Miss Porpoise

It ought to cause a twinge and a shudder to read about what is happening to the humphead  wrasse.  There is an urgent need to become more aware of this.  I hope you will find more reasons to learn more about them and also increase your understanding and loving the environment.

The humphead wrasse can grow to over six feet long, making it a huge coral reef fish. It has a prominent bulge on its forehead, hence the name humphead. Some of them live to be over 30 years old. They search the coral reefs for filling their diet of hard shelled prey such as mollusks, starfish, or crustaceans.  Their diet includes several toxic species, such as sea hares, boxfish and the crown-of-thorns starfish which  is known to destroy coral reefs,  marking one  good reason why conservation of the humphead wrasse is so important.

The main threat to the humphead wrasse is over fishing.   The species is much sought after, particularly for  the restaurant industry.

One way of catching the humphead wrasse alive is to stun it with a poisonous substance like cyanide. The poison is sprayed into the fish’s habitat.  In trying to protect itself the wrasse often hides in a crevice or hole in the coral and becomes sluggish as the poison takes hold. This makes it easy for the fishermen to capture it but often the coral reef is broken away in the process.   Consequently, their habitat is also threatened.  It is estimated that a quarter of the world’s coral reefs are irreparably damaged and that another two thirds are under threat. In addition to the loss of habitat affecting their numbers, the humphead wrasse takes several years to reach sexual maturity, so the over  fishing has a devastating effect on the population as well.

The World Conservation Union's (IUCN) Groupers and Wrasses Specialist Group is working to collect this all-important data and to raise awareness of the issues involved throughout the region. The species is partially protected in areas of Australia, the Philippines, the Maldives and Palau. Government  and other groups are working to protect the humphead wrasse.  I hope that this information causes a very strong desire for all to help.  It does for me.