The cyanide fishery for food fish may not be as threatening to Indonesia's coral reefs as compared to other threats such as blast fishing or coral bleaching caused by global climate change. The depletion of grouper stocks by the trade in live reef food fish, however, is worrying from both fisheries and conservation perspectives. Strategies to abate the depletion of these grouper stocks should not only consider cyanide fishing, but also other fishing methods.
