FYI NPR Radio program on Reefs

[spawner]

Listening to this on my drive into the lab last few days.


Yesterday the program dealt with Live food fish trade.
Today they were discussing Seahorse collection.
Tomorrow 7:30 am discussing tropical fish.


NPR.org

Tuesday, June 29, 2004
Many companies pride themselves on encouraging a religion-friendly environment. But some employees of a Michigan company say they are uncomfortable with their employer's policy on religious meetings. We report on religion in the workplace.


Monday, June 28, 2004
At the Lei Yu Mun fish market in Hong Kong, exotic tropical fish swim in tanks stacked floor to ceiling. It's not an aquarium -- these fish are destined for restaurants and home kitchens. We kick off a three-part series of Radio Expedition reports on how exotic fish are being stripped from coral reefs in the Pacific, and what's being done to stem the tide.


Coral Reefs in the Balance
Exotic Fish Species Hunted for Aquariums and Restaurants
Hear reports in this series:

Part 1: Live Fish Markets in Hong Kong

Part 2: Diving for Seahorses in the Philippines



June 28-30, 2004 -- Hong Kong, the bustling entry point of East Asian commerce, is the hub of the global live fish trade. Not all the fish found there end up in home aquariums. Some fish, like the giant grouper, humphead wrasse and coral trout, are caught live near Pacific coral reefs and kept in tanks until they are served up in restaurants. Depending on the size and species, a single fish can cost hundreds of dollars.

And in Chinese medicinal markets, another species of reef-dweller, the seahorse, is sold to make traditional treatments for impotence and other ailments. The trade in these reef species is on the rise, and biologists say the reef populations are threatened.

NPR's Chris Joyce joins Dr. Yvonne Sadovy, considered one of the world's experts on the live fish and aquarium trade, at the Hong Kong market to investigate the reef fish trade.

The journey continues to the tropical reefs of the Pacific. On the tiny island of Jandayan, near the island of Cebu in the Philippines, "lantern-divers" swim along the reefs in the darkness of night to hunt for one of the world's most exotic animals -- the seahorse.

Under the glow of their lanterns, the divers capture seahorses to sell to aquarium fish dealers in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Dead ones go to the traditional Chinese medicine market. It's a meager living, but there are few alternatives for making a living.

Joyce and the Radio Expeditions crew travel to Jandayan to join biologist Amanda Vincent and the lantern fishers to learn about Project Seahorse, an international effort to preserve this island's way of life while keeping seahorse populations from dying out.

The spectacular and exotic fish that fill aquariums all over the world are caught wild in coral reefs by divers like Fred Durayas. Durayas is a Filipino who once dynamited reefs to get fish to eat. He switched to catching aquarium fish using cyanide to stun them -- but the cyanide is killing the reefs.

Now Durayas is learning to catch these exotic fish with nets. Joyce travels to the Camotes Islands of the Philippines to investigate a program to help people like Durayas make a living, while preserving the reefs that shape their livelihood.

You can download and listen yesterdays and todays programs from there website. http://www.npr.org/programs/re/archi...004/jun/reefs/

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