Rare reef fish brought in illegally

More than 1,000 endangered but highly valued reef fish sold in Hong Kong last year were imported illegally, a university study shows.

It was released yesterday and funded by the University of Hong Kong and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

More than 1,000 humphead wrasse, also known as Napoleon fish, were on sale in Hong Kong live fish shops from January to December 2015, said the study.

Since no official imports occurred in 2015 and the species is typically sold within a few weeks of import, the survey suggests that many of these fish illegally entered the SAR, said professor Yvonne Sadovy of HKU’s School of Biological Sciences.

Humphead wrasse is one of the biggest reef fish in the world. It is reported to grow as long as two meters and can live longer than 30 years.

The retail price of live humphead wrasse in the local seafood markets was HK$1,550 to HK$1,600 per kilogram.

“Failure to act to ensure legal and sustainable trade in this globally threatened species will ultimately result in higher prices for humpheads and fewer fish available to consumers and to the poor fishermen. Nobody wins,” Sadovy said.

She called for urgent action by the government to ensure that imports and sales of humpheads are legal.

FLORA CHUNG