Ornamental aquatics trade in the Critically Endangered zebra pleco (Hypancistrus zebra) and related species

The ornamental fish trade is responsible for a significant portion of the wildlife trade industry with estimates of over 5,300 freshwater fish species being traded internationally every year, generating an annual value of approximately $15-20 billion. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) regulates the global trade from the ornamental fish industry particularly, Hypancistrus zebra, the only member of the Loricariidae (Pleco hereafter) family currently listed under CITES protection. Loricariidae contains over 900 described species making it one of the most species-rich families among all catfish. Despite the megadiverse family and its economic importance little research has been conducted on the diversity and robustness of the trade. This study provided an overview of the current UK online trade of Loricariidae to identify the current diversity of the trade, aspects that effects the economics of the trade using a hedonic analysis and also the level of misidentification amongst a set of respondents to assess the strength of biosecurity and risk of species laundering within the trade. This study was carried out under the assumption that species that look like H. zebra would be more common in the trade and more expensive as well as more frequently misidentified. The study found that currently at least 191 unique species of plecos are easily available to buy online. Attributes such as the life stage of the pleco, the website the listing is on and phenotypic attributes of the species itself all affected the price of listings in various ways. However, there was no impact on price from species that were visually like H. zebra. In terms of misidentifications H. zebra was the most consistently correctly identified species however the level of misidentification amongst respondents with the average error rate being 21% despite differences in backgrounds and expertise. It is hoped that this work will serve to inform conservationists and those involved in trade of the next steps to take to increase the biosecurity and legislation surrounding pleco trade.