Integrated index to evaluate the conservation status and commercial interest of ornamental fish imported to Costa Rica

Abstract

Ornamental fish species trading has exponentially increased on global scale, becoming a key driver for economic growth in several countries. Strict regulations have been developed, by governments and international organizations, to reduce and limit negative impacts of legal export/import of exotic species and local biota. However, understanding the local trends becomes fundamental to understand wildlife trade dynamics in specific countries. In order to improve the understanding on wildlife trading dynamics in Costa Rica the Relative Importance Index was adapted to develop an importance index that includes IUCN threat status to better inform the commercial trends based on both frequency, specimen volumes and conservation status for supporting institutional control and management of wildlife trading. The index was tested on sample of formal import request data of ornamental aquatic species provided by national regulatory agencies to assess the accuracy and congruence with traditional indicators. A total of 21264 specimens from 81 species, mostly freshwater fish species were found in the request formats sample. Most requested species were Betta splendens, Carassius auratus, Paracheirodon innesiin congruence with international trading trends. The Conservation -Commercial Importance index identified 10% of the species with high to very high trading importance, while the remaining were classified as low to moderate importance. This study provides a potential tool for improving national trade management and surveillance tools for better understanding of a commonly overlooked segment of biodiversity trading dynamics.