Cross-border trade in Saratoga fingerlings from the Bensbach River, south-west Papua New Guinea

Abstract

Saratoga Scleropages jardinii (Saville-Kent 1892) is a popular aquarium and sportsfish native to southern New Guinea and northern Australia. In recent years the people of the Bensbach River area in Papua New Guinea's Western Province have been harvesting wild fingerlings for sale across the nearby international border in Indonesia's Papua Province. From there the fish are sold to dealers in other parts of Asia. The species is protected by law in Indonesia, and subject to various regulations in Australia. In Papua New Guinea there are no controls on its exploitation. Uncontrolled harvesting of fingerlings from the Bensbach and other river systems in south New Guinea has had negative impacts on local fisheries, and led to a decline in the Australian export trade in wild-caught and farm-bred Saratoga.