affects these reefs. So if you find ways to increase coveted types of sea fish.

However, it was not all easy, as the researchers had to determine the specific environmental and resource requirements of the fish before breeding, which can differ drastically from species to species.

“It is very labor and costly. It is therefore important that we carry out this research for the industry to create a blueprint. You cannot successfully increase the larvae in other ways,” concluded Dimaggio.